Vernor Vinge - Human Quotes

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We are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth. The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater than human intelligence.

Vernor Vinge
Hexapodia as the key insight...
I haven't had a chance to see the famous video from Straumli Realm, except as an evocation. (My only gateway onto the Net is very expensive.) Is it true that humans have six legs?

Vernor Vinge
We're long on high principles and short on simple human understanding.

Vernor Vinge
"Poor humans; they will all die."
"Poor us; we will not."

Vernor Vinge
We can solve many problems thousands of times faster than natural selection. Now, by creating the means to execute those simulations at much higher speeds, we are entering a regime as radically different from our human past as we humans are from the lower animals.

Vernor Vinge
Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.

Vernor Vinge
I have argued above that we cannot prevent the Singularity, that its coming is an inevitable consequence of the humans' natural competitiveness and the possibilities inherent in technology. And yet … we are the initiators. Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things. We have the freedom to establish initial conditions, make things happen in ways that are less inimical than others. Of course (as with starting avalanches), it may not be clear what the right guiding nudge really is...

Vernor Vinge