Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Mankind is searching for that self-applying information so we can life the good life. Perhaps this is a silly fantasy, perhaps it is a dystopian future.

Is this the singularity? Is this beyond the singularity?

Consider this future. The computer mines information and doesn’t present it to a person, but uses it immediately (like in a few nanoseconds because that is how long it takes a computer to “think”).

I think this is beyond the singularity because, as I understand “singularity,” that is what a person can do. The self-applying information goes far beyond what a person can do.

For example, a computer search finds that four researchers around the globe have written papers on a similar ground-breaking topic. These four have no connections (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). The software scans their four calendars, finds an open time, schedules a video chat room, and opens their applications at the right time, etc. The software also arranges funding from venture capitalists, files incorporation papers, and arranges an IPO, and so on.

Perhaps a person has to define the ground-breaking topic so the computer can do its part. Perhaps the computer understands ground-breaking topics.

Still, we search for that magic self-applying information so that we can sit on the beach, sip a cool drink, watch the waves, and enjoy the good life. We will pay for this recreation with the money earned by the corporation that was started by a computer applying information all but itself.

But who will serve us those cool drinks?