The Approaching Singularity

With the approach of the coming singularity, it's time to get a better handle on what it means for us as human beings. There are so many questions, and not all that much time to answer them, as the impending convergence is inevitably approaching in non-linear cognitive time.

If you have not heard of the singularity before, here is a lead in from a couple years back, given by a leading exponent of it's early arrival, Ray Kurzweil.

Ray's World

Some of the related buzzwords or catchy phrases, which are sort of highway markers along the way:

"Wisdom of Crowds", "Memes", "Collaborative Filtering", "Flashmobs", "Lifecasting", "Open Source", "Collective Intelligence", "Omega Point", "World Brain", "Nanotechnology" and of course "The Borg". A deeper analysis of what this singularity will entail brings up deeper questions such as the meaning of time and our very existence.

It's pretty mind boggling to really appreciate that science indicates that time has proceeded for 13 or so Billion years, and we are surfing on the edge of each nanosecond *right now*, only to see it fade into the mass of past moments that have preceded it. Even if you reject this view in favor of a perfect being, you have to admit that as the way is revealed, it's pretty mind numbingly awe inspiring. One way or another we are on the cusp of huge leap. Is it into the void, or perhaps into a world we can not even imagine in our present state, heaven or hell?

I'll take up discussion of my viewpoint for these and other topics in later blogs, and also bring up some lesser known aspects of group collaboration. Once a base of common understanding, or perhaps misunderstanding :), has been attained, it will be time to start discussing ways of controlling this onrushing convergence, and whether it is as bad as Ted Kaczynski projected, or alternatively the saving grace for our civilization?