“I use Google as a metaphor for an emerging intelligence,” says European author and futurist Ray Hammond.

“Every single day that I use Google, and I use it constantly, I notice that it’s getting a little bit more capable at understanding what I mean when I don’t say precisely what I mean.

“Now, if brainpower in the computer is doubling every 12 months and Google is gathering every single minute of every day the intentions of all the humans in the planet, imagine where that might lead in 10 years. And if we accept that Moore’s law will continue, somewhere between the years 2020 to 2035, artificial intelligence will equal human intelligence and by definition, it will then double it.”