 Fantasy: April 08, 2015 Issue [#6918] |
  Fantasy
This week: The Singularity Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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As Irving Good realised in 1965, machines with superhuman intelligence could repeatedly improve their design even further, triggering what Vernor Vinge called a 'singularity.'
-Stephen Hawking
Man is something that shall be overcome.... Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman -- a rope over an abyss... What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.
-Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
“Is not happening yet," contributes Boris. "Singularity implies infinite rate of change achieved momentarily. Future not amenable thereafter to prediction by presingularity beings, right? So has not happened.”
-Charles Stross, Accelerando |
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This is more geared toward science fiction writers than fantasy writers. Just to warn you. Things might get technical, and there are no dragons.
Yet.
Some of you probably know what the conceptual event called "The Singularity" is. For those that don't, or if you need a refresher, well, I'm lazy, so here's the Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity
Now, I said this newsletter was about science fiction, but as far as I'm concerned, the Singularity might as well be fantasy.
Why?
By definition, Because the capabilities of such an intelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological singularity is an occurrence beyond which events may become unpredictable, unfavorable, or even unfathomable.
I argue about this sort of thing with my friends sometimes, and those that are still friends still maintain that this is going to happen: humans will create an AI that is self-replicating and self-improving, and it's going to "wake up" and gain consciousness.
Hell, I know a software tech in Silicon Valley who is actively working to bring on the Singularity. Clearly, he's never read any science fiction. Because if he had, he'd move to Napa and grow grapes instead.
For this individual - we'll call him Adam for symbolic reasons - for Adam, the Singularity is his means to immortality.
The argument goes something like this: soon, we will be able to emulate human consciousness in a computer. We'll also be able to map human consciousness. Ergo, we'll be able to copy our software to a machine and thus live indefinitely.
Now, I'm not going to say that's impossible, because if history has shown us anything, it's that the universe laughs at anyone claiming something is impossible. So I'm going to go with "highly unlikely," on the same order as wormhole travel or Star Trek style teleportation.
Because, first of all, I'm not convinced that human consciousness is anything but an emergent property of our biology. Second, even if such a transfer were possible, 1) I don't know why the machine intelligence would even allow such a thing; 2) in a very real sense, we *are* our bodies, and at the very least, our sense of proprioception would go all haywire; and 3) how would such a thing maintain its power? And finally, let's assume for a moment that it *is* possible. So you transfer your consciousness into a machine. But you want to do this before death, and so you wake up... and you're still a human being, locked in frail flesh, but with the knowledge that there's a copy of your personality in a CPU somewhere. And I don't know about you, but for me, that wouldn't be a comfort at all as I slip into gentle oblivion.
Even ignoring this situation, I'm unaware of any example from history where exponential growth, which is required for Singularity speculation, can continue unabated.
But hey, that's just me. I want to hear others' thoughts on the Singularity and what it might mean. Transcendence... or apocalypse? Comments are welcome, as always. |
Speculation doesn't always require quantum leaps in consciousness. Here's some science fiction for you:
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Last time, in "Aliens" , I talked about aliens, or rather, the unlikelihood thereof. Sadly, I received no feedback on what I was sure to be a controversial issue, but I did get this response to February's newsletter on comic book adaptations:
Elfin Dragon-finally published  : Man I love superheroes and I'm really getting into certain comics, now that I can truly appreciate them at the tender age of 46. The visual effects of artists and the story/plot lines are far more advanced in many comics now, especially Japanese Mangas. I've picked up "Elephant Men", "Sayuki" and others which rely heavily on ones knowledge of bio-terrorism or ancient Japanese culture. But I also love TV's new series on FOX "Gotham" which takes a look at how all the villains and heroes in Gotham came to be.
That's the one comics-based show that I need to catch up on. Saw the first two episodes, but then got distracted.
And that's it for me for April - see you next month! Until then,
DREAM ON!!! |
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