The Singularity Approaches

Like most people, I have quite a few rituals I participate in. In the morning I like to stay in my bed comfy for a few minutes while browsing through the news. The algorithm is slowly catching on to the fact I rarely, if ever, click on political news. I am a pop culture, events, and sciences sort of person. Credit where credit is due my feed almost always is heavy on Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering related content. 

This morning I had my Mister Glass moment when an article I have been waiting for finally surfaced in my feed. With slightly trembling hands I clicked the link. I found myself reading the article I have expected to surface for quite some time that signals the approach of the singularity. 

For those of you who may not have my deeply nerdy love of science fiction speculation, the Singularity refers to the moment when humanity is able to transcend their physical limitations by creating a digital biological interface. I could spend a few thousand words explaining this or you could log into Amazon Prime and just watch Upload. I will wait here. 

What did you think? I haven't watched it even though I have been advised I should. Did you get the concept of the Singularity?

Well, for those of you who aren't a slave to binge watching instincts allow me to explain some of what I imagine the Singularity will lead to. First, a neurological interface will come into being which allows the exchange of information between the human mind and digital content which will bypass the senses. We will gain the ability to jack into information. 

This neurological interface has a plethora of uses. For example it could allow common acceptance and usage of enhanced reality. Imagine being able to see the Pokémon from Pokémon Go without needing the filter of your phone. Your neural link will be able to translate a digital signal to make you 'see'  things that are not physical present around you. 

As a practical application this could replace the need for physical signage which litters the modern human landscape in the 'real' world. Your neural link could broadcast signage from digital input which, I imagine, would quickly need to be filtered so that corporate advertisement doesn't overwhelm you. It could do the same for menus in restaurants, advertising on billboards, and even potentially replace broadcast music. 

A neural link could obviate the need for physical screens. The uplink could virtually project a screen in front of you similar to the function of apps like Big Screen in VR headsets. With minimal additional hardware we could interact with digital menus and even be able to do complicated actions like typing a blog post all without the presence of an actual screen or keyboard. Ideally, the same neural link could use Wi-Fi and GPS communication to restrict uses like this for students in school or drivers speeding down the road. 

The interface could also monitor health functions like brainwave activity, blood pressure, intercranial pressure, blood sugar, or even hormone levels for things like stress management. With a myriad of internal monitoring, lives could be saved with early warning signs of life threatening conditions triggering an emergency response and information to an aware user of what actions to take. It would eliminate some medical diagnostics as well since you could plug in the patient's uplink information and get real time and historical read outs. The medical applications of such a device boggle the mind. They are also so far beyond my imagination as to be embarrassing. 

Which is where we stumble into interesting, if controversial, territory. A significantly advanced neural link could allow a person to upload their consciousness. This application, barring power outages or data corruption, hints at either a digital afterlife or digital immortality depending on your philosophical beliefs. Partnered with virtual reality or digital construct the definition of humanity could quickly come into question.

This will raise enough spiritual and ethical questions that I imagine the approaching Singularity is going to be a very polarizing moment in human history. There will be opponents to the digitization of the human mind in a couple of forms. Some people will simply not want to carry on 'living' a digital life. They will abstain with varying degrees of outspokenness against the adaptation of this technology. 

The other type of adversary will be much more dangerous. Some of the same religious zealots who carry signs at Pride parades and BLM rallies will find themselves a new target for their outrage. I fully predict communities of technology rejecting luddites will gain a niche popularity. Bigotry against cybernetic enhanced individual will likely produce a new type of hate crime. The view I have had of history informs me that this will manifest quickly and grow in intensity. 

There are some concerns with a neural interface which are valid. Currently, my thoughts can be freed from influence. Accomplishing this may require a bit of an isolationist or selectionist approach to life, but it is possible to control how you are influenced. With a digital pathway into your head, how do you know where content interaction begins and  neural remapping begins? If this neural interface allows the reading and writing of information into your mind, what controls or even awareness will you have of being altered in ways you might not otherwise consent to?

I can pretty quickly make the jump to regular people turned into Winter Solider-like assassins who could be a type of super sleeper agent to be activated digitally. Imagine having your awareness turned off while a complex AI programmed to eliminate an unsuspecting target pilots your body.  I do believe any digital communication model which can be designed by a human can be compromised by a person. Pro tip: If you want to keep something safe from potential hackers do not put it on a machine which connects to any type of external network. I am not saying that a smart person has a designated system which never connects to the internet or anything. I am suggesting that anything on a device with a path to the internet can and likely become exposed. What if that content is your free will?

Honestly, I am excited for the idea of the Singularity even if I do not live to take part in it. Even with the dangers, I think that the future of our species will be improved by removing some limitations. I also do not believe we will achieve this level of technology if we are not meant to. Imagine the power of a group of digital humans free of any biological limitations who could use machinery to explore the depths of the oceans, the vacuum of space, or even swim through the liquid magma inside the Earth's core. Imagine Microscopic robots piloted through the body by digitally integrated surgeons who could repair things within the body we are not capable of reaching currently. The possibilities are endless. 

I like to imagine being able to download the full fluency of languages I cannot currently communicate in. More practically I love the idea of being able to gain the experience and skills of technical masters recorded from years of their real experience and being downloaded into my brain. I could picture myself needing to weld a part for my car or motorcycle, a task which I have basic understanding of but little practice over the last 20 years. I could use my digital interface to gain a lifetime of welding experience in the time it took to download it. Armed with this knowledge and skill I weld like a master. 

Thinking about the possibilities of this is almost overwhelming. Could you cure racism and bigotry by exposing ignorance to the actual lives and suffering of the people they hate? Could conflicts be solved by an actual meeting of the minds? Could this eliminate violence, poverty, and war?

I have a lot of doubts on those fronts. I suspect, as I intimated earlier, that the neural link of the Singularity is likely to cause as many controversies as it creates. If you look at how people have abused the power of the internet as example, the Singularity may become very discouraging. 

At the end of the day, even with the discouragement of experience with the stupidity of humans as a species, I want to believe that we are capable of achieving greatness. That may or may not be enhanced by cybernetics and neural linking. There will be growing pains for sure, but I think we will be capable of a lot more. Imagine humanity several generations after death became optional. We could have some built in maturity to steer and influence biological humanity. Might as well believe in my own species, right?