Like most members of my nearly geriatric generation, I’ve watched on TV and in movies the evolution of artificial intelligence. The robot that warned Will Robinson about impending danger on “Lost in Space.” The HAL 9000 computer that refused to open the pod bay doors in “2001: A Space Odyssey.”  And, of course, the T-800 that wreaked so much havoc in “The Terminator.”

That was science fiction, though. Thoroughly entertaining. Even thought-provoking. But scarcely credible. I’ve since learned if you wait long enough, truth becomes stranger than science fiction. And sometimes more troubling.

I’m writing, of course, about the latest, real life iterations of artificial intelligence and their implications for, well, real life. More particularly, I’m writing about the use of artificial intelligence in journalism. Count me among the nervous newspaper editors wondering when an almost indestructible job-killing machine will come along to terminate us. I’m certain I’m not the only one who’s worried. Or that journalism is the only occupation at risk.

Like so many advances going all the way back to fire, technology offers the promise of both prosperity and destruction, of life-sustaining warmth as well as deadly conflagration. It all depends on how technology is used.

In the case of artificial intelligence and journalism, the Associated Press and other news organizations already use AI to report corporate earnings and sports scores — functions deemed important, but also formulaic enough to complete without humans. That’s one way to use the tool. To take on tedious tasks and devote precious time and resources to more useful purposes.

But AI also has been used to create other types of content. And here’s the concern. There’s an incentive for companies that make money to create content to use AI to cut costs and, therefore, make more money. One technology news site published stories written with the help of AI that contained errors and were subsequently discovered to have plagiarized other content. While AI might mimic human-created content, it also can produce what’s been described as pink slime journalism. Yuck. That’s another way to use the tool.

I’m no Luddite. I have no desire to return to good old days that were anything but. Banging out stories on typewriters, editing copy with a pencil and going through microfilm to conduct research. Computers, smart phones, email and the internet have made my work far more efficient and my job far easier.

Still, journalism remains a human endeavor. A thoughtful process is required to not only report news stories, but also convey an understanding of what those stories are about. What’s important. Why it’s important. That’s not to mention the thought that should go into determining which stories to report in the first place.

Artificial intelligence has evolved in many TV shows and movies to depict dystopian futures in which human existence is threatened. That’s still science fiction. But also a real-life prospect that’s raised growing concerns.

I’m concerned myself. There’s danger. And not just for Will Robinson.

Will technology warn us of our peril? Or be the cause of it?

Phil Castle is editor of the Business Times. Reach him at phil@thebusinesstimes.com or 424-5133.