A quiet revolution has been occurring in artificial intelligence. Whereas in the past, AI was limited to analyzing information that already exists, it has now begun to create on its own, generating images, documents, speech, and video. In scenes reminiscent of science fiction, AI can now reason about the world in complex ways, write new computer programs to do its bidding, and even hire humans to perform tasks on its behalf. Pundits warn that the AI apocalypse is right around the corner, while naysayers dismiss it as akin to glorified auto-complete engines. What is the reality of AI today, and what are its risks?