The Machines Will Rise in 2030!

We’ve all lamented the death of online journalism, but one website that continues to publish interesting, in-depth articles is The Verge. This week the site posted a great article on Singularity, which for the uninitiated is that future moment when computers surpass human beings in terms of intelligence. I thought we had reached that point years ago but apparently not. Now, there’s a reason Singularity is such an intriguing concept, and it isn’t just because we want robots to do our dishes and fold our laundry. It’s because anything beyond the point of Singularity is unpredictable. Machines could rise up, destroy human beings, and become the next step in the evolutionary ladder. Or, human beings could combine with machines to achieve everlasting life. Singularity is like eating a Taco Bell chalupa. You’re really rolling the dice. You could experience ecstasy, or you could end up in the fetal position dry-heaving into a trash can. Of course I’m not doing the concept justice with my Taco Bell analogies, so I urge you to read the full article for yourselves. Here’s an excerpt:

By Tom Z

October 26, 2012