The Singularity May Have Already Happened, and We are Just Too Dumb to Notice

José Bonifácio

http://bfnionizers.com/product/in1200-series-esd-ion-bars/?add-to-cart=13942 December 20, 2013


Maxim's in Akasaka, Oct. 17, 2013

Maxim’s in Akasaka, Oct. 17, 2013 (Enlarge)


In response to this recent item on io9.com, I had the following idea.

Imagine people on a spaceship as they fly toward a black hole. They’re speculating about what it will be like after they enter the black hole’s event horizon. That’s what it sounds like when people speculate today about the technological Singularity.

Hey you guys! You’re not going to be there to see it. Whatever happens inside the black hole, your conscious self won’t be part of it.

A singularity is where ordinary rules no longer apply. In particular, a singularity is a case where information cannot pass from one side to the other. This is true for both astronomical black holes and the technological Singularity.

Thus, it’s absurd for us to speculate about the Singularity. If we could figure out the Singularity, then it wouldn’t be a singularity at all!

When the technological Singularity comes, human beings won’t have any role to play. This isn’t to say humanity must die out. People can go on living their regular lives, oblivious to the Singularity going on around them. We might be as clueless as sheep when the shepherd pulls out his iPhone.

Indeed, it’s entirely possible that the Singularity has already happened and we are just too dumb to notice it.


2 Comments

  1. John says:

    Hi, I am from Australia.
    But radical all-inclusive singularity is always already the case and always has been. Please check out
    http://spiralledlight.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/4068

    5. http://www.dabase.org/p7unity.htm