Mention the words artificial intelligence or machine learning and what uncontrollably springs to mind is the fictional endoskeletal, red-eyed Terminator of the same film franchise, followed closely by its fictional creator, SkyNet, the neural communication network that became self-aware. Not your typical response to new technologies, both of which are immeasurably capable and will, beyond debate, forever change the world we believe we live in. This question is centre stage in artificial intelligence research, as the guardians of our race contemplate both the risks and opportunities of creating consciousness at the high end of artificial intelligence projects that strive to create machines in our own image. Herein lies the debate about whether we are trying to create a carbon copy of ourselves - for carbon, read digital - to emulate both physical and mental attributes, or whether we are simply experimenting in all areas, to prove our intellectual prowess in addition to our physical alpha domination of the planet. But to whom are we trying to prove that?