Artificial intelligence will have a momentous influence on the future of humankind. It has the potential to transform every aspect of our lives – a power that brings with it a raft of moral dilemmas and crucial choices.

At its most caricatural form no discussion of AI gets very far before someone mentions the “trolley problem”. A trolley car (perhaps one of Sydney’s new light rail juggernauts?) is about to run over five people directly in its path. By pulling a lever you can divert the train on to another track where it will run over a single person. What do you do?