Just like splitting atoms?!
Well nuclear weapons are an oddity. They're so dam dangerous no two countries with them have ever gone to war. They're causing peace around the world. I'd be happier without them though.
Isn't the whole point with Skynet that it was intended for something good (protecting humans) and then turned bad because of it's thinking capability?

"Skynet","I, Robot" etc. are science fiction.
In reality we now have to develop better technology, or a poor understanding of technology ( ie unsustainable practices) will kill us.
Here's an exert from my masters on ethics:
Ethical Concerns
Justification: Overcoming the fear of writing programs that can modify themselves and others.
In recent times, the propaganda stylized bombardment of the belief that one day smart AI systems will one day destroy mankind, has halted all research into programs that modify themselves. There is a misdirected belief that such a program would indeed become smarter than humans, and eventually conquer and kill us all. I believe that instead, a computer program capable of thinking in a way that takes the best of human thinking, and the best of analytical thinking, will pave the way to a utopia for mankind, and indeed may be man-kinds only chance of survival.
Without technology, we will become extinct. At some point, earth will experience a cataclysmic event, which will wipe us out. Whether this be an asteroid, climate change, virus or (nuclear) war, without technology to save us and predict and manage these events, we face a very real prospect of extinction.
1.Humans have a limited intelligence. There will come a point when a technology is so complex, no human will have the mental discipline to learn and understand it, and later utilize it. However, we may be able to build machines and programs that can grow more and more intelligent.
2.Mankind will destroy itself. As humans become more technologically advanced, some will use the technology destructively, due to lack of understanding of the outcomes, or for greed, or maliciousness. The technology in this paper should be guarded against these threats.
3.Mankind will evolve. For the first time that we are aware of in history, mankind is able to build intelligence. Perhaps it is mankind’s destiny to evolve into machines, or for machines to genetically alter humans into far more efficient machines. The rules for natural selection and evolution take no prisoners, we will evolve into something better, or face extinction. (Darwin, 1859)
4.There is no difference where intelligence is derived from. Intelligence can be derived from a machine as well as from biological creatures.
5.There is nothing more dangerous than a little bit of intelligence. For example, oil is not very dangerous, but dig up enough of it and turn it into carbon dioxide, it becomes an extremely dangerous hazard for the environment. Humans are smart enough to use oil, but not smart enough to figure how to stop using it.
For the above reasons, I believe it is dangerous not to develop self-developing programs. Self developing programming are likely to become our only chance of survival.