What is the Singularity?
A. The Singularity is defined as the point in time where Superior Artificial Intelligence (SAI) is created. An SAI can, by definition, think thoughts that human intelligence can not. This then, is the point where our model of the future breaks down. We cannot possibly predict what an SAI would come up with at ‘the other end’ of the Singularity. We are not superintelligent ourselves. The Singularity (with capital ‘S’) is a term that was borrowed from the singularity (small ‘s’) at the centre of a black hole, where our (current) model of physics breaks down.
Central to the Orion’s Arm setting is the concept of a technological-cognitive singularity, or rather, a large number of such “singularities”, which we have termed toposophics. This theme was inspired by mathematician/writer Vernor Vinge who put forward the idea of the Singularity. Mr. Vinge suggested that within the near future the rate of self-catalyzing, self-organizing, and autonomous (human-independent) technological change will increase to such a stage that it undergoes a “singularity,” becoming effectively instantaneous from the perspective of current biological humanity. Events after this point must also be “future-incomprehensible” to existing humanity. This is a concept that has been tremendously influential in the transhumanist movement.
