IEEE Spectrum special report on the Singularity
June 10th, 2008 –
The June issue of IEEE Spectrum is devoted to a special report on the Singularity, with articles by Dr. Vernor Vinge, Dr. Rodney Brooks, and others.
IEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest technical professional organization. It is nice to see the Singularity receive considered debate in this publication, despite severe problems with the report.
There is some good discussion in the issue, but also the usual trappings like “wishful thinking,” “rapture,” “weird,” “fabulism,” “true believers,” and “we don’t know anything.” Quantum physics, black holes, and the Big Bang still seem strange to a lot of people, but scientific hypotheses should be refuted or supported on their own terms with rational argumentation, not with a sense of confusion, mystery, or “that’s just weird.”
The term “Singularity” has various definitions. The Singularity Institute focuses only on the “intelligence explosion” variety: the idea of a self-improving smarter-than-human-intelligence, particularly an Artificial General Intelligence, and the attendant perils and opportunities.
I read the IEEE articles with a lot of interest. I think they asked good and honest questions, questions that made me think a great deal, and I would honestly like to see intelligent responses to them from your side.
But this blog post isn’t that. You simply dismiss everything they have to say, or act like it’s all beneath you or has been dealt with before. In any case, it’s a nonresponse. Lots of us are new to this subject and not masters of the last 10 year’s worth of literature.
You — or someone from Sing Inst Blog — needs to take these critiques seriously and engage them seriously. A blog is the perfect place to do that.
Why aren’t you doing that here?
At least tell us where we can find such responses, if you aren’t able to provide them yourself.
Hi David,
We intend to respond as soon as time’s available. The IEEE Spectrum mention was not intended to be dismissive, only noting concern about some of the language; but regardless, if that was your perception, then that’s what matters, so we’ll choose our words more carefully next time.
We are glad to see the coverage. I thought the “Who’s Who of the Singularity” was especially well-researched. As noted in my email, and posting here for general reference, I had a great chat Tuesday with Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum Executive Editor, thanking him for the report, and inviting him to participate in a roundtable discussion at the 2008 Singularity Summit. I am also hoping John Horgan, a good friend of Glenn’s, will be able to participate.
For reference, here’s the interview from last weekend between John and Eliezer (one of our researchers):
http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/11693?in=00:56:47&out=01:02:16
We’ve always aimed to ensure we have a good diversity of opinions at the summit, since that’s the best way to advance dialogue. I think John and Glenn will bring a lot of valuable perspective if they can make it.
Best,
Tyler
Tyler, If you guys can pay my travel expenses, I’d love to be the skunk at your big Singularity party. I’m sure we can have a more coherent, constructive conversation than the one between me and Eliezer (and as the supposedly experienced interviewer, I take the blame for that).
Thanks, John, I’ll follow up with an email.