Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all – no one's around to write horror stories.
Vernor VingeRead
We will soon create intelligences greater than our own ... When this happens, human history will have reached a kind of singularity, an intellectual transition as impenetrable as the knotted space-time at the center of a black hole, and the world will pass far beyond our understanding.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote warns about the impending creation of superintelligent entities that may surpass human comprehension.
Vernor Vinge describes a future scenario where humanity develops intelligences that exceed its own capabilities. He refers to this transformational event as a 'singularity,' suggesting that once this point is reached, the complexities and advancements of these new intelligences will leave human understanding behind, akin to the enigmatic nature of black holes in space-time theory.
Themes
SingularityTechnologyIntelligenceFutureUnderstandingBlack Hole
In practice
Example use cases
During a technology conference, to highlight the rapid advancements in AI.
More from Vernor Vinge
All quotes →Little fish risking everything for a piece of godhood...and not knowing heaven from hell, even when they find it.
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The problem is not simply that the Singularity represents the passing of humankind from center stage, but that it contradicts our most deeply held notions of being.
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Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.
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