There are at least two ways to think about potential threats coming from advanced AI. The conventional view is that AI is just yet another of many tool-based technological advances. Like all technologies, the main threat of AI in this scenario is if a human were to use it for nefarious means, or the AI acts badly and needs to be turned off. The alternate, less discussed view is that eventually AI becomes its own self-replicating sentient digital life form, and then there are concerns of competition directly between AI and humans as species competition (versus mere tool use or abuse). This post explores the two different types of threats and their implications.