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January 11th, 2011, 14:50 GMT · By

AI Will Be the Turning Point of Human Singularity

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When the Singularity happens, we won't know what hit us
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In the not too distant future, experts believe, humankind might experience what is known as Singularity. This concept refers to the time when human creations produced via advanced technologies will exceed us in every regard, both intellectually and creatively.

What will happen beyond that time is as unimaginable to us as ballet is to an squid, researchers put it plastically. There is really no way of knowing how the world will evolve when we are no longer in control of it.

Some scientists do not exclude the possibility of us becoming those creatures, also through the aid of advanced technologies. Regardless of how Singularity is achieved, its effect will be largely the same.

As an apocalyptic idea, this concept was proposed by digital computation pioneer John von Neumann, and expanded upon by science-fiction writer Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil.

Though interpretation of what will happen vary slightly, all of those who considered the possibility say that, once the critical moment is reached, society and culture as we know it will come to an end.

Some of the possibilities include the end of all human beings – such as for example in a robot uprising – or maybe the start of an Utopian age, in which everything is running smoothly, and everyone is happy. Many experts agree that the time would represent the end of all religions.

Once people achieve enlightenment, or are eradicate, there would literally be no need for obsolete religious beliefs to exist within, and guide society. People will realize that the values religion pretends to teach exist in fact outside of any faith, in common non-believers.

This realization will make many decide that they no longer need religious books that claim to know the truth, as all good deeds and actions will come from within, not external conditioning.

Another possibility is that the Singularity will render us obsolete, especially from an evolutionary standpoint. When the event happens, we would have created beings that couldn't have possibly appeared naturally.

But the Singularity also raises an interesting philosophical argument, in that it cannot be tested. If it happens, the living will never be able to figure out that it did before it's too late for them, Daily Galaxy reports.

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Comment #1 by: Eric on 11 Jan 2011, 20:42 UTC reply to this comment

A world without religion sounds pretty nice to me! However, I do think that apocalyptic scenarios where robots rebel are likely. It is not difficult to create very clear and definitive operating procedures for robots, one of which would be to not hurt people. Creating AI robots is not the same as creating a human; there's no real reason to assume that we'd give robots the same emotions or violent tendencies we have.

If AI ever does become a possibility I think it will be as a means to make human life easier, not a way to obsolete humanity. Religion or no, I feel that society overall would reject that idea very quickly. Further, AI would require an entirely different sort of computer than what we have now, so there's no reason to assume we'd even have the resources to create vast numbers of these robots.

Overall, it is all speculation, but I think that humanity will end because of something we do or some disaster, not because we willingly allow robots to take over. Religion or not, people would be too afraid of that.

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