AiSingularity

One version of "the singularity".

The meaning of the expression computers get to be more intelligent than us is very difficult to pin down. However, it is clear that computer hardware is getting faster and computer software is getting smarter in all sorts of interesting ways. There are, for example, a large number of ExpertSytems? out there doing useful work in commercial, industrial, medical, scientific and military areas. There is some very interesting research being done in robotics. The strongest chess player in the world is - probably - a computer.

Computers already play a vitally important role in designing new computers !!

But computer software is not so good at designing new computer software … yet ?!

What happens when/if a computer (hardware and software system) is able to improve upon its own hardware and software, which in turn can improve upon its own … and so on ?? There are many people who believe that the question does not make sense for a range of pragmatic or philosophical reasons, but there are some pretty clever people out there who not only believe that it does make sense, but who are actively engaged in making it happen. These are the ones to watch: Eliezer Yudkowsky, Ray Kurzweil, Ben Goertzel, Peter Voss and Hugo de Garis.

If you want to know more check out these websites:

http://www.singinst.org/ The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence

http://www.glendhu.com/ai/ Artificial intelligence and artificial brain building research

http://sysopmind.com/beyond.html Links to Yudkowsky’s articles on the AI Singularity

http://www.kurzweilai.net Ray Kurzweil’s site: news, views, and articles on accelerating intelligence

http://www.incaresearch.com/ Ben Goertzel’s views on consciousness and AI

http://www.optimal.org/peter/peter.htm Peter Voss’ Home Page

http://www.cs.usu.edu/~degaris/ Hugo de Garis’ Artificial Brain Project

As this website has a rather dry, academic focus, let’s try and contain singularity discussion to this page. Further discussion would be more than welcome on a different wiki, however; see GnuFansAiWiki:AiSingularity.

CategoryFuturism?