Technological singularity was a term coined by vernor vinge, the science fiction author, in 1983. What vernor vinge actually said about the singularity in 1993 its been twenty years. Feb 07, 2011 within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. We will soon create intelligences greater than our own. Is any of this speculative stuff actually occurring in our real lives today. Good 1965 and vernor vinge 1993 expect it to take the form of an. Vernor vinge keynote address 64 kbits mp3 audio recording, 40 minutes long seminars about longterm thinking. Is vernor vinge ever going to finish the zones of thought. Nov 30, 2015 the technological singularity is a future point in time when technology will rapidly improve itself to surpass human intelligence, changing human life as we kn slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Vernor vinge s wikipedia page technology acceleration is like what happens approaching the singularity in the center of a black hole everything is transformed utterly and unpredictably. The coming technological singularity by vernor vinge. Vernor vinge books biography and list of works author of. Apr 18, 2012 vernor vinge introduced the term technological singularity in the january 1983 issue of omni magazine in a way that was specifically tied to the creation of intelligent machines.
That metaphor was invented by science fiction writer vernor vinge in 1980s and has entered standard usage as a way of thinking about the near future. The coming technological singularity san diego state university. In the coming of the singularity, we are seeing the predictions of true technological unemployment finally come true. The essay specifies four ways in which this could happen. The concept and the term singularity were popularized by vernor vinge in his 1993 essay the coming technological singularity, in which he wrote that it would signal the end of the human era, as the new superintelligence would continue to upgrade itself and would advance technologically at an incomprehensible rate. Are we already living in the technological singularity. The original version of this article was presented at the vision21 symposium sponsored by nasa lewis research center and the ohio aerospace institute, march 3031, 1993.
What vernor vinge actually said about the singularity in. Vernor vinge biography vernor steffen vinge pronounced vinjee, rhyming with stingy born february 10, 1944 is a mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author who is best known for his hugo awardwinning novel a fire upon the deep, and for his 1993 essay the technological singularity, in which he argues that exponential growth in technology will reach a point beyond. This is a classic paper written by professor vernor vinge back in 1993 that discusses the technological singularity. Vernor vinge on the technological singularity youtube. Technological singularity by vernor vinge the original version of this article was presented at the vision21 symposium sponsored by nasa lewis research center and the ohio aerospace institute, march 3031, 1993. Today, regardless of whether you are writing about sci fi, futurism, artificial intelligence, technology or the future of humanity, the moment you embrace the longerterm big picture framework of reference is the moment you are writing about the singularity. Vernor vinge i have argued above that we cannot prevent. Reading it, you feel just a step from fuckuyamas end of history. Vernor vinge introduces the concept of the singularity and explains why he believes it will happen before 2030. The acceleration of technological progress has been the central feature of this century. The notion of a coming technological singularity is a key concept in contemporary science fiction, futurism and popular science.
Feb 18, 2012 vernor vinge introduces the concept of the singularity and explains why he believes it will happen before 2030. A detailed, powerful introduction to the singularity theory and related matters. Another symptom of progress toward the singularity. The coming technological singularity vernor vinge feedbooks. Vernor vinge is the multi hugo awardwinning author of a fire upon the deep, a deepness in the sky, and rainbows end. These features might even resemble the three laws of robotics proposed by isaac asimov. A critical discussion of vinge s singularity concept, edited by robin hanson.
I have argued above that we cannot prevent the singularity, that its coming is an inevitable consequence of the humans natural competitiveness and the possibilities inherent in technology. It was hugo award winner vernor vinge who coined the term technological singularity in his science fiction novel marooned in realtime arguably the second most recognized singularitarian, vernor vinge spent most of his life in san diego, california where he taught mathematics and computer science at san diego state university for over thirty years and where he still lives. In the coming of the singularity, we will see the predictions of. A beginners guide to artificial superintelligence and. Another way to prevent the singularity includes building in safety features before machines are able to become selfaware. Vernor vinge but if the technological singularity can. Vernor vinge, the coming technological singularity. I think that civilization coming back would actually be a very big. He is the first widescale popularizer of the technological singularity concept and perhaps the first to present a fictional cyberspace.
Visionaries like vernor vinge and ray kurzweil have predicted that a technological singularity will occur during this century. The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence. The coming technological singularity vinge made the. Vernor vinge began by declaring that he still believes that a singularity event in the next few decades is the most likely outcome meaning that selfaccelerating technologies will speed up to the point of so profound a transformation that the other side of it is unknowable. Vernor vinge proposes an interesting and potentially terrifying prediction in his essay titled the coming technological singularity. Everything pertaining to the technological singularity and related topics, e. We will soon create intelligences greater than our own, he wrote.
His 1993 essay the coming technological singularity argues that accelerating technological change will bring about the end of the human era as we know it, and that the world will become so complex and foreign to human observers, it will be impossible to predict what will happen next. Vernor vinge summary and mp3 audio recording of a 2007 speech, 91 minutes long. The coming technological singularity new century edition. He taught mathematics and computer science at san diego state university. Vernor vinge, the coming technological singularity, vision21 symposium, nasa lewis research center and the ohio aerospace institute, 30 to. It is the central theme in blockbuster movies such as the matrix 1999 and the terminator 1984 and a number of science fiction novels, such as william gibsons neuromancer 1984 and william thomas quicks trilogy dreams of flesh and sand 1988. Vernor vinge is optimistic about the collapse of civilization. The law of accelerating returns, by raymond kurzweil. And, in a sense, vernor virge with his libertarian technological singularity theory as outdated as the initial heinlenesque text from the first book hoped to popularise just that. The coming technological singularity by vernor vinge free ebook. In the coming of the singularity, we will see the predictions of true technological unemployment finally come true.
I argue in this paper that we are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on earth. The book builds on the ideas introduced in kurzweils previous books, the age of intelligent machines 1990 and the age of spiritual machines 1999. Vinge vernor 1993 the coming technological singularity how to survive in the from csm bsit at mindanao state university. A beginners guide to artificial superintelligence and the. Is vernor vinge ever going to finish the zones of thought series. That might not prevent the singularity from coming but it might take longer than vinge s prediction. Please read the legal notice included in this ebook andor check the status in your country. Known for his rigorous hardscience approach to his science fiction, he became an iconic figure among cybernetic scientists with the publication in 1981 of his novella true names, which is considered a seminal, visionary work of internet fiction. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. How to survive in the posthuman era vernor vinge department of mathematical sciences san diego state university. This time, however, kurzweil embraces the term the singularity, which was popularized by vernor vinge in his 1993 essay the coming technological singularity more than a decade earlier.
Full text of vernor vinge the coming technological. Many of the technologies we explore on singularity hub were first imagined and explored in sf star trek tricorders, the www, robot cars, etc, driving technologists to make them real, which in turn inspires a new round of sf. Professor vinge defines the singularity as a point where our models must be discarded and a new reality rules as a result of exponential growth of technology. May 14, 2012 when vernor vinge coined the term technological singularity few foresaw it becoming the conceptual watershed that it is now. The coming technological singularity vinge made the famous. Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Vinge vernor 1993 the coming technological singularity how. Vinge s view of the singularity 1998, by natasha vita more. Feb 28, 2014 as author and mathematician vernor vinge put it in his 1993 essay the coming technological singularity, within 30 years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. February 2019 abstract artificial intelligence is growing more valuable and powerful every year and will soon dominate the internet. When vernor vinge coined the technological singularity. He asserts that mankind will develop a superhuman intelligence before 2030. What vernor vinge actually said about the singularity in 1993.