Rob and Christen try to imagine a technological singularity, something they have zero experience with, and that might be a good thing! By definition, what lies beyond the singularity is unknowable. We aren’t even sure how it comes to pass, but there are some smart people out there that have thoughts on how it may happen. How do you think it might go down?
Verner Vinge, in his 1993 essay, imagines 4 scenarios in which the singularity comes to pass.
Ray Kurzweil has also spent a good deal of time thinking on what the singularity might be like. He’s written some books on it such as the Age of Spiritual Machine and The Singularity is Near.
Other visions in which humanity can upload consciousness to digital spaces include Upload, the series, is a positive take on a world where humans are able to upload themselves into virtual worlds. In contrast, the movie Archive is a sci-fi thriller that imagines a much darker world where people are “stored” after death and can communicate with their loved ones. How many other shows and movies can you list that imagine humanity after a singularity? Is it dark like The Matrix? Do you think they imagine far enough?
In another glimpse, Neil Stephenson imagines a new origin story/Genesis in his book Fall: or Dodge in Hell.
Things That Blew Our Minds
Christen can’t believe that as of the 8 April 2021 update, Google has removed satire as recommended content from its Discover app. How does an algorithm recognize satire if humans cannot and how many real news stories will be culled out of the feed as a result?
Rob thinks that a year of quarantine has been an aggravating factor in conspiracy theories over the past year.