The Singularity Summit is the premier annual event for those who are interested in the coming technological singularity. When you click below you will be linked to both a high level summary and a detailed description with pictures Join discussion...

A fascinating conversation between E.Yudkowsky and Jaron Lanier Join discussion...

Working toward a positive Singularity through public education and direct action in the development of Singularity technologies. Join discussion...

At last week’s Singularity Summit, Future of Gadgets Editor John Heylin had the opportunity to ask a swarmed Ray Kurzweil, the face of exponential change and the Singularity, one question. As I scrambled to pull out my flip cam to capture the moment, he cut straight to the heart: Do you feel the Singularity has become its own religious movement inside the science community? Join discussion...

The SL4 mailing list is a refuge for discussion of advanced topics in transhumanism and the Singularity, including but not limited to topics such as Friendly AI, strategies for handling the emergence of ultra-powerful technologies, handling existential risks (planetary risks), strategies to accelerate the Singularity or protect its integrity, avoiding the military use of nanotechnology and grey goo accidents, methods of human intelligence enhancement, self-improving Artificial Intelligence, contemporary AI projects that are explicitly trying for genuine Artificial Intelligence or even a Singularity, rapid Singularities versus slow Singularities, Singularitarian activism, and more. The SL4 list is moderated to maintain list quality (moderation takes place on a poster-by-poster basis, rather than post-by-post). As SL4 is intended to cover new territory in advanced topics, new posters may wish to browse the archives before making their first posts. We explicitly aim to avoid endlessly rehashing the basics. We realize the importance of having forums where newcomers can ask basic questions, but SL4 is not such a forum; some transhumanist lists that are more newcomer-friendly include wta-talk and Extropians. However, all list readers are welcome (you don't have to be familiar with the topics to subscribe - just to post). Join discussion...

I had a previous article examining the next step or two in technological acceleration. Looking at the long term history of economic and technological progress, the next step should be consistent 16-25% annual growth. Each "step up in consistently higher technological growth rate" is according to Robin Hanson a series of about seven doublings at a higher rate of growth. Across the full series then an economy would increase by 128 times from the beginning to the end of one average series of doublings. A comment from Walheed at onsingularity: So far, technologies shrink certain markets, but open even bigger ones. And it seems that this trend is going to continue for the foreseeable future. However, long term, there is a possibility that we might see technological progress continue marching ahead but economical growth (measured in dollars exchanged per year) might not follow. Join discussion...

Will advanced virtual reality, similar to what was seen in the Matrix, be possible? Accelerating progress in key areas of technology - Artificial Intelligence, Computer Hardware, Robotics, Genetics and Nanotechnology - will lead to a Singularity. The term comes from physics, where the ability to predict what happens at the center of a black hole breaks down. Progress in these areas will create a computer intelligence that is more intelligent than humans within 10 to 20 years, and the development of virtual environments where human minds can be uploaded or interact through brain-computer interfaces. A computer entity that is more intelligent than humans leads to the development of an even greater computer intelligence in a feedback cycle - an intelligence explosion - and the creation of superintelligence, beyond which accurate predictions break down: the Singularity. Join discussion...

13 comments on Vinge’s Singularity Join discussion...

The first Singularity Summit was held at Stanford in 2006 to further understanding and discussion about the Singularity concept and the future of human technological progress. It was founded as a venue for leading thinkers to explore the subject, whether scientist, enthusiast, or skeptic. Since 2006, the scope of this dialog has expanded dramatically. In 2008, the Singularity has now entered mainstream consideration. IEEE Spectrum, a sober and mainstream technology publication, issued a special report on the Singularity; and Intel CTO Justin Rattner remarked that "We're making steady progress toward the singularity" during his keynote to 2,000 people at Intel Developer Forum. What was once a relatively unknown concept is now being discussed in corporate board rooms. Join discussion...

I’ve noticed that Singularity discussions seem to be splitting up into three major schools of thought: Accelerating Change, the Event Horizon, and the Intelligence Explosion. Join discussion...