Save Singularity

To Save It, Eat It

Taras Grescoe | Long Now | 24th January 2024

War in Ukraine and Syria could end up devastating humanity long after the last shot is fired. Both conflicts have damaged major seed banks — one in Kharkiv, the other in Aleppo — where the seeds of tens of thousands of plants were preserved as insurance against future famine and mutation. Even Hitler left the Ukrainian seeds alone. Some of the samples destroyed were centuries old (1,600 words)

Vico's Singularity

Henry Farrell | Programmable Mutter | 1st May 2024

"Vinge’s Fork", named for the late science fiction author Vernor Vinge, suggests two paths forward: either an AI-powered super-intelligence will destroy humanity, or with the help of such an AI, humanity will conquer the cosmos. Both metaphors are "wildly misleading', it is argued here, and merely continue a debate humans have been having at least since the Renaissance (2,300 words)