July 14, 2009
The singularity in technology is a theoretical future point during the period of change after a superintelligence has been created. The theory is based on that when artificial intelligence becomes just slightly more powerful that that of a human, creations from the machines will grow exponentially, at rates that are unprecedented. Vernor Vinge called this the singularity in 1993. A super-brain computer will create unbelievable and unforeseen technology, that can be dangerous and/or good. What is predicted to happen, is that the artificial intelligence will feed itself and learn new ways to make itself smarter. When it is smarter, it is more capable of making itself even smarter. Ray Kurzweil wrote a book, The Singularity is Near. He predicts the future possibilities of having a singularity.
To get to the singularity, we must reach a point where supercomputers are smarter than human brains. There are differences between our brains and computers. Neurons operate at a speed of 150 meters per second, while light travels almost two million times faster. There is also a ten million time difference in the computational capacity between neurons and computers. Brains have about a hundred billion neurons, and a hundred trillion synapses. The amount of brute force of a human brain is incredible compared to a computer. But that could change with new technologies that allow for more transistors. The Moore Law states the number of transistors doubles every 18 months.
A question is how to predict the consequences of supercomputers ten times smarter than a human. There are a lot of movies and books that demonstrate agitation of a singularity. The dangers are apparent, and many want regulation of this technology, as to prevent artificial intelligence from becoming too powerful. Michael Crichton is a famous author that writes about dangerous technology. His better books inculde Sphere and Prey. Other media that show dangerous artificial intelligence is iRobot. There is controversy in this issue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity
http://singularity.com/
http://www.singinst.org/overview/whatisthesingularity
http://mindstalk.net/vinge/vinge-sing.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001501/the_saga/compare.htm