More on the Singularity
Future Salon carries word of a free Singularity conference at Stanford on May 13. I think this is further proof that a once peripheral concept has gained mainstream attention. This is longer term future stuff, but maybe not as far out as one would imagine. The concept is extremely tough for most folks to get their arms around. Basically, humans and their tools reach a stage where higher than human intelligence is created. See the definitions or descriptions here and here. I talked earlier about the Singularity concept coming mainstream here.
The key for Extension professionals grounded in more day to day realities is to recognize that concepts like this exist, and that people are taking them seriously. Even more intriguing are the developments that singularity proponents site as indications of the singularity occurring. These include advances in nanotechnology and the general exponential increase in our knowledge base. How do we handle and manage more and more sources of information? By moving to more “pull” versus “push” methods of tracking and collecting data and information. A good starting point is with a desktop aggregator. I’ll share more on this later.