"Within a short time, everything that can be known, will be known, and anything that is possible within the laws of physics will be achievable." Daniel G. Clemmensen.
But what does it mean in detail? What is possible within the laws of physics? What is "everything that can be known"? That is what this page tries to address, the details to the best of our present understanding of science and technology. In order to think about the Singularity rationally we need to have some idea of what it will be like. This is a list of practical applications of the Singularity technologies.
SAI
Super-human artificial intelligence is the creation of greater-than-human level knowledge, reasoning, and cognition in a computer. The practical applications of SAI in human activities such as science, engineering, politics, business, medicine, and entertainment are almost without limit.
VOLITION BASED MORALITY
Volition based morality is putting an individual's personal choice above what others or society thinks is best for them. In a system including volition based morality no individual could compel another and society's powers would be limited to that which was necessary to prevent the infringement of the rights of other individuals.
PERFECT MANAGEMENT OF SOCIETY
SAI would allow the management of society without conflicts of interest, flawed judgment, lack of information, or political considerations.
MATURE MOLECULAR NANOTECHNOLOGY
Mature molecular nanotechnology is the complete control of matter at the molecular level. Assembler nanobots are used in the fabrication of products to atomic precision through the direct manipulation of molecules. Repair or redesign of existing material objects (inanimate or animate) is also accomplished by assembler nanobots.
ASSEMBLER NANOBOT
Assembler nanobots are molecular scale machines that can make anything from individual atoms in accordance with a design supplied by an external computer.
INDUSTRIAL NANOMANUFACTURING
The development of industrial nanotechnology will bring the benefits of wealth to all people with little attendant risk due to the methods suited to the industrial environment rather than personal nanotech.
NANO MOLECULAR COMPUTERS
Computers built with molecular scale circuitry will be millions of times more powerful and compact than those of today. We will put computers comparable to a modern desktop into a nanobot and one several times the capacity of the human brain into the cranium of a butterfly.
ROOM TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS
Nanotubes have many important electrical characteristics depending on the specifics of their construction. One valuable result is the ability to carry electrical current with zero resistance. Applications include computer circuitry that generates less heat and uses less power, super-conducting electromagnets, power distribution, and space propulsion.
COMPUTRONIUM
Computronium is the theoretically most efficient use of atoms for computation. The exact design has yet to be finalized but proposed models include carbon nanotube circuitry, cellular automatons, and molecular gate logic.
DIAMONDOID
Diamondiod super strong material is a favorite choice for nanomanufactured products. The strongest chemical bond is between carbon atoms in an orthogonal lattice as evidenced by the fact that diamond is the hardest substance. Diamond is fifty times stronger than steel but has the problem of cleaving planes. This problem is solved by incorporating discontinuities and non-carbon atoms into the structure.
UTILITY FOG
John Storrs Hall:
"The Utility Fog is a very simple idea. Instead of building the object you want atom by atom, tiny robots link their arms together to form a solid mass in the shape of the object you want."
ABUNDANCE ECONOMY
Mature molecular nanotechnology will result in the production of any product at the cost of the raw materials, such as a computer for the price of a bag of sand. Production will be rapid and quantities unlimited. Quality will be perfect down to the atomic level. All material want will be easily satisfied.
NO LABOR
All physical labor will performed by robots. All intellectual labor including creative, artistic, and scientific, will be performed by intelligent software. There will be nothing that a human can do for profit that a machine can not do cheaper and better.
MEDICAL NANOBOTS
Hoards of medical nanobots much smaller than a cell will cruise through your body repairing damaged DNA, attacking invading viruses and bacteria, removing contaminates, and correcting bodily structures at the molecular level.
ATOMICALLY PERFECT PRODUCTS
Industrial nanomanufacturing will produce products perfectly in accordance to specifications down to the atomic level. Many of our current products already appear flawless from the outside but they are fare from perfect internally. Atomic perfection will be an important and noticeable improvement in electronics and machinery.
COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE DESIGN OF PRODUCTS
Mature nanotechnology will allow us to leave the current limitations of manufacturing processes behind. Complex products will be produced as a single piece rather than assembled from many imperfectly fitting components. No more screws or seams.
CUSTOM PRODUCTS
The design of products can be customized to the individual user.
ENVIRONMENTAL NANOBOTS
Nanobots will be used to clean up pollution and restore habitats to their pre-human intervention states.
DEFENSE AGAINST SUPER-VIRUSES AND BAD NANOBOTS
The only effective defense against the genetically engineered super-virus is the defensive nanobot.
MOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY
Biological knowledge is accumulating at an exponential rate. Soon all biological processes will be thoroughly understood. This knowledge combined with the tools of molecular nanotechnology and super-human artificial intelligence (SAI) will give us complete control at the molecular level of the functioning and design of any living organism. The applications of molecular biotechnology extend to all aspects of living organisms including medical science and intelligent evolution.
IMMORTALITY
You can be bio-engineered to be, practically, immortal. Age will mean nothing to you and accidental death won't be nearly as great a risk as it is today as your body will be more resistant and resilient to all but the most grave injuries. Death will still be possible but it will be a rare occurrence related to extreme physical destruction of your body and never the result of disease or aging.
NO DISEASE
Cures to all disease will result from medical nanobots manually correcting any imperfection in the function or form of the physical body at the molecular level.
NO DISABILITY
Any disability will be easily correctable at the molecular level by medical nanobots, restoring bodies to perfect physical form.
NO AGING
All causes of aging are related to the deterioration of the physical body. Aging is a physical process, and therefore reversible by physical intervention at the molecular level by medical nanobots.
NO PHYSICAL IMPERFECTION
Whatever your ideal of physical perfection, you will be able to be. If you want to be taller or shorted or thinner or if you want to have horns and hooves, it doesn't matter, you can do that.
PERFECTION OF BODY
Not only will our manufactured products be perfect down to the atomic level, but so will our bodies. Flaws will be a rare matter of personal style.
RE-ENGINEERED BODIES
People will have total control over the design, structure, functioning, and appearance of their bodies. We will be living in a fantasy world populated by angels, faeries, witches, demons, and goblins. Individuality will be the premium. You could redesign your whole body on a nanomachinery paradigm to improve durability, efficiency and capability, while maintaining the same basic appearance and senses (enhanced). Along with this bodyware upgrade, you can do a brainware upgrade to carbon nanotube molecular circuitry.
UPLOADING
Uploading, the process of changing the material substrate of your mind from the biological neuron based architecture to a computer transistor based architecture. The biological substrate is evolutionarily designed. The computer substrate is intelligently designed. There are several different approaches to accomplish this feat. All of them involve scanning your biological substrate and making a functionally accurate computer software substrate with all of the information in the original. In order to make an accurate functional copy it may be necessary to scan and duplicate the entire biological body. There are a lot of interrelated processing functions built into the body which you would want for greatest accuracy. Although, you could get the vast majority of your mind by just scanning your brain. It just depends on how accurate you want the copy to be. Let's assume the best possible copy. You would need to place this virtual you in a fully interactive fully detailed virtual environment for it's proper functioning. If this virtual you were completely accurate it would have all of the physical aches and pains of the original. If the original had a heart attack fifteen minutes after scanning then the virtual you should have the same heart attack, even including death. The big improvement of the virtual you is that making design changes to it should be theoretically easier. After mature nanotechnology this distinction may be moot.
VIRTUAL REALITY
If reality is too restrictive for you, try virtual reality.
COLLECTIVE BEINGS
People will be able to combine mind, body, and soul with as many others as they choose.
SPACE EXPLORATION
New materials, science, and technologies will make space exploration not only feasible but comfortable. The option of space exploration will be open to everyone.
ARTIFICIAL PEOPLE
Whether copies of real people or designed from scratch, artificial people will stretch the boundaries of our civilization.
Singularity Action Group website frames version.