Pareidolic and Uncomplex Technological Singularity

Viorel Guliciuc

doi:10.3390/info9120309

Abstract

“Technological Singularity” (TS), “Accelerated Change” (AC), and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) are frequent future/foresight studies’ themes. Rejecting the reductionist perspective on the evolution of science and technology, and based on patternicity (“the tendency to find patterns in meaningless noise”), a discussion about the perverse power of apophenia (“the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas)”) and pereidolia (“the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern”) in those studies is the starting point for two claims: the “accelerated change” is a future-related apophenia case, whereas AGI (and TS) are future-related pareidolia cases. A short presentation of research-focused social networks working to solve complex problems reveals the superiority of human networked minds over the hardware‒software systems and suggests the opportunity for a network-based study of TS (and AGI) from a complexity perspective. It could compensate for the weaknesses of approaches deployed from a linear and predictable perspective, in order to try to redesign our intelligent artifacts.

Highlights

Intelligence (AGI) are frequent future/foresight studies’ themes
The popular understanding of the Future(s) and, especially, of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and/or of the TS seems to be related to patternicity [1], apophenia [2] and pareidolia [3]
Seeing the pattern of exponential acceleration in the pace of technological change and representing the exponential growth as an asymptote is apophenia, because there is no general consensus about the objective existence of AC and, in an attempt to break the ultimate unpredictability of the complexity of future evolution of technology and science, unrelated and/or unclearly related phenomena and/or processes are connected and considered meaningful based on our profound need for order [70]

Summary

A Pretext

The popular understanding of the Future(s) and, especially, of AGI and/or of the TS seems to be related to patternicity [1], apophenia [2] and pareidolia [3]. We care about the future because, as living beings, we are “programmed” for the conservation of our lives despite threats, challenges, and changes. When the future has become an essential part of their lives and their language(s), pre-human beings have become human beings. The possibility of change, and the power-of-realization/of-becoming-real of the possibility/virtuality-of-change are essential parts of our relationship with reality, with what- is. Because nothing can be without the power-to-be, the power to erupt from what-is-virtual into what-is-real [4] 91–92), this power-of-being/power-to-be is fueling both our future(s) and our studies of the future(s) Because nothing can be without the power-to-be, the power to erupt from what-is-virtual into what-is-real [4] (pp. 91–92), this power-of-being/power-to-be is fueling both our future(s) and our studies of the future(s)

The Fascination with the Future

The TS-Related “Complexity Fallacy”