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Rose Lacy http://webrosedesign.com
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The Singularity in fiction and modern culture In addition to the Vernor Vinge stories that popularized Singularity ideas, several other science fiction authors have written stories that either involve the Singularity as a central theme, or have technological singularity subplots. Notable authors include William Gibson, Charles Stross, Greg Egan, Greg Bear, Iain M. Banks, Neal Stephenson, Damien Broderick, Jacek Dukaj, Cory Doctorow, and Marc Steigler.
Ken MacLeod describes the Singularity as "the Rapture for nerds" in his 1998 novel The Cassini Division. Singularity themes are common in cyberpunk novels, one of the most famous examples being the recursively self-improving AI Neuromancer from William Gibson's novel of the same name. Some earlier science fiction works such as Isaac Asimov's The Last Question and John W. Campbell's The Last Evolution also feature technological singularities. A 1994 novel published on Kuro5hin called The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect depicts life after an AI-initiated Singularity.
Orion's Arm, an online science fiction world-building project, also features several technological singularities as part of its premise. The computer game Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri also features something akin to a singularity, called the 'Ascent to Transcendence', as a major theme within it.
The tv series Odyssey 5 plotline resolves around technological singularity and related technologies as well. The Matrix movie can be described as taking place in a post-singularity world. An earlier example of technological singularity in the form of computer intelligence is the 1969 film Colossus: The Forbin Project. In the film, the US defense supercomputer Colossus achieves a self-aware state through increasingly complex mathematical formulation. Once Colossus becomes self-aware, it links with its Soviet counterpart, Guardian. Together this new form of intelligence imposes peace on humans unilaterally. The Singularity is also presented in many anime movies and series, such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon and Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040.
If one was to categorize the fiction by Singularity "type", one's list might resemble;
- Sentient AI's and augmented humans: Charles Stross
- Sentient AI's and baseline humans: Cylons of Battlestar Galactica, The Culture of Iain M. Banks
- Evolved humans ascending: The Ancients of Stargate SG1/Atlantis
- Augmented humans ascending: The Gentle Seduction by Marc Steigler.
