The future of computing — The implications for society of technology forecasting and the Kurzweil singularity

Abstract

Increases in the power and capability of collaboration and information exchange point to a trend towards artificial intelligence, at least of a form capable of designing and assembling technological devices, sometime in the present century. The exponential growth of the world's information and the Internet of Things will enable intelligent processing devices to deduce context. This combination of processing power and contextual knowledge appears to be well within the ability of current technology and, further, appears to have the ability to deliver the level of machine intelligence and skill that would lead to the phenomenon of "The Singularity", in which machines could become "cleverer" than human beings. This poses a major challenge for human beings to determine what their role would be after this event and how they would control the machines, including prevention of malevolent control. These developments in technology have significant implications for society whether or not they cause the large scale impact predicted by proponents of the singularity concept, such as Raymond Kurzweil.