Singularity

From doktorsleepless

A singularity represents an "event horizon" in the predictability of human technological development past which present models of the future cease to give reliable or accurate answers, following the creation of strong artificial intelligence or the amplification of human intelligence. Futurists predict that after the Singularity, humans as they exist presently will cease to be the dominating force in scientific and technological progress, replaced with posthumans, strong AI, or both, and therefore all models of change based on past trends in human behavior will be obsolete.

The concept, put forth primarily by mathematician Vernor Vinge and inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, predicts a drastic increase in the rate of scientific and technological progress following the liberation of consciousness from the confines of human biology, allowing it not only to scale past the computational capacity of the human brain but also to interact directly with computer networks. Furthermore, progress inside of the posthuman/AI culture would quickly accelerate to the point that it would be incomprehensible to normal humans. Kurzweil considers this acceleration to be part of an overall exponential trend in human technological development seen originally in Moore's Law and extrapolated into a general trend in Kurzweil's own Law of Accelerating Returns.

While some regard the Singularity as a positive event and work to hasten its arrival, others view the Singularity as dangerous, undesirable, or unlikely to occur. The most practical means for initiating the Singularity are debated, as are how (or whether) the Singularity can be influenced or avoided if dangerous.