Category: Thoughts and reflections

Approaching the Singularity Point

The singularity is a point where conventional rules break down and predictability collapses. It manifests across our intellectual landscape in remarkably consistent ways. In mathematics, singularities mark where functions explode to infinity or become undefined, revealing the boundaries of analytic methods. In physics, they represent the extreme conditions at black hole centers and the universe’s origin, where spacetime curvature becomes infinite and our best theories fail. Engineers encounter singularities as critical failure points: robotic arms losing control authority at certain configurations, stress concentrations approaching infinity at crack tips, or control systems becoming unstable at specific parameter values. Yet perhaps nowhere is the concept more consequential – and contested – than in the realm of technology and artificial intelligence, where “the singularity” has become shorthand for a hypothetical inflection point that could fundamentally redefine human civilization itself or, arguably, bring it to an end.

Source: https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/secure-futures-magazine/technological-singularity/32158/

In computer science and futurism, the singularity represents a predicted moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human cognitive capability and enters a recursive self-improvement cycle, accelerating technological progress beyond our capacity to understand or control. It does not have to actually surpass the human intelligence – the control of the narrative is more than enough especially when the existing narratives are challenged and easily cancelled. Continue reading “Approaching the Singularity Point”

What are our future prospects? The answer from Peter Frase’s “Four Futures” book

The current global landscape presents a deeply contradictory and bewildering picture. The sensation that the world has gone mad is reinforced by the simultaneous coexistence of mutually exclusive trends. On the one hand, declarations are heard about the end of capitalism in its traditional form, based on infinite growth, as capital has reached its limits of profitability. Concurrently, we are witnessing the end of globalization and a shift towards region-centrism, which exacerbates geopolitical tensions, – something I was talking about back in 2020. On the other hand, there are high expectations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence, which lay claim to the role of a new engine of progress. However, this technological optimism exists against a backdrop of numerous military conflicts, accompanied by rhetoric about “peace,” which only heightens universal distrust and the perception of other actors as a threat—an attitude that has become the norm in this transitional period. Statistics reveal a deeply challenging condition for individuals: economic pressures threatening unemployment and income loss are battering not only the lower but also the middle class globally, with fewer jobs being created. This distress fuels a retreat from living the life in its complexity into substance abuse, gaming, and porn, mental health issues, suicides, leading to declining demographics, radicalization of views, and widespread dissatisfaction. The once-omnipotent media, which previously managed to channel the narratives, is now losing its means of message control – the trust is in true scarcity.

The entire world is, in essence, in a state of transit towards a new economic, political, and technological order. Searching for a framework to perceive the happening, I stumbled at Peter Frase’s book Four Futures. Frase uses “social science fiction” and “ideal types” to map out four possible post-capitalist worlds based on two variables: the level of scarcity or abundance (ecological crisis) and the level of hierarchy or equality (class power). While the author argues – or perhaps hopes – for a positive synthesis among the alternative future models that may lead to a solution that favors the humane development, personally I am less optimistic given the traceable record of the past decisions of the elites to choose and pursue self-interests ultimately bringing the inevitable just to maintain the status quo. I believe, we rapidly approach the point of singularity, where “either/or” will happen with only 2 variables on the table – 1 and 0.

I hope you took the bite, so let me briefly present the Frase’s future options adding a few of my thoughts on top of the topic.

Four Futures: Life after Capitalism

  • Communism: Equality and Abundance

This scenario envisions a post-scarcity utopia where high automation has eliminated the need for human labor.

Continue reading “What are our future prospects? The answer from Peter Frase’s “Four Futures” book”

The Culture of Rush and Slow thinking

Slow down! This is going to be a long post, but it is worth you time. If you are in a rush, go down to the last paragraph.

In a world of a constant rush, who is doing the slow thinking for you?

THESIS
It’s not just your imagination. The pace of life is accelerating in spite of all of the conveniences that we are exposed to, such as airplanes and fast trains, quick cars, productive computers, smart phones, smart houses, Internet with its instant availability, dishwashers, laundry machines, mixers, smart and functional food processors, robotized lawn mowers and abundance of other tools that are supposed to free up the time. The same is the situation at work, where work processes, production schedules and pressure to commit to rapid decision-making require an immediate action. This trend is nurtured in the public culture with its rapid-fire news cycles and next-day delivery to “speed-watching” videos and the relentless pressure to be more productive, we are all caught in a current of increasing speed. While often exhausting, this trend is not arbitrary. However, a solid question retains its validity whether we recognize the rush or not: towards what are we all rushing… towards what and, most importantly, what for?

The rush culture is built by the environment around us. It builds on an interesting connection to the processes of our individual, internal thinking with an outcome which is not pretty. The persistent rush is the logical outcome of a powerful convergence of technological, economic, and social forces affecting our fast and slow thinking (processes described by Daniel Kahneman) in a way that makes sense, while making no sense. Such duality is absurd, but it seems that humanity as a kind and its individual agents somewhere along the way gave up and embraced all of the absurdities to be able to discern any and more importantly do something about it. Please, follow me and I will show you what I noticed in a minute or so.
For simplicity, let’s consider these three reasons why our world is systematically speeding up – the technological, economic, and social forces. I am sure, these dimensions are not exhaustive, but sufficient to see the pattern and patterns is what matters, when one tries to see a bigger picture.

Technology is the primary driver of acceleration, creating and then catering to an expectation of immediacy. It establishes the feedback loop of instant gratification. Do you remember the clicking sound of the modem on your Windows 95 PC dialing the network provider and how long it took to load a webpage or download a favorite song? We’ve moved from dial-up internet to 5G. A delay of a few seconds in loading a webpage or video is now considered unacceptable. This eradication of technological waiting has rewired our patience, making us expect the same instantaneous response from other facets of life. Now, couple that with social media and news feeds powered by algorithms that prioritize engagement. Content that is new, shocking, or controversial gets pushed to the top, creating a relentless, 24/7 news cycle. The race for clicks and views incentivizes a faster churn of information, leaving little time for reflection. On top of that, the wide spread of productivity software, communication platforms, and automation tools, which are designed to help us do more in less time, did not produce more free time for its users. In fact, we end up in the “productivity paradox”: instead of creating more leisure time, we simply fill the saved time with more tasks, raising the baseline expectation for output ending up in a ferocious rat race chasing the undefined “better life”.

Continue reading “The Culture of Rush and Slow thinking”

On longevity and leaving a mark

There is such a beautiful idea I accidentally heard today:

A society grows great when old men plant trees under whose shade they know they’ll never sit (Joycelyn Elders, 1992).

This is a paraphrase of the Elton Trueblood’s

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit (Elton Trueblood, 1951).

This is the degree of long-term orientation that sounds so foreign to the instant gratification reflexes nourished in the contemporary mass culture. In fact, we were born in the world were the trees were planted by someone ahead of us. Is not that wonderful that we can enjoy their beauty? Is it not wonderful to transcend one’s own existence beyond the mere birth-death time period to fill that dash with a meaning? What mark are we leaving behind and I am not talking about the trees only? What kind of legacy one is building and how long will it last?

Mouth of God – reflection on Bible quote from Jeremiah 15:19-21

Here is a beautiful quote from the Bible addressed to prophet Jeremiah 15:19-21 (KJV).

Therefore thus saith the LORD:

If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

It is in a nature of a human to pretend to be more than one truly is, to attribute to our personal experience or achievements some supernatural value. Especially vividly this can be observed among church people, academia and business leaders. Many claim to be “the voice the God”, posses some truth or have some revelation, a message, an idea, when all they have got – just shadows. This passage reveals what it means to be “the mouth of God”, to have the knowledge, to be voice of/for truth. What one needs to do is pretty simple – “take forth the precious from the vile”.

Good things often come out of low environments. Take for instance the fruits or flowers. They grow beautifully because someone applied fertilizers, used some doo-doo, poured water and covered with soil. A diamond comes from the “dirty” environment of coal mines. Some brilliant people also come from low environments. Yet, being able to see beyond the immediate appearance, being able to discern the value, “the precious from the vile” and moreover to convey it to others, is therefore indeed a supernatural ability that makes someone more than he existentially is. He becomes the mouth of truth, vision, wisdom – the mouth of God.

Craving for simplicity

Some time ago I found the “needs and ideas” image below while browsing for some engineering related memes. First, found it funny, but after a thought the fun faded. This little image reveals the universal law of the modern world: The Law of Complicated Answers to Simple Questions.

Source: somewhere online

You know the feeling. You’re humming along in life, and a small, perfectly reasonable need pops into your head. Something like, “I wish I had a simple way to jot down a grocery list.” So you go looking for a solution. You type “digital notepad” into a search bar, and what you find is… an existential crisis.

You are no longer looking for a notepad. You are now evaluating a “Multi-Sensory, AI-Powered, Cross-Platform Synergistic Life-Management Ecosystem.” It doesn’t just hold your list for milk and eggs. It wants to analyze your purchasing habits, predict your future avocado needs, share your list with your fridge (which you don’t have), and send motivational quotes to your smartwatch when it detects you’re lingering too long in the cookie aisle.

All you wanted was to remember the bread.

This phenomenon is everywhere. It’s like every company is terrified of creating something that is merely excellent at one thing. They’re in a relentless race to add features, convinced that we, the consumers, are desperately crying out for more bells and whistles.

Why so? Continue reading “Craving for simplicity”

I am a voice crying in the wilderness

I am a voice crying in the wilderness. I am here and I am shouting into the void.

Source: https://pichold.ru/priroda/krasivaya-priroda-pustyni50-foto.html

“A voice crying in the wilderness,” in the language of the church, signifies a futile appeal, an expression of despair with no hope of a response. Who would cry out in the wilderness? I, on the contrary, know that today many people live in a wilderness: loneliness, meaninglessness, emptiness, and a thirst for life that overflows with meaning, fullness, emotions, energy, and a result that will remain even when you have finished your journey—in a word, life in abundance.

Many great figures were in such a wilderness before they began their great service. Remember Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth. I am not a great one, but I too have been in such a wilderness. I know firsthand what it’s like to search day after day for a sip of life, just as a wanderer searches for a sip of water, for shade and rest. But I also know that only by passing through the wilderness can one begin something great.

I decorated my own wilderness with various backdrops, filled it with noise: parties, entertainment, experiences, discussions on profoud topics, traveling, friends, career—noise that would distract me from the thought of emptiness. But Continue reading “I am a voice crying in the wilderness”

Менделеев о конечности Вселенной

Mendeleev’s periodic table

«Пусть смеются астрономы надо мной. Но, если я не могу увидеть строение атома, и утверждать как он устроен, то как они могут рассуждать безапелляционно о строении самой Вселенной. Я быстрей поверю, что Земля плоская, чем пространство за ней бесконечно. Ибо всему есть свои пределы и ограничения»

– Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев

“Let astronomers laugh at me all they want. But if I cannot see the structure of an atom and declare how it is arranged, how can they speak so categorically about the structure of the entire Universe? I would sooner believe that the Earth is flat than that the space beyond it is infinite. For everything has its limits and boundaries.”

– D. I. Mendeleev

Meaningless denial

It is surprising how far a human can go to deny the undesired but evident. All of the discussions about meaning and absurdity by Camus, Sartr, Russel, Becker and the likes are the stubborn denial of the evidence and the obvious. Nevertheless, they go in depths in order to justify their poor choice with complex and rigorous reasoning, which once and for more proves that we are the product of the stories we choose to tell to ourselves. Their stories though sound sublime and heroic wrapped in solemnity  in essence are empty. In the words of Andersen’s fairytale punchline, “The emperor has no clothes.”