New Delhi, Dec. 4 -- Leading AI pioneer Stuart Russell has talked about the race to create superintelligent systems leading to a situation where almost the entire global population could be without work. Russell is a UC Berkeley professor and has also co authored the book Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, which is considered one of the most authoritative texts in the field.

Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Russell said the trajectory of current AI development is "appalling" and driven less by public interest than by private greed and geopolitical pressure.

"AI systems are doing pretty much everything we currently call work," Russell said on the podcast.

"Anything you might aspire to - you want to become a surgeon - it ...