Discusses the scientific potential represented by intelligent machines and their social implications.

“Who am I?” is the ultimate ontological question, and we often refer to it as the issue of consciousness. When people speak of consciousness they often slip into considerations of behavioral and neurological correlates of consciousness (for example, whether or not an entity can be self‐reflective). But these are third‐person (objective) issues and do not represent what David Chalmers calls the “hard question” of consciousness. The question of whether or not an entity is conscious is apparent only to itself. The (...) difference between neurological correlates of consciousness (such as intelligent behavior) and the ontological reality of consciousness is the difference between objective and subjective reality. That is why we cannot propose an objective consciousness detector without philosophical assumptions built into it. (shrink)

Singularity is a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed. This chapter argues that within several decades information‐ based technologies will encompass all human knowledge and proficiency, ultimately including the pattern‐recognition powers, problem‐solving skills, and emotional and moral intelligence of the human brain itself. The Singularity will allow us to transcend these limitations of our biological bodies and brains. Most long‐range forecasts of what (...) is technically feasible in future time periods dramatically underestimate the power of future developments because they are based on the “intuitive linear” view of history rather than the “historical exponential” view. The history of evolution ‐ both biological and technological ‐ is conceptualized as occurring in six epochs. The Singularity begins with Epoch Five and will spread from Earth to the rest of the universe in Epoch Six. (shrink)

Technology has always been a double‐edged sword, bringing us longer and healthier lifespans, freedom from physical and mental drudgery, and many new creative possibilities, on the one hand, while introducing new and salient dangers on the other. Technology empowers both our creative and destructive natures.