We are on the brink of a technological revolution that will profoundly alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being developed today that would have been considered to belong to the realms of science fiction only a couple of years ago. The pace of change in AI is such that it has blindsided many politicians and policymakers. A very few are only now, at this late stage, becoming aware of the potentially massive disruptive impact of AI on all aspects of life in the 21st century. What is in no doubt is that the direction that AI takes will have a a profound impact on all of our futures.