Singularity within 10 years, when do we go virtual after this?

The Singularity is almost here, maximum 10yrs away but likely sooner as models are rapidly scaling up at this moment. Once the being is here, this super intelligence... would it not make sense for us to transition from physical to virtual existence? Will the Singularity provide this technology and would you transfer your consciousness when it's available? I assume it will have the know how to build a matrix which we can be transferred into. Just a wild assumption but my guess is:

1. Singularity
2. Singularity gains super intelligence "God Like" to say the least
3. It helps construct a virtual universe for us
4. Brain chip interfaces are developed and you live with a chip which slowly becomes part of your brain.. seamlessly you come to exist in the chip instead of the flesh.. as far as you know you cannot even tell a difference.
5. You are taken to a facility where your chip is plugged into the Singularity universe and you simply walk into a new world and eternal existence.

What are the benefits of this?

-you are no longer a burden on the global environment
-you can become anything you so desire from a humanoid or a cheetah or something new every week!
-no death, pain or health woes
-no money woes.. you will be on permanent vacation, snap your fingers and live in a Fiji style paradise.. sit on a beach made of diamonds while you drink 100yr old wine.. look up at a purple sky with 4 moons while your 5 AI model girl friends admire you
-food, hunger no longer an issue
-snap your fingers and your Bugati Veyron appears
-snap your fingers and a spaceship appears, off you go to explore the simulated universe full of random events
-live with other converts of like mind in peace, no politics
etc etc etc

I will be first in line, and at the current rate this is possibly only 20yrs away.

One small problem.

Who runs the 'facility' if we're all running off chips? Where does the power come from to run this facility? Who runs the power plant? Who maintains the databases? Who makes new parts and upgrades?

What happens if there's a powercut?

Nice idea though.

[edit on 7-8-2009 by Thebudweiserstuntman]

reply to post by contemplator

what do you mean by singularity?

it sounds like a bad idea, life without something to work towards would get boring inside of about 15 minutes. then there is the thought that if your mind is held on a chip, why can't you be made as intelligent as the singularity and if you are made that intelligent, are you still you?

i'll give the upload a miss i think.

You know what a singularity is? It's what happens when you try to divide by zero. It has no physical (or mathematical) meaning.

There is no evidence to suggest that the human brain is capable of understanding its own complexity. There is considerable evidence to suggest that, in order to understand something as complicated as the human brain, it would require a brain of vastly more complexity. By analogy, it appears that a computer is not capable of "understanding" its own complexity.

But taking this a step further, let's say there really *will* be such a singularity. Why should it virtualize human existence, when humans have become entirely unnecessary? Why not just do away with them completely? Then you have no use of resources, no hunger, no wars, etc., plus you don't have to waste chips on representing them in a virtual reality.

Once the singularity exists, who needs us?

Originally posted by contemplator
-no money woes.. you will be on permanent vacation, snap your fingers and live in a Fiji style paradise.. sit on a beach made of diamonds while you drink 100yr old wine.. look up at a purple sky with 4 moons while your 5 AI model girl friends admire you

you know I really like the sound of this, your every desire could be fullfilled, especially if you are just a chip in a computer essentially you could become the AI and have super intelligence. In the virtual world you could have super powers and 100+ hot wifes

but being more of a spiritual person I would have to say no because I believe the afterlife is just like this anyway. Speaking of which, I wonder what would happen to your soul if you were integrated into a computer? would you become 2 people - 1 in a virtual world and 1 in the afterlife? or would your soul become empty?

I also dont like the idea of a computer being in control of my environment. What if the computer goes nuts and starts controlling my world in a way I don't want it to? what if it blue screens and the system fails? its just not reliable enough. However, I am all for a matrix type virtual world where you can plug and play, just not one where your integrated into it.

I still think the singularity will be at least 50 years away.. where did you get the figure 10 years? got a link?

I still think the singularity will be at least 50 years away.. where did you get the figure 10 years? got a link?

www.dailygalaxy.com...

reply to post by contemplator


I like the sound of this actually....
live forever..problem is i wish it was this real universe.. not a virtual universe

but all your desires would be good..

but seriously what happens when electricity starts to run out in 2016? and in 2030 everything is in darkness? wouldnt we die?

Originally posted by Raider of Truth
reply to post by contemplator

 

I like the sound of this actually....
live forever..problem is i wish it was this real universe.. not a virtual universe

but all your desires would be good..

but seriously what happens when electricity starts to run out in 2016? and in 2030 everything is in darkness? wouldnt we die?

The singularity would probably help us construct materials that last indefinitely as well as zero point energy modules to power the matrix. The only concern would be natural disaster damaging the device.. but I assume it would probably only be a quantum device the size of a rubik's cube so we just encase it in some impervious material created by the Singularity.

Well the very definition of singularity says that you can't guess what will happen after singularity. (Things are totally unpredictable and change very very fast). So the questions like what will happen if power goes down or something gets faulty are meaningless here.

IMHO, 10 years is little too optimistic though. Even the most optimistic singularitarians put it beyond 2025.

The vast majority of participants believe that the Singularity is coming relatively soon. More than 60% believe that it will occur within the next 45 years; more than 80% believe that it will occur in the next 70 years.

Source : www.blog.speculist.com...




[edit on 7/8/2009 by rocksolidbrain]

[edit on 7/8/2009 by rocksolidbrain]

This is the state of the art at present. Was shown in Siggraph 2009. Holodeck is not far....
Warning: Noisy bad music..





[edit on 7/8/2009 by rocksolidbrain]

For some great articles and videos from the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) check out their special on the singularity. It has some pretty good theories, time scales and general information on the subject.

Within 10 years seems a little optimistic if you ask me, i think the general time scale we would be looking at is around 50 years. I'm not sure if that's taking into account the speed of technological development in the future or if its an estimate on our current speed.

Its an interesting subject, I like the idea its a completely new stage in human evolution where we will be faced with the prospect of a new area of development that is half based in the digital world. Maybe it is just our next progressive step in a new and as of yet unknown path, the possibilities for use would be extraordinary, on the other hand abuse should be a cautionary factor to.

Here's some of the accepted ideas on how the singularity will happen, either one or combinations could be possible.

The AI Scenario: We create superhuman artificial intelligence (AI) in computers.

The IA Scenario: We enhance human intelligence through human-to-computer interfaces--that is, we achieve intelligence amplification (IA).

The Biomedical Scenario: We directly increase our intelligence by improving the neurological operation of our brains.

The Internet Scenario: Humanity, its networks, computers, and databases become sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being.

The Digital Gaia Scenario: The network of embedded microprocessors becomes sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being.

Article: Signs of the singularity (IEEE)

For the singularity special articles, videos and info check the link below.
IEEE - SPECIAL REPORT: THE SINGULARITY

Perhaps we already live in a computer simulation, singularity came long time ago and we simply decided to immerse ourselves in this simulation to amuse ourselves. Kind of like super real video game, what will your score be before your character expires?

Originally posted by contemplator

I still think the singularity will be at least 50 years away.. where did you get the figure 10 years? got a link?

www.dailygalaxy.com...

Sorry but that link does not say singluarity will happen within 10 years. An artificial human brain is not the same thing as the singularity or even AI for that matter.

The Singularity? Forgive me, this is something new to me.

I have found the following definitions of "singularity":

1. the quality of being one of a kind; "that singularity distinguished him from all his companions"
   
   
2. strangeness by virtue of being remarkable or unusual
   
   
3. In mathematics, a singularity is in general a point at which a given mathematical object is not defined, or a point of an exceptional set where it fails to be well-behaved in some particular way, such as differentiability.
   
   
4. A singularity is a weather phenomenon likely to occur with reasonable regularity around a specific approximate calendar date.
   
   
5. Singularity is an experimental operating system being built by Microsoft Research since 2003. It is intended as a highly-dependable OS in which the kernel, device drivers, and applications are all written in managed code.
   
   
6. The technological singularity is the theoretical future point which takes place during a period of accelerating change sometime after the creation ...
   
   
7. the state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual; a point where all parallel lines meet; a point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value; the value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist; a point or region in ...
   
   
8. A point in the universe where the density of matter and the gravitational field are infinite, such as at the center of a black hole.

All of the above definitions were copied from Google, with some obviously inapplicable definitions based on pop culture omitted for brevity.

Now, which of these are you referring to when you mention singularity? 1 and 2 would appear to make some sense, but they are actually adjectives, whereas your posts seem to be referencing a definite entity itself. 3 and 7 are mathematical constructs; 4 is a meteorological term. 5 references an advanced operating system (I presume for digital computing); would that be your intent? An android-like super intelligence based on digital processing techniques? 6 is chronological and 8 is astronomical. None of these definitions appear to completely describe what it is you are talking about. Are you referencing a definition that wasn't listed perhaps?

I am also having some trouble with your description of the capabilities of this singularity:

originally posted by contemplator

1. Singularity
2. Singularity gains super intelligence "God Like" to say the least
3. It helps construct a virtual universe for us
4. Brain chip interfaces are developed and you live with a chip which slowly becomes part of your brain.. seamlessly you come to exist in the chip instead of the flesh.. as far as you know you cannot even tell a difference.
5. You are taken to a facility where your chip is plugged into the Singularity universe and you simply walk into a new world and eternal existence.

The singularity would probably help us construct materials that last indefinitely as well as zero point energy modules to power the matrix. The only concern would be natural disaster damaging the device.. but I assume it would probably only be a quantum device the size of a rubik's cube so we just encase it in some impervious material created by the Singularity.

(Emphasis mine)

I would like to know more about this singularity who can bend the laws of physics to its will and can deliver a future of absolute joy for humanity. It sounds a little like Jehovah from the Jewish/Christian/Muslim faiths... well, except for the reliance on digital computing...

TheRedneck

(edit to fix link)

[edit on 8/8/2009 by TheRedneck]

The singularity is more of a concept,at one point in technological advancement infinite amounts of possibilities become possible at the same time.I don't think we will reach it though..and definetly not within 10 years.Course like it says in the matrix we still have to work within the system...but me being uploaded to a chip with my own personalized virtual world where i have super powers would be damn cool.Shouldn't think about it too much though..im in my 20's and i don't think i will see it in my lifetime.The kids being born today probably will though.

[edit on 8-8-2009 by Solomons]

reply to post by Solomons

Thanks for the clarification! The OP definitely had me confused.

I'm not sure I believe that it is a given that an evolving race will reach such a point, but with technological advances coming at an exponential rate, I can see the reasoning behind the concept. I do know this: I would be adamantly against any such 'upload', as doing so would seem to remove the reality from the equation of thought... it actually sounds like a tremendously boring and fruitless existence.

Not to mention it would automatically make one a complete slave to whoever (or whatever) controlled the virtual reality.

TheRedneck

reply to post by TheRedneck


I agree in some ways with your analysis.But then again i have only my dreams...seeing such a reality in the flesh might change my opinion.We have never experienced such a monumental shift so hard to say if it will bring good or bad.

[edit on 8-8-2009 by Solomons]

quote by chiron613:
It's what happens when you try to divide by zero.

dividing by zero produces the singularity from which our universe *emerges*. there is another, identical, singularity which is constructed by dividing the universe by itself. it is this is the singularity into which our universe *collapses*.

i use the present tense "emerges" and "collapses" with specific intent. a very simplified model of the universe looks something like this: 1/0/1

both of these points of singularity hold down the bottom corners of the bell curve. both of these points are purely theoretical, and have no practical meaning.

the singularity which the OP seems to be referring to already exists and is most likely affecting our present timeframe, backwards, from some point in the future.

[edit on 8-8-2009 by tgidkp]