Singularity secrets revealed

Mitchell Porter (mitch@smople.thehub.com.au)
Sun, 20 Sep 1998 05:13:30 +1000 (EST)

I'm happy to announce that I have discovered what will actually happen at the Singularity, by the expedient of listing various possibilities and flipping a coin. I can confirm, for example, that an SI really would be fundamentally incomprehensible to human beings, and that it would not uplift them. Whether it would leave them entirely alone, however, remains uncertain.

Other findings:
i) Change does not stop after the Singularity, but continues to *accelerate* forever;
ii) There is a "big win" in the intelligence-increase stakes waiting for the first uploads or human-level AIs; iii) An SI would *not* start growing in all directions at just below lightspeed;
iv) We or something we make can (and/or probably will) achieve superintelligence within decades;
v) Nick Bostrom's "singleton thesis" is correct.

I hope that clarifies everything.