The Singularity
Technological Singularity
The idea that the invention of artificial intelligence will trigger runaway technological developments, that compounds on itself, which would result in unpredictable changes to human civilization.
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Origin
Mathematician John von Neumann first spoke of a coming "singularity" in human history in private conversations in the 1950s; the remark was published by Stanislaw Ulam in 1958. Science fiction author Vernor Vinge named it the "technological singularity" in a 1993 NASA symposium paper, drawing on the black-hole analogy — a point beyond which prediction becomes impossible. Inventor Ray Kurzweil brought the concept to mainstream audiences in The Singularity Is Near (2005), predicting the event by 2045.
Updated February 22, 2026