And I believe leading AI chipmaker Nvidia is about to get hammered, which could trigger a much broader market crash beginning tomorrow afternoon, shortly after 4 p.m.

But from a broader AI perspective, the news is full of stories about how machines with vast computing power and blinding processing speeds, given access to billions of books and documents and the ability to teach themselves, are poised to take over the world.

Is it true? I've been studying AI and its potential for years, so I have a deeper understanding of AI than the average talking head.

I've actually spent time visiting with the world's third-fastest non-government supercomputer (the HiPerGator AI computer at the University of Florida) as part of a project to apply generalized superintelligence and AI to national security tasks.

So how advanced is AI getting? How close is it to approaching a rough parity with human intelligence? And what dangers does it pose to humanity?

We Can Just Pull the Plug — for Now at Least

Experimenters now envision machines taking on a life of their own and attacking humans and civilization. But it's important to remember that if the machine goes berserk, you can just pull the plug.

Apologists for AI capacity claim that pulling the plug won't work because the AI will anticipate that strategy and "export" itself to another machine in a catch-me-if-you-can scenario where disabling one location won't stop the code and algorithms from popping up elsewhere and continuing to attack.

Maybe. But there are all kinds of logistical problems with this, including the availability of enough machines with the processing power needed, the fact that alternate machines are likely to be surrounded by firewalls and digital moats and a host of configuration and interoperability issues.

So for now, you can just pull the plug. In fact, there are a number of safeguards being proposed to limit the potential damage of AI while still harnessing its enormous benefits.