I happen to believe this will be a mute point in the end because the Singularity, by it’s very nature, will be a rather unstoppable event and so, by the time we get there, the corporations that can will adapt and those that can’t will simply perish. Which is really just “business as usual” mostly (pun intended).

But you still should go and read his article, as it brings up some good issues to consider.

* “recent” for a given value of the word, we’ve been busy.

First off we read about Jaron Lanier‘s opinion that many singulitarians’ discourses feel uncomfortably close to religious indoctrination. Then he goes on to point out that the singularity is used mainly as a way to excuse people from making decisions and taking responsibility for their own lives and future.

Then we learn about Paul Root Wolpe‘s objection to the concept of the singularity as a single event that suddenly transforms our lives forever. If I understand his arguments, he basically asserts that we’ve often been promised such radically transformational events before and they’ve often failed to materialize as such and, instead, whatever major disruptive events and advancements we’ve experienced have mostly brought us new unknowns and the possibility of further major changes in the future.

The author of the article, Jason Gots, then goes on to opine that

In reality, the future may be much closer in some respects to William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic Neuromancer, in which biotechnology and artificial intelligence solve some of our problems, only to introduce a myriad of new ones.

Now, before I go any further, I must say I do hope I’m not misrepresenting any of the ideas or positions presented in the article and if I am, it is my mistake and I’ll correct it if it is pointed out to me.

I must say I find Jason Gots’ opinion to be rather according to my own view of things. In fact I don’t see any of the arguments posed by the so called “discontents” as arguments against the notion of the singularity itself. Instead they feel to me more like a list of important and rather valid points about our lives in the present and the way we think about progress and science in general.

I do agree that many self-proclaimed singulitarians sound and act more like bogus religious cult leaders than like rational, scientific-minded people. I also agree that no kind of technological advancement should ever excuse us from deciding what we want for ourselves (or what we should want for ourselves) at any given point and especially they should never excuse us from going after what we want or need. Finally, I too don’t think the singularity will happen as a big bang kind of event, changing everything in a split-second. But I do think it will change everything forever. And change will be fast. Too fast for most of us to follow. But then, wasn’t it always like that? Didn’t people also complain, when the printing press was invented, that they were being overloaded with information, now that all those newfangled books were being automatically printed left and right? And they probably were being overloaded. People at that age just couldn’t cope. But then the human brain kept evolving and, most importantly, our methods evolved to be able to deal with the new complexity our world had just gained.

And so it went with many other advances in human civilization. Right now we (again) feel overwhelmed by so much information being thrown at us from all around. Many (maybe most) of us just can’t cope. And when the singularity rolls around, people on our level of intelligence will be left in the dust. But our descendants may learn to cope, they will most likely be equipped with the tools necessary for the job (yes, brain implants, bionic sensors and more) and there’s a real possibility that instead of destroying mankind, the singularity will actually elevate it to a whole new level of existence. Maybe.

In short, I actually do agree with most of what is said and still, I don’t find evidence against the singularity itself or the possibility of it happening. Just some discontentment with humans, mostly as they stand now.

It makes for a rather involved reading, as Mr. Muehlhauser goes to some pains to explain his ideas in great detail. It also has just begun to delve into the Singularity analysis itself, the first few posts having been dedicated to laying the groundwork for the explanations he intends to put forth.

The views expressed in it are rather grim, as far as mankind’s future go, but the points are really well researched and make for a blog well worth reading.

Once again the lobsters, singularitarians, tech-heads, geeks (and the just plain curious) are summoned to discuss, basically, the meaning of 42.

Come meet us after work on Thursday, May 12th, at Hennessy’s for a few beers, chips and light-hearted discussions about our collective future, the way we’ll get there, and how in the post-scarcity future there will be no need for financial bail outs.

In keeping with our ongoing attempts at tackling the issues that are a-coming with the singularity (which is about to unleash any day now, you just wait and see), we are going to convene again this coming Saturday.

Hopefully, this time there will be no genetically evolved virtual car distractions and we will nail the whole trans-human bit down once and for all.

Failing that, there will be beer.

Come meet us at Hennessy’s Saturday evening (at around 19h00) for a good discussion about oh… Life, the Universe and Everything ™.

Once again we’ve been too long without contemplating the inevitable coming of our robotic overlords. Or without having a few beers together.

This cannot be!

So to right this wrong we’ll convene again next week on Thursday, February 24th, from 18h30 onwards, at O’Gilins, near Cais do Sodré.

Come one, come all, this is the return to a well loved spot and to deep conversations about life and the future of humanity. Also, have I mentioned there will be beer?

For too long we’ve been without beer discussing the future. Life, tech and everything awaits all on the next meeting of the oneoverzero crowd.

Come meet us at Mar Adentro (Rua do Alecrim, 35, Lisbon, Portugal, Europe, Earth, you-figure-out-the-rest), from 18h00 on, on July the 2nd and get your fill of the future of humanity. Also, there’s beer and other assorted creativity enhancers.

Meet you all there!

We’re going to have the 10th edition of oneoverzero on Tuesday, March 16th, from 18h onwards, at Mar Adentro (Rua do Alecrim, 35 – Lisbon, Portugal), which has free wi-fi, electrical sockets, and a good selection of beverages and light dishes.  Everyone is welcome! We talk about anything and everything, with a special emphasis on the future, the past, science, technology, and in the end, what “human” is. Oh, and we eat, drink, and are merry in general!

After giving the Singularity a well needed rest during the Summer, we’re going to have the 6th edition of oneoverzero on Thursday, October 22nd, from 18h onwards, at Mar Adentro (Rua do Alecrim, 35 – Lisbon, Portugal), which has free wi-fi, electrical sockets, and a good selection of beverages and light dishes.  Everyone is welcome! The current discussion is the adaptation of the famous Turing test to the modern online social age. We already have a Google Wave going about it, if you’re already on Wave let us know and we’ll pull you into it!