Technological Singularity: It's The End of the World As We Know It

“Let an ultraintelligent machine be defined as a machine

that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any

man however clever. Since the design of machines is one

of these intellectual activities, an ultraintelligent machine

could design even better machines; there would then

unquestionably be an ‘intelligence explosion,’ and the

intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first

ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need

ever make.” I.J. Good (Grossman 4)

The previous quote by British mathematician I.J. Good is not unlike words of the characters of a science fiction work. Most certainly misinterpreted by the average person as a fanaticized conception of the present-day course human development, Good’s words leave one questioning their real-life validity. Good was in fact seriously stating his theory on the future of the human race, and, since Good’s statement in 1965, the concept of an “intelligence explosion” has developed; it now has data for validation and is known as Technological Singularity.

The theory of Technological Singularity is the scientific theory of human-created technology advancing so rapidly and substantially that the creation of computers that are fast enough and powerful enough to become entities with intelligence that far exceeds that of humans is inevitable (Vinge 5). Along with technology surpassing the intelligence of humans, by logical reasoning, it is clear that technologies will also hold a level of intelligence that will allow them to take over their own evolution and possibly even reach a point of being defined as sentient beings (Grossman 7).

Based on Moore’s Law (the law that states that the number of transis...

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...t whilst advancing toward this era, the profoundness of the growth to come mustn’t be forgotten. Kurzweil states the following:

“…I don’t believe I’m underestimating the challenge. I

think they’re [critics] underestimating the power of exponential

growth.” Raymond Kurzweil (Grossman 8)

Works Cited

Bear, Mark F., Barry W. Connors, and Michael A. Paradiso. Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007. Print.

Grossman, Lev. "The Singularity Is Near." Time 23 Feb. 2011: 42-49. Print.

"Making Stuff: Smaller." Nova. PBS. OETA, Oklahoma City, OK, 26 Jan. 2011. Television.

Vinge, Vernor. "Technological Singularity." Lecture. VISION 21 Symposium. 30-31 Mar. 1993. Rohan.sdsu. NASA Lewis Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. .