Much of the current conversation around the rise of artificial intelligence can be categorized in one of two ways: uncritical optimism or dystopian fear. The truth tends to land somewhere in the middle—and the truth is much more interesting.

So, alongside Google, The Atlantic’s creative marketing studio Re:think assembled a cast of journalists, technologists, artists, scientists, academics, and more to help pose several big questions about AI: Can it help us understand our physical selves? How can we maximize the possibilities of AI, while mitigating its risks? How might it empower creativity? How should it be regulated? And why can’t it consistently beat us at poker?

The answers are nuanced and considered. They show how this technology will permeate every aspect of society—for the foreseeable future and the one that’s much further afield. AI is the “biggest new thing humanity has discovered in years,” as Nicholas Thompson, The Atlantic’s CEO, writes in the magazine’s introductory note. These stories are meant to help you explore, understand and get even more curious about it, and remind you that as long as we’re willing to confront the complexities, there will always be something new to discover.