The current pace of progress in AI seems relentless. We’re bombarded with claims about the technology, ranging from positive in nature to negative. It’s difficult to know what to believe about the impact that AI will have on our lives.

The great thinkers of the past might offer some help. These giants in the history of computing looked beyond the pressing issues of their day, seeing a future where machines would have AI-like capabilities.

The 19th-century English mathematician Ada Lovelace warned against people believing that advanced machines could think like humans. This is very relevant to the present, where AI tools might appear to give humanlike responses but are just building sentences based on mathematical probabilities. She also talked about a human tendency to overrate the potential of new technology, only to later overcorrect by underestimating the reality.

But what happens if and when machines do become sentient? Another British mathematician, Alan Turing, gave lots of thought to this idea. Sentient machines would not necessarily be more intelligent than us. And according to Turing, they would generally be “easily programmed” to do what humans wanted them to.

He did, however, think it plausible that machines could eventually surpass humans in intelligence, though he also said the possibility was remote. The message: Be vigilant, but don’t worry too much.