The Thoughts of We

We are approaching the technological singularity, and that means that superhuman intelligences will soon be available. Despite government fears, we are not too far away from this point. Rather than limiting or forbidding the development of automation, we should embrace it. Eric Drexler has provided some spectacular insights on how to advance technology. He is confident that superhuman intelligences will soon be within reach, and he suggests that we can safely contain these technologies.

Moore’s Law is at the basis of this idea. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore discovered the law that the number of transistors doubled every two years. This law has helped create the illusion of exponential change. Although technology progresses slowly at first, it accelerates with every new generation. However, despite its success, Moore’s Law may be reaching a point where it is no longer possible to double the amount of transistors, and that human labour will become obsolete.

After the Singularity, humans will no longer need to use the same bodies. Artificial intelligence systems will be smarter than our own brains and will be capable of solving NP-hard problems better than us. In addition, these AIs will have the capacity to interview us and even question us. Despite our current limitations, post-human civilizations will be capable of creating their own artificial intelligences.