The Time of Tribulations (Score 1)

What are your thoughts on AI-induced extinction of the human species? Some (specifically, Hugo de Garis) feel very strongly that this will be a major issue in the not too distant future, even going so far as to predict a "Gigadeath" war and declare which side they will be on. While I feel it is an issue that needs to be confronted, the zealousness with which some widely known researchers in the field are addressing it seems to me like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And, if I may, what are your thoughts on evolutionary computation and the brain-building work of Hugo de Garis?