Mark Surman is the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, a global community devoted to keeping the internet open and free. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

(CNN) Artificial intelligence (AI) has long occupied an outsized role in our collective imagination, in everything from pulp science fiction novels to James Cameron blockbusters. When AI is the antagonist, it is corporeal and impossible to overlook, like the Terminator. Even in the real world, discussions about rogue technology tend to focus on the overt and dramatic, such as Elon Musk's exhortations on Twitter that the dangers of AI rival the dangers of nuclear weapons.

Perhaps humankind is moving toward an oppressive artificial superintelligence. In the meantime, artificial intelligence is already woven into our everyday lives. It provides us with things we love and need, from productivity advice to movie recommendations. Yet, when we don't carefully consider its impact on our democracies, our justice systems and our well-being, we open ourselves up to real risks.

Mark Surman

The AI of today is invisible to most of us, yet ubiquitous. One example we interact with frequently is recommendation engines on the internet -- the code recommending that next video on YouTube or a post on Facebook. These algorithms pull together vast amounts of our personal data to learn about us and curate our experience online. In this case, AI is simply your personal data mixed with the data of people with similar interests -- and then pointed back at you.

The result can be serendipitous and delightful. It can also be dangerous. Last year, Silicon Valley moguls opened up to New York Magazine about how today's social media is designed to addict users. Using our data to manipulate us to stay on a site may or may not be pernicious in its own right.

But even if you don't worry about it for yourself, there is growing evidence that these systems tend to radicalize and polarize. Last year, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher Zeynep Tufekci dubbed YouTube "the Great Radicalizer": view one anti-vaccination video, and YouTube will suggest a second; watch one factually incorrect political video, and YouTube will recommend a sequel.