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Fudge Sunday - Singularity and Super Massive Black Holes
This week we take a look at the word singularity which may finally be coming back home to super massive black holes.
Jon Hopkins - Singularity (2018)
Getting Informed
Last week was a big deal for anyone that geeks out on astrophysics. When I sat down to start this issue, I was still thinking about imagery that captured imaginations this past week – a black hole.
Image of Milky Way’s black hole (2022)
Scientists identified a black hole at the center of our galaxy.
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Muse - Supermassive Black Hole (2006)
Press coverage was a mixed bag but the word “singularity” seemed to have broken free from the seemingly more common association with Ray Kurzweil and dystopian futurist sci-fi fever dream AI. Finally, singularity can be freely associated with super massive black holes again!
So, this issue of the newsletter looks back at a timeline where the world singularity that was associated with super massive black holes became more commonly used in reference to “the singularity” and became part of memes. It appears that the timeline, like the idea of “the singularity”, reached exponential human challenges along the way.
Speaking of memes… the “how it started how it’s going” meme did come to mind as I compiled these links. Still, it’s an interested arc to ponder.
Singularity U’s highest program gets Covid-19 (2021)
Peter Diamandis thought extensive testing could help create an “immunity bubble” for a conference in Culver City, Calif. It didn’t work. “I hope others can learn from my mistakes,” he said.
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Singularity U Cuts Staff (2019)
Singularity University, a Silicon Valley institute offering education on futurism, is reckoning with its own uncertain future. The chief executive officer is stepping down, and the organization plans to eliminate staff.
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Singularity U Has Some Serious Reality Problems (2018)
It’s lost Google funding and dealt with allegations of assault and fraud.
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SXSW Ray Kurzweil Predictions (2017)
“By 2029, computers will have human-level intelligence” – Ray Kurzweil
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AI, Autonomous Cars, and the Future of Humanity (2016)
One thing that we haven’t talked about too much, and I just want to go back to, is we really have to think through the economic implications. Because most people aren’t spending a lot of time right now worrying about singularity—they are worrying about “Well, is my job going to be replaced by a machine?” – President Barack Obama
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Ray & Neil Degrasse Tyson (2015)
I’m probably your biggest skeptic – Neil Degrasse Tyson
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Ray & Steve Aoki gettin’ jiggy wit the singularity (2014)
Steve Aoki talks with Ray Kurzweil about the coming singularity.
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Google Trends is fun. I wondered if there was any impact web search search terms in the results when Singularity University was formed in September 2008. One spike in Google Trends made me wonder if people were hearing about Singularity Institute, Singularity University, etc. and that resulted in black hole searches – but no that wasn’t it.
Singularity University (SU) was founded on September 20, 2008.
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The Day the World Didn’t End (2008)
As it turns out, the Google Trends spike was more likely due to the energizing of the Large Hadron Collider. No super massive blackhole was formed and the only singularity was the group Ray Kurzweil was forming that year.
Openness and the Metaverse Singularity
Digging a bit deeper, it appears that even the term Metaverse appeared in reference to Singularity in 2007. Also, there’s a tweet!
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link to singularity summit talk:
http://tinyurl.com/2eglst
According to the original website for Singularity Group (formerly Singularity University) there was a research exchange and an investment club. You can even roll through the archives to see what stocks were considered in the early blog content.
The Singularity Research Exchange is a community-managed repository of information representing relevant research projects in the domains of: Neuroscience Biotech & Genetics Nanotechnology & Robotics AI and software Contribute information on your research and find other synergistic projects.
The Singularity Investment Club is a discussion and analysis forum focused on identifying Singularity enabling technologies and companies. The Singularity 20 Small Cap Index What’s in the research pipeline? Recent venture investmentsJoin us to capitalize on the wisdom of crowds.
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Recommended Repo
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Disclosure
I am linking to my disclosure.
