article_snippet: The authors said there is a 'broad consensus' that AI research is making good progress and would have a growing impact on society.
article_snippet: In a paper called Robots are Us: Some Economics of Human Replacement, lead researcher Seth Benzell  said: 'Whether it's bombing Us enemies, steering Us planes, fielding Us calls, rubbing Us backs, vacuuming Us floors, driving Us taxis, or beating Us at Jeopardy, it's hard to think of hitherto human tasks that smart machines can't do or won't soon do.'
article_snippet: This will lead to robots replacing many human jobs - and is a trend that has already begun in Japan.
article_snippet: With this in mind, Mr Benzell and Mr Benzell colleagues at the National Bureau of Economic Research asked whether 'human replacement' - the act of building better versions of ourselves - will deliver an economic utopia or leave us earning too little to buy the goods the robots are making?
article_snippet: robots contain the stuff of humans - accumulated brain and saving power,' said a recent paper. '
article_snippet: Now a group of scientists and entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, have signed an open letter promising to ensure AI research benefits humanity.
article_snippet: The authors say there is a 'broad consensus' that AI research is making good progress and would have a growing impact on society.
article_snippet: AI research highlights speech recognition, image analysis, driverless cars, translation and robot motion as having benefited from the research. '