Singularity minded

A great chat with Vernor Vinge about the Singularity and how it might come about. I love the fact that he sees SF as "scenario based planning about the future of mankind". Hmm, maybe. Some comments on the Vingean singularity and whether it will happen. His original conception was that he would be surprised if it was not underway by 2030. As ever this needs to be leavened with insights from other smart folks such as Kevin Kelly who distinguishes between thinking and work. Thinking about curing all cancers is one thing, doing the lab and clinical work to actually do that is another. So, sure, we may have a lot of smart machines about with great ideas but its not yet clear whether that will speed up R&D.