You and the Singularity.....

So I'm killing time in a restaurant by checking my smartphone when I come across an interesting headline. "Kurzweil predicts the Singularity is near". I had no idea what the Singularity was. I thought maybe it was some religious warning. But no. It is however about a time when human life on this planet will be changed by technology, forever. Maybe for the better. Maybe not.

Is Alexa the Eve for Artificial Intelligence?

It tuns out that the technological Singularity is about a time when technology, and particularly Artificial Intelligence, will advance to the point where technology will surpass human ability. That sounds crazy. That means a computer writing a best-selling book. That means if you need an operation, you would prefer it done by a robotic doctor.

That sounds like just another science fiction movie. In fact, it sounds just like that Will Smith movie, "I Robot." Well, hold on to your pants, Alexa. There's more to this story than you might think.

Technology, and Artificial Intelligence is advancing in record speed. Something you carry in your pocket can answer almost any question you have. And it can answer it verbally! Computers know your habits, and what you're shopping for. There are self driving cars today on the streets of Pittsburg. Amazon and pizza companies are experimenting by delivering your packages by drone. GPS devices, once thought to be miraculous, are now just part of everyday life.

Ray Kurzweil - He doesn't look crazy.

Let me tell you about Ray Kurzweil. He is an author and futurist. Before you think he is just a quack, be advised that he is Google's Chief Engineer. Kurzweil is in the prediction business. Since the 1990's he has made 147 predictions. So far he has an 86% success rate.

So here are some of his future predictions concerning the March of Technology and the coming Singularity:

• 2020 - Computers are embedded everywhere in our environment, furniture, jewelry.
• 2023 - The digital world makes paper virtually obsolete.
• 2024 - AI is now capable of creating complex art and music.
• 2026 - Autonomous vehicles are now common on the roads.
• 2028 - Humans begin to develop deep relationships with AI.
• 2030 - A $1000 computer is now 1000 times more powerful than the human brain.
• 2032 - Computers are now capable of autonomously learning and creating new knowledge.
• 2033 - Manufacturing, transportation, and agricultural sectors are almost entirely automated.
• 2034 - Artificial Intelligences claim to be conscious, and petition for recognition of that.
• 2036 - Nanomachines are implanted into brains of humans.
• 2039 - Mind uploading is successful and human life becomes software based.
• 2045 - THE SINGULARITY
• 2047 - AI surpasses humans as the most capable life forms on the planet.
• 2099 - Organic human beings are a small minority of intelligent life forms on Earth.

Wait a minute!. The Singularity happens around 2045? That's only about 25 years from now. I might be around for this! This isn't like waiting for the Sun to burn out in a couple million years.

So chuckle if you want. But there's some things here that are bound to happen. In 1968 there was a popular science fiction movie called 2001: A Space Odyssey. One of the main characters was a talking computer called the HAL 9000. Actually, HAL is nothing more than an Alexa today. No more science fiction.

Now here's the scary part. After I got home when I learned about this Singularity theory, I said out loud, "Alexa, what is the Singularity?" Now normally, if you ask Alexa some off the wall question, she (feminine gender) will say, "I don't know", or "I'm not sure about that." But not the Singularity. She was all over it. She knew all about it. She could tell you all you wanted to know about it. Hell, -  she almost sounded excited.