Keagan Turensky 1

Keagan Turensky

English 102

Professor Newport

May 8, 2017

Annotated Bibliography

The argumentative research paper that I am writing revolves around the technological

singularity, and the fear around it. I would like to focus less on the actual

technical aspect, and more on the philosophical and mathematical aspects. Even

though people like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking think the singularity is

something to fear, it is not, due to its inevitability, as well as the logical reasoning

behind the morality of a super intelligence.

Bright, Peter. "Moores law really is dead this time." Ars Technica, 10 Feb. 2016,

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/02/moores-law-really-

is-dead-this-time/. Accessed 8 May 2017.

By Peter Bright, this is an editorial for Ars Technica by Peter Bright, outlines the various

factors surrounding the death of Moores Law, a long time standing gold standard

for the computer manufacturing industry. By death, the article means the end of

using it as a standard, due to physical constraints in the construction of

transistors. It goes on to list the specifics, largely in the limits that silicon as a

material

Peter Bright, the author, appears to have a respectable background, at least in

what he writes for Ars Technica. Everything appears unbiased, fact based, and
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well researched. The articles all seem to be computer oriented, giving credence

to what he says in the editorial about Moores Law.

Chalmers, David J. "The Singularity: A Philosophical Analysis." Journal of

Consciousness Studies, vol. 17, 2010, pp. 7-65,

consc.net/papers/singularity.pdf. Accessed 8 May 2017.

In this scholarly article, David J Chalmers addresses some of the philosophical issues

that surround the singularity. It uses a lot of logic and reasoning, as opposed to

applied mathematics. Notably, it raises points that are for the singularity,

describing how a theoretical superintelligent AI will be moral. It also describes a

few lines of thinking that prove the inevitability, namely that evolution produced

human-level intelligence, and as such humanity will be able to produce human-

level intelligence before long.

David J Chalmers is a known philosophical author, with numerous books published on

the topic. Additionally, the article itself was posted in the Journal of

Consciousness Studies in 2010, which is a peer-reviewed academic journal,

which gives Chalmers some weight, especially with his writing history. The

intended audience is individuals who are interested in the ethics of the

singularity, or those who are weary of its approach, but raises multiple points that

lower overall levels of anxiety surrounding the singularity, which helps my

argument.
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C.L. Magee, T.C. Devezas, How many singularities are near and how will they disrupt

human history?, Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change (2011),

doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2011.07.013

An engineering student and professor describe in this scholarly article the

patterns of advancement in human history, and how technological advancement

has affected civilizations as a whole. Notably it describes mindsteps, which are

points in human history in which humanity has reached closer to releasing its role

in the universe as a whole, discovering its place in the cosmos.

Christopher L. Magee, a student of engineering, and Tessaleno C. Devezas, a

professor of engineering, are the authors of this article, and considering the

highly technical nature of the singularity, I find their words to be trustworthy. They

describe 4 potential events that may spark the singularity, as well as mindsteps,

both of which help to prove that the singularity is inevitable and unavoidable.

Cole-Turner, Ronald. "THE SINGULARITY AND THE RAPTURE: TRANSHUMANIST

AND POPULAR CHRISTIAN VIEWS OF THE FUTURE". Zygon 47.4

(2012): 777-796. Web. 8 May 2017.

In this scholarly article, Ronald Cole-Turner describes the links between the thoughts

towards the technological singularity and the rapture. It describes present day

Christian thoughts of the future, and how they have many similarities, most

importantly in how they both view some future event, be it the singularity or the

rapture, as humanities stepping stone into the cosmos/greater relevance. It does,

however, clearly outline how the two are different, as well.

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Ronald Cole-Turner holds the H. Parker Sharp Chair in Theology and Ethics at

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and as a result, I find he is pretty

knowledgeable and reliable in his comparisons of the Christian view of the future

and the singularity, due to the ethical gray area surrounding the singularity. The

intended audience is people who wish to know more about how the singularity is

seen in various circles, particularly the christian view

Sandberg, Anders. "An Overview Of Models Of Technological Singularity". The

Transhumanist Reader (2013): 376-394. Web. 8 May 2017.

Anders Sandberg details in this scholarly article the mathematical models of the 9

potential paths of growth the singularity could go. It goes into detail on each of

those 9, and states who believes in those 9. These models range from extremely

in depth models with attempts to use empirical data to demonstrate, and

conceptual models of continual growth.

Anders Sandberg is a research from Oxford with a Phd in Artificial Neural Network,

Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, which leads me to trust his words,

considering the singularity is directly in his field of expertise. As far the intended

audience, it's clear the article is geared towards people with an in depth

understanding of mathematics and economic models. That being said, it has

pertinent information for those who cant quite stay up to speed.

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Sattel, Greg. "3 Reasons To Believe The Singularity Is Near." Editorial. Forbes, 3 June

2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2016/06/03/3-reasons-to-

believe-the-singularity-is-near/#1e8e9dcc7b39. Accessed 4 May 2017.

Published in Forbes Magazine, this article centers around reasons to believe the

singularity is near. It mentions the editing of genes, the job displacement from

robotic automation, and the end of Moores Law. It brings up concepts like 3D

stacking that go beyond Moores Law, and overall describes the possible

challenges that may come with the singularity.

Even though it is formatted like clickbait, the article has pertinent information,

overall. Its clearly targeted to people who arent fully aware or educated on the

singularity, which works to its advantage, because the points it brings up arent

ground breaking. It does mention 3D stacking, which no other source brings up

explicitly.

Wikipedia contributors. "Technological singularity." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 7 May. 2017. Web. 8 May. 2017.

This is an encyclopedic entry on the technological singularity. It describes in surface

level detail everything surrounding the singularity, including criticism of the

concept.

It's a wikipedia article, is there's nothing groundbreaking here. I intend to use it mostly

for background information and context as I further my research. Everything

relevant to my needs is properly cited in the article, and seems to be clear of any

shenanigans.
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Thompson, Zac. "Are You Ready For The Technological Singularity?" Huffington Post,

13 Apr. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/are-you-ready-for-the-

technological-singularity_us_58efc0ede4b0156697224d5a. Accessed 8

May 2017.

Zac Thompson writes in this article about inevitability of the singularity, and how

close it is to the average person, going on to describe thought-leaders like Elon

Musk and Stephen Hawking, and how they believe that the singularity could be

harmful for humanity.

Although I dont trust Huffington Post for political news, they have a decent track

record for non-political, informative articles such as this. The author seems as

educated on the subject of the singularity as someone can be, without a degree

in a relevant field. Where he mentions Musk and Hawking as doomsaying

thought-leaders feels particularly pertinent to my argument.