The Path to Singularity

J. Craig Wheeler, a leading astrophysicist and former president of the American Astronomical Society, argues that we must take charge of our technology now, before we lose the ability to control it, which many estimate will happen around 2040, if not sooner. He reviews today’s technology in crucial areas that will have the greatest impact on our futures — artificial intelligence, robotics, brain/computer interfaces, and genetic engineering — and shows us how these technologies are interrelated and where they are heading We are developing autonomous self-evolving machines that are already vastly smarter and faster than we are in many ways — able to strategize and perhaps even potentially capable of becoming sentient mind-readers. Our understanding of the structure and function of DNA and proteins along with new techniques like CRISPR give us unprecedented power to manipulate our own biology, to cure disease, and maybe to control our own evolution, producing designer babies, lab-grown brains, and artificial life. He describes how all technology is developing at an increasingly swift pace that makes these issues more urgent than ever. There is likely to be a tipping point when change occurs at a pace so rapid that humans are not able to adjust, either individually or as a society.

He then outlines the disruptions to our social, economic, and democratic systems these advances are likely to cause. Will there be jobs for those willing to work? Will social media companies manipulate us so cleverly that we lose our free will? Will AI nudge us to vote in certain ways, or even vote for us? If many people mentally connect, will a possible outcome be a single shared mind where our individuality dissolves, and we become a single entity? Have humans outgrown Earth’s resources? Must we limit the population? If we solve the ageing problem, what do we do with the new babies? What are the prospects of migrating to space?

To maintain control, Wheeler argues that we must be informed. Only by understanding this era of accelerating change and its implications — both promising and frightening — will we gain the ability to control the technological developments that will dominate our lives. Throughout, he stresses the ethical and moral challenges that the new technology poses. Finally, he offers advice on what we must do to avoid a fate akin to a frog in a warming pot. On a personal level, we must cultivate an awareness mindset — to stay consciously aware of the onrush of technology. Building on that collective awareness, he offers clear and practical ways in which we can take control — if we start now.