It’s very hard to know how close we are to machine intelligence surpassing human intelligence. I feel comfortable stating there is no evidence that the current

It’s very hard to know how close we are to machine intelligence surpassing human intelligence. I feel comfortable stating there is no evidence that the current trajectory of machine intelligence (e.g., developing a set of tools for optimization of mathematical functions on digital hardware) is bringing us any closer to sentience. So in that sense, Sam seems misinformed. Of course, there's always a remote chance of a fundamental, revolutionary breakthrough in our understanding of AI or human intelligence (or anything), but it would represent a complete departure from our current state-of-the-art, not the mere evolution of our current progress. So in the sense that "it's possible," Sam is right -- in the same sense that it's possible teleportation or interstellar flight is right around the corner. When weighted by probability, it's not a pressing issue in my mind and should remain relegated to science fiction for now.