Research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly, yielding computational systems with impressive capabilities. This has brought world-renowned scientists and engineers to voice their concerns about the risks that AI research can pose to the survival of humanity. But, is AI really such an apocalyptic threat? Actually, we can learn a lot from AI research about how we see ourselves as sentient beings. Marco Schorlemmer will argue that AI is not a threat to our survival 'per se', but that we need to cultivate our capacity of intimate inquiry if we are to survive in the emerging knowledge and innovation societies in which AI will play an important role. Actually, AI research (and research in other technoscientific fields) is very valuable for humanity... if done with a contemplative mind.