Singularitarianism is a moral philosophy based upon the belief that a technological singularity — the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence — is possible, and advocating deliberate action to bring it into effect and ensure its safety. While many futurists and transhumanists speculate on the possibility and nature of this type of singularity (often referred to as just the Singularity; capitalized and objectivized to indicate its sheer magnitude as a historical event), Singularitarians believe it is not only possible, but desirable if and only if guided safely. Accordingly, they "dedicate their lives" to acting in ways they believe will contribute to its safe arrival. Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ... When plotted on a logarithmic graph, 15 separate lists of paradigm shifts for key events in human history show an exponential trend. ... Intelligence is a property of mind that encompasses many related mental abilities, such as the capacities to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. ... Futures studies researches the medium-term to long-term future of societies and of the physical world, mechanisms of change, and the driving forces of change. ... Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience. ...

Origins

Originally the term singularitarian was defined in 1991 by Extropian Mark Plus to mean "one who believes the concept of a Singularity", this term has since been redefined to mean "Singularity activist" or "friend of the Singularity"; that is, one who acts so as to bring about a Singularity. [1] Extropianism, also reffered to as extropy, is a transhumanist philosophy characterized by a set of principles regarding extropy, defined by Dr. Max More in The Principles of Extropy. ...

Beliefs

In his essay "Singularitarian Principles" (2000), Eliezer Yudkowsky writes that there are four qualities that define a Singularitarian: It has been suggested that Seed AI be merged into this article or section. ...

• A Singularitarian believes that the Singularity is possible and desirable.
• A Singularitarian actually works to bring about the Singularity.
• A Singularitarian views the Singularity as an entirely secular, non-mystical process — not the culmination of any form of religious prophecy or destiny.
• A Singularitarian believes the Singularity should benefit the entire world, and should not be a means to benefit any specific individual or group.

In July 2000, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Brian Atkins, and Sabine Atkins founded the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence to work towards the creation of self-improving Friendly AI of human-similar intelligence. The Singularity Institute's writings argue for the idea that an AI of human-similar intelligence with the ability to improve upon its own design would rapidly lead to superintelligence. Singularitarians believe that reaching the Singularity swiftly and safely is the best possible way to minimize net existential risk. The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence is a non-profit organization with the goal of developing a theory of Friendly artificial intelligence and implementing that theory as a software system. ... A Friendly artificial intelligence (often abbreviated FAI) is an AI designed around the principles of Friendliness theory, a specific model for creating safe and moral AI advanced by researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky and the Singularity Institute. ... In futurology, a technological singularity is a predicted point in the development of a civilization at which technological progress accelerates beyond the ability of present-day humans to fully comprehend or predict. ... In futurology, an existential risk is a risk that is both global and terminal. ...

Many believe a technological singularity is possible without adopting Singularitarianism as a moral philosophy. Although the exact numbers are hard to quantify, Singularitarianism is presently a small movement. Other prominent Singularitarians include Ray Kurzweil and Nick Bostrom. Dr. Raymond Kurzweil (born February 12, 1948) is a pioneer in the fields of optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic musical keyboards. ... Nick Bostrom (Boström in the original Swedish) is a philosopher at the University of Oxford, and known for his work on the anthropic principle. ...

See also

• Articles on Singularitarian people, theories and organizations:
  • Friendly AI - a theory closely associated with Singularitarianism.
  • Eliezer Yudkowsky - the originator of the Friendly AI, Seed AI theories and co-founder of the modern Singularitarianism movement.
  • Seed AI - a theory closely associated with Singularitarianism.
  • Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence - a non-profit organization for Singularitarians based in the USA.
• Generally related topics:
  • Extropianism - a predecessor movement popular in the 1990s with many similarities to Singularitarianism.
  • Transhumanism - a parallel movement that shares many similarities with Singularitarianism.
  • Technological singularity - the ultimate goal of Singularitarianism.

A Friendly artificial intelligence (often abbreviated FAI) is an AI designed around the principles of Friendliness theory, a specific model for creating safe and moral AI advanced by researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky and the Singularity Institute. ... It has been suggested that Seed AI be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Eliezer Yudkowsky. ... The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence is a non-profit organization with the goal of developing a theory of Friendly artificial intelligence and implementing that theory as a software system. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience. ... When plotted on a logarithmic graph, 15 separate lists of paradigm shifts for key events in human history show an exponential trend. ...

External links

• Why Work Towards the Singularity? by Eliezer Yudkowsky
• Singularitarian Principles by Eliezer Yudkowsky
• Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence by Nick Bostrom
• Who are Singularitarians? by Michael Anissimov
• SL4.org - A Singularitarian mailing list
• CNNMoney.com article on Google, giving a possiblity of Google doing the Singularity

Michael Anissimov is a transhumanist who has been active in transhumanism-related organizations since late 2001, including the Immortality Institute and the World Transhumanist Association. ...

Websites of Singularitarians

• Ben Goertzel
• Brian Atkins
• Bruce Klein
• Carolyn L Burke
• Christian Rovner
• Edwin Evans
• Eliezer Yudkowsky
• Emil Gilliam
• Jeff Medina
• Michael Anissimov
• Michael Roy Ames
• Michael Wilson
• Mikko Rauhala
• Mitch Howe
• Nader Chehab
• Nick Hay
• Ray Kurzweil
• Robin Lee Powell
• Sabine Atkins
• Tyler Emerson
• Micah Glasser
• Aleksei Riikonen
• Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon

Interviews and Talks by Singularitarians

• Michael Anissimov is interviewed by Singularity University in 2006
• Eliezer Yudkowsky is interviewed by NeoFiles in 2005
• Michael Anissimov is interviewed by NanoMagazine.com in 2005
• Jeff Medina speaks on the ethics of greater-than-human intelligence at Dartmouth College in 2005
• Michael Anissimov is interviewed by the Speculist weblog in 2003
• Eliezer Yudkowsky is interviewed by Tyler Emerson in 2003
• Eliezer Yudkowsky speaks on his theory of fun at the Transvision 2003 conference
• Eliezer Yudkowsky is interviewed in 2002 on Changesurfer Radio