Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding
The Vingean singularity, specifically, is exponential growth of self-modifying code. How does that work without computers?
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That's why I said 'vingean singularity
level'.
That's the form Vinge thought it would take, but the idea of the singularity is that it's a cutoff point in history, beyond which we can't predict anything meaningful because technology has advanced to the point of obviating everything in our experience. The super-duper-magical AIs might understand the universe so well, after exponential increases in intelligence, that they could make anything happen, leaving us like chimps dealing with humans, or worse.
I have never for a moment believed that the pure Vingean 'computerageddon' was a valid concept, not 25 years ago and not now. Though I've seen reasonable arguments that the period from ~1840 to 1950 could be seen as a transport/communications/warfare 'singularity' from the POV of previous time.
But the technology of Civilization/Boskonia, by the time of Kimball Kinnison, is so advanced in terms of travel, weaponry, energy sources, etc. that it could reasonably said that the characters have access to god-like (with small 'g') power. They can move entire planets from galaxy to galaxy more easily than we can move a plane-load of cargo from North America to Europe, and volatizing entire planets is a relatively trivial exercise. The power of the Death Star is easily within the reach of either side of that war, in far more convenient and portable form. Their individual
space suits have interplanetary capability on their own power, and if they really want to do it they could make them interstellar capable, it's just a pointless exercise to do so.
Now none of this seems to affect daily much, but this
is space opera, after all, though more thoughtful space opera than most.