There are countless movies chronicling the stories of artificial intelligence going bad - from the Terminator, to Tron, and Blade Runner.
And while it might sound like the stuff of science fiction, experts in the field say that without proper regulation, the consequences could be grim, with the most extreme outcome being the extinction of humanity.
A joint statement from academics, journalists, and leading executives at Microsoft and Google says mitigating the risk of extinction from A-I should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.