Singularities
Question: how do we keep up with accelerated global developments?
A singularity is the change from one system to another with new rules. In theoretical physics, particularly in the general theory of relativity, the term singularity is also used to describe points in the space-time continuum at which the density and curvature of space become infinite, such as at the centre of a black hole.
For me, the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 Nov 1989), shortly before my 20th birthday, was a singularity. Suddenly people in my small, west-german hometown were seeing Trabis, I was able to move to East Berlin and the world was no longer divided into good and evil. Actually I got a Trabi myself later, when I was living in Berlin.
In the context of AI, the term "singularity" refers to a hypothetical future point at which technological advances become so rapid and so profound that they fundamentally change human life. This point is often referred to as the "technological singularity". Ray Kurzweil, a well-known futurist and inventor, predicted back in 2005 that we will reach an AI singularity around the year 2045. He claims that in that time we will develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) capable of surpassing all human intellectual abilities.1
Singularities are scary, unpredictable and bring change and uncertainty into our lives. We are not well equipped to understand singularities, let alone deal with them. One of the reasons for this is that singularities usually result from exponential developments, which are generally more difficult for people to digest than linear processes, for example.
The fall of the Berlin Wall brought with it far-reaching changes that still concern us today, both on a small and large scale. The acceleration of developments in areas with a global impact (AI, climate, coronavirus) scares me and makes me think. If someone talks too fast on YouTube, I can reduce the speed. Unfortunately, this is not possible with developments, e.g. in the field of AI. Not even through regulation. How can we preserve proven beneficial systems such as the broad discourse within a democracy and at the same time manage global changes quickly and effectively so that they benefit humanity instead of harming it?
Kurzweil, Ray. "The Singularity is Near." Penguin Books, 2005.