'Machines will take over and destroy us'

From the dystopian writings of Aldous Huxley and HG Wells to the sinister and apocalyptic vision of modern Hollywood blockbusters, the rise of the machines has long terrified mankind. But it now seems that the brave new world of science fiction could become all too real.An Oxford academic is warning that humanity runs the risk of creating super-intelligent computers that eventually will destroy us all, even when specifically instructed not to.