A critical discussion of Vinge's singularity concept
In Max More and Natasha Vita-More (eds.) The transhumanist reader: classical and contemporary essays on the science, technology, and philosophy of the human future, Malden, Massachusetts, 2013, pp. 395–417
Abstract
This chapter presents comments by David Brin, Damien Broderick, Nick Bostrom, Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko, Robin Hanson, Max More, Michael Nielsen, and Anders Sandberg on Vernor Vinge’s Singularity concept. Vinge’s “Singularity” is a worthy contribution to the long tradition of contemplations about human transcendence. Around 2050, or maybe as early as 2020, is when Dr. Vernor Vinge’s technological Singularity is expected to erupt, in the considered opinion of a number of scientists. Two potential technologies stand out from the others in terms of their importance: superintelligence and nanotechnology. Vinge says that probably by 2030 and occurring “faster than any technical revolution seen so far,” perhaps “in a month or two,” “it may seem as if our artifacts as a whole had suddenly wakened.” The Singularity idea exerts a powerful intellectual and imaginative attraction. Precisely because of this powerful attractive force, the Singularity idea deserves a critical examination. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
