content: As someone who worked on AIs for the military, I'm kind of sick of people invoking the whole Skynet/Terminator thing everytime AIs and weapons are mentioned. Let's be clear: conscious weapons able and willing to turn against humans - against human will - are STILL science fiction, and VERY far-fetched science fiction. Stopping research on AI in the military (which can save life TODAY) is like banning nuclear energy because nuclear-powered stars can eventually lead to time travel according to Interstellar. It's important to keep the idea in mind (and the whole AI thing in check) but a ban on that premise is premature and completely based on assumptions.  To be clear: I'm ranting about laymen invoking Skynet as some sort of short-term outcome, not about the open letter which is concerned about starting another arms race (a very valid point).