Technological singularity

In future studies, a technological singularity (also referred to as just the Singularity) is a predicted future event when technological progress and societal change accelerate due to the advent of superhuman intelligence, changing our environment beyond the ability of pre-Singularity humans to comprehend or reliably predict. This event is named by analogy with the breakdown of modern physics knowledge near the gravitational singularity of a black hole.

Related Topics:
Future studies - Predicted - Technological progress - Societal change - Intelligence - Physics - Gravitational singularity - Black hole

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Such consequences were discussed in the 1960s by I. J. Good, though the first use of the term singularity to describe technological progress was by John von Neumann in the 1950s. The concept of the Singularity was brought to a much wider audience in the 1980s by Vernor Vinge. It is disputed when or if the Singularity will occur, but futurists most commonly estimate the third decade of the 21st century.

Related Topics:
1960s - I. J. Good - John von Neumann - 1950s - 1980s - Vernor Vinge - 21st century

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Others, most notably Raymond Kurzweil, have proposed theories expanding Moore's law into types of computation beyond normal transistors, suggesting an exponential pattern of technological progress persisting throughout human history and even before the beginning of life on Earth. This pattern, he predicts, culminates in extreme technological progress in the 21st century, leading the replacement of biological life by more advanced forms of intelligence.

Related Topics:
Raymond Kurzweil - Moore's law - Human history - Life - Earth - 21st century

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