Ever reaching yet never arriving philosophical answers to questions of humanity’s future offer yet another theory as to the “transformation of our species” considering the exponential growth of computer intelligence and technology. TIME’s cover story dated 2/2/2011 reads 2045 The Year Man Becomes Immortal by Lev Grossman discusses the theory of “Singularity” and reports that “within 30 years we will have the means to create super human intelligence” and that “shortly after, the human era will be ended” as proposed in “The Coming of Technological Singularity” by Vernor Vinge.
Taken from an astrophysics term for a point in space-time where ordinary physics rules don’t apply, singularity describes the point at which ever faster computing technology and intelligence will possibly converge with, turn on and annihilate humans.
Mr. Grossman’s piece discusses whether humans of 2045 will be “doing arithmetic quickly, composing piano music, driving cars, writing books, making ethical decisions, appreciating fancy paintings and or making witty observations at cocktail parties.”
Humans live to enjoy themselves in whatever pastime suits them and no machine human intelligence has created thus far has ever been able to express a smile, joy or displeasure that even human infants are capable of.
Theorize as experts might about the outcome of human existence in 30, 50 or 150 years from now, as do those from NASA and Google which sponsor and host organizations as the Singularity University, fail to realize the senseless futility of super human intelligence IF that intelligence remains unused to end world poverty, hunger, homelessness, war and disease.
What could be more humanly ethical, no super human intelligence required but a simple plan already in existance, than to freely provide basic clothing, shelter, healthcare and education to all world populations?
If humans “would predict the behavior of super human intelligences with which we might one day share the planet or be more intelligent than we are” start by sharing the basic needs all humans have? Now that would be a True singleness of aim and purpose at a point which human function takes infinite value!
