I think the first half of the term "Technological Singularity" is pretty clear - we're talking about technology. The singularity part is what is so darn interesting. A singularity is a black hole. A warping of normal Einstein space-time by a point so massive that nothing can escape it, not even light. Anything that gets too close is sucked in and can't escape. The edge of this point-of-no-return is called the event horizon. Modern science has some speculation about what goes on past this point, but it is impossible, by definition, to see what really lies beyond it. Due to the unreal levels of radiation, pressure, and velocity, whatever it is like is agreed to be unlike anything, anywhere else in the known universe. The normal rules of physics do not apply. Mathematical models that define reality break down. Key elements of how we perceive time and space become totally meaningless.
The Technological Singularity is an event of intelligence innovation that we can't see beyond. No amount of forecasting, study, or research can tell us what anything will be like beyond its development. As the pace at which invention and the expansion of human knowledge increases, we draw ever nearer to this event. Life after this event will be different - substantially and fundamentally different. As The Futurist writes, it is "the event when the rate of technological change becomes human-surpassing, just as the advent of human civilization a few millenia ago surpassed the comprehension of non-human creatures." In other words, those humans who live in a post-singularity world will be as incomprehensible to us as we are currently to chipmunks.
Given this brief introduction, I'd like to cover four basic points that you need to focus on, at a minimum, in order to take advantage of being acceleration aware:
1. Watch the increasing pace of innovation and artificial intelligence.
Imagine a plot of human knowledge over time. You will see that our inventions form a classic exponential curve. The rate of increasing knowledge constantly accelerates. The reality is that the pace of innovation and the development of force-multiplying technology is growing all the time. I consider any technology which increases the amount of work we can do or the amount of intellectual power we can bring to bear on a problem to be a human force-multiplier. They are good things and we pay willingly for them. Cars to travel faster, computers to do math for us, cell phones to increase the range of our communications. Good stuff all around - and a key indicator of the approaching event!
2. Keep track of the shrinking window of technology prediction.
Our ability to predict what life will be like in the future is possible in a shorter and shorter period of time. Two hundred years ago, fiction writers could invent stories of what the future would be like out 150 years and they were fairly close on target to what happened. A hundred years ago, a new group of writers could only predict out 75 years out. And now we can only get decent predictions out to about 20 years. After that, we are told, there is just no way to know what kinds of things will be built or how they will affect us with any degree of certainty. The edge-of-our-ability-to-predict is the event horizon of the Technological Singularity. As this window shrinks, you can be sure that we are getting closer to it - and closer to slipping past it into a new universe of human reality! (I'm excited - can you tell?)
3. Pay attention to the estimate of when the singularity event will happen.
Current studies of past trends and the use of other, more complex predictive models, place the Technological Singularity occurring somewhere between 2025 and 2075. Of course, most innovation is not predictable, so even this range is subject to rapid recalculation. I personally believe that it will happen much sooner (and much faster) than is expected. A few key technologies are really all it would take to tip the event into motion - and they could be developed any day now. Any time the pace of innovation speeds up beyond its normal course, or the window of technology prediction shrinks rapidly, will shift the date of the event closer. Keeping aware of both these trends and current models will help you see it coming!
4. Personally prepare for the Technological Singularity.
There are three things we can do to prepare for riding through the event. First, we need to be constantly learning. Unless we keep up with at least part of the new knowledge being developed, we will be left behind. Second, we need to practice thinking. Being able to think through complex problems, analyze issues, and make sound decisions will be essential in the post-singularity future. And lastly, we must be ready and willing to embrace new intellectual-enhancing technologies that will allow us to be active participants in the event and not merely spectators. This last bit is very important... unless you want to be like a chipmunk while the rest of humanity rises up to become even more than we ever dreamed possible.
Faith-based computing
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