Technological singularity

The technological singularity is a hypothetical event in which artificial general intelligence (constituting, for example, intelligent computers, computer networks, or robots) would be capable of recursive self-improvement (progressively redesigning itself), or of autonomously building ever smarter and more powerful machines than itself, up to the point of a runaway effect—an intelligence explosion—that yields an intelligence surpassing all current human control or understanding. Because the capabilities of such a superintelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological singularity is the point beyond which events may become unpredictable or even unfathomable to human intelligence.

The first use of the term "singularity" in this context was made by Stanislaw Ulam in his 1958 obituary for John von Neumann, in which he mentioned a conversation with von Neumann about the "ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue". The term was popularized by mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author Vernor Vinge, who argues that artificial intelligence, human biological enhancement, or brain–computer interfaces could be possible causes of the singularity. Futurist Ray Kurzweil cited von Neumann's use of the term in a foreword to von Neumann's classic The Computer and the Brain.

The Singularity (film)

The Singularity is a 2012 documentary film about the technological singularity, produced and directed by Doug Wolens. The film has been acclaimed as "a large-scale achievement in its documentation of futurist and counter-futurist ideas”.

Topical organization of the film

Doug Wolens organized his interviews with the commentators (see list below) by this set of topics, related to the singularity. During each topic or subtopic several commentators provide their viewpoints, some with suggestions on how to get there, others with a skeptical opinion about when it will happen.

Stargate SG-1 (season 1)

The first season of the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 commenced airing on the Showtime channel in the United States on July 27, 1997, concluded on the same channel on March 6, 1998, and contained 22 episodes. The show itself is a spin off from the 1994 hit movie, Stargate written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. Stargate SG-1 re-introduced supporting characters from the film universe, such as Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill and Daniel Jackson and included new characters such as Teal'c, George Hammond and Samantha "Sam" Carter. The first season was about a military-science expedition team discovering how to use the ancient device, named the Stargate, to explore the galaxy. However, they encountered a powerful enemy in the film named the Goa'uld, which is bent on destroying Earth and all that oppose them.

Ratings Success

The 100-minute premiere "Children of the Gods", which aired on July 27, 1997 at 8 p.m, received Showtime's highest-ever ratings for a series premiere and ranked as the highest-rated original movie to premiere on Showtime in 3-1/2 years at the time. The show got a 10.5 rating in Showtime's approximately 12 million U.S. households, which equaled approximately 1.5 million homes in total. Season one regular cast members included Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis.

Singularity (Star Trek: Enterprise)

"Singularity" is the thirty-fifth episode (production #209) of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the ninth of the second season.

The crew obsess over trivial-matters when they explore a black-hole in a trinary star-system and succumb to its radiation.

Plot

It is August 14, 2152, and Enterprise decides to explore a unique black-hole nestled within a trinary star-system. Cruising at impulse, it will take a few days to get there, freeing the crew up for other activities. Captain Archer uses the chance to work on the preface on a book about his father, and also asks Commander Tucker to look at the Captain's chair on the bridge. Meanwhile, Ensign Sato volunteers to help in the galley, Lieutenant Reed begins works on some new ship wide security-protocols, and Doctor Phlox examines Ensign Mayweather's headache.

Over the next few days the crew starts obsessing on their selected tasks. Their behavior is also affecting their interactions — Reed and Tucker nearly come to blows, while Phlox sedates a frustrated Mayweather so he can run more medical tests. The situation becomes so acute that Sub-Commander T'Pol, who remains unaffected, easily notices that everyone is behaving more oddly than normal. Her investigation into the cause reveals that a peculiar form of radiation emitted from the black-hole is the underlying cause. Unfortunately, it will take two days to reverse course and leave the radiation field.

The Lovers (2013 film)

The Lovers (previously known as Singularity) is a 2013 English-language romance time travel adventure film directed by Roland Joffé and written by Ajey Jhankar. The film stars Josh Hartnett, Bipasha Basu, Alice Englert, Tamsin Egerton and Abhay Deol in lead roles. The film is the tale of an impossible romance set against the backdrop of the first Anglo-Maratha war across two time periods and continents and centred on four characters—a British officer 18th century British India, the Indian woman he falls deeply in love with, and a present-day American marine biologist and his wife.

Plot

In 2020, marine archeologist Jay Fennel (Josh Hartnett) is brain dead after trying to save his wife Laura (Tamsin Egerton) who got trapped exploring the wreck of a colonial British merchant ship. The comatose Fennel dreams about the adventures of Captain James Stewart in 1778 Pune (India), and his romance with a Maratha warrior, Tulaja Naik (Bipasha Basu).

Cast

Amen!

Amen! is the second album by singer and actress Della Reese. The album was her second record for Jubilee Records, and her first of many records dedicated solely to sacred and spiritual material. The album features background vocals by the Meditation Singers, which she had been a part of in the early ’50s. The album also features vocals by the then unknown singer Laura Lee, who had incidentally replaced Reese in the group, when she left in 1953.

The album was released on Compact Disc, alongside her 1959 album What Do You Know About Love?, for the first time in 2008, by Collector’s Choice.

Track listing

Amen.

Amen. is a 2002 German, Romanian and French film directed by Costa-Gavras.

Plot

The film Amen. examines the links between the Vatican and Nazi Germany. The central character is Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur), a Waffen-SS officer employed in the SS Hygiene Institute, designing programs for the purification of water and the destruction of vermin. He is shocked to learn that the process he has developed to eradicate typhus, by using a hydrogen cyanide mixture called Zyklon B, is now being used for killing Jews in extermination camps. Gerstein attempts to notify Pope Pius XII (Marcel Iureş) about the gassings, but is appalled by the lack of response he gets from the Catholic hierarchy. The only person moved is Riccardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), a young Jesuit priest. Fontana and Gerstein attempt to raise awareness about what is happening to the Jews in Europe but even after Fontana appealing to the pope himself, the Vatican makes only a timid and vague condemnation of Hitler and Nazi Germany.