What is the Technology Singularity?

Futurist, author, inventor and engineering director of Google defined the singularity as:

"... a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed."

He says artificial intelligence by 2045 will outstrip human intelligence, triggering profound and continuous technological change. The implications according to Ray will be "the merger of biological and non-biological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light"

Renowned futurist James Martin describes it as: "a break in human evolution that will be caused by the staggering speed of technological evolution."

Essentially, Rays entire theory is predicated on the 'law of accelerating returns', where the growth in technology is exponential (e.g 2,4,8,16,32) - This brings significant social, economic and political repercussions.

Criticisms

Exponential growth isn't the law of nature, will it taper off?

Because of resource constraints, can it last forever?

Is increasing complexity self-limiting?

His Theory mentions 'Moore's Law', where computer power doubles every 18 months. Can this go on indefinitely?

Critics say a 'generalized logistic curve' is a better indicator of progress. It will show that the initial stage of growth is approximately exponential. But then as saturation begins, the growth slows and at maturity growth stops.

                      Ray Kurzweil details the technology timeline leading up to 2029

                        Dr Michio Kaku video refuting elements of the singularity theory

He says there are vast uncertainties in projecting 'Moore's Law' into the future. This law (computer doubling power every 18-24months) has been in operation for about 100 years.

This can't continue because physics takes over, silicon is unstable at cellular molecular level. Silicon chips melt and electrons leak out because of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

He says robots could potentially become smarter than us at the end of the 21st century.

Jason Silva's infectious enthusiasm on the wonders of technology

Jason Silva, performance philosopher and film maker also believes in 'The Singularity'. He wants us to be in awe at the lightning speed of technological expansion.

Importance

Taken with a pinch a fault, his thesis is fascinating and backed up with ample evidence. He predicts that in 15 - 20 years from now, the biotechnology revolution will allow us to gradually slow and eventually reverse the aging process - a tantalizing prospect.