Has anyone seen this film? I believe that many of the questions asked in the film are questions that ME wants us to think about. Kurzweil has been very active with the gaming industry and I am sure Bioware has been exposed to his idea. The idea of Singularity is open to interpretation, but it essentially equals a massive expansion of technology very very quickly. We very well might be on the cusp of this ourselves. Some of the best thinkers on the issue think it is going to become a major issue within the next 3 years... Hugo de Garis has a discussed this. Ben Goertzl (spelling may be wrong) is another individual with many statements on this issue.

A major part of the film is the discussion that we are very close to being able to essentially link up our brains to a global network (not unlike the Geth) and that we will soon be able to develop computers small enough to act as blood cells and brain cells. An example used in the film is this:

40 years ago computers were the size of buildings, today we hold vastly more powerful computers in our pocket. With computing speed doubling every year (Moore's Law), mankind is about to be facing some very serious issues. It is best for us to talk about this now in order to give ourselves as much time as possible to include as many as possible to provide input. This issue is going to transcend nation states.

I do no want to tell too much about the film in case many have not seen it. But if people have it might be interesting to discuss. I tried this on the Bioware forums and the next post was someone bitching about the ending in the typical self absorbed fashion that now dominates it.

Moore's Law isn't about computing speed, it's about the cost of placing transistors on an integrated circuit.

@Amtiskaw said:

Moore's Law isn't about computing speed, it's about the cost of placing transistors on an integrated circuit.

"Moore's law is a rule of thumb in the history of computing hardware whereby the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The period often quoted as "18 months" is due to Intel executive David House, who predicted that period for a doubling in chip performance (being a combination of the effect of more transistors and their being faster)

The capabilities of many digital electronic devices are strongly linked to Moore's law: processing speed, memory capacity, sensors and even the number and size of pixels in digital cameras. All of these are improving at (roughly)exponential rates as well (see Other formulations and similar laws). This exponential improvement has dramatically enhanced the impact of digital electronics in nearly every segment of the world economy. Moore's law describes a driving force of technological and social change in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

But yes I should have maybe explained it more...

Oh.. forgot to mention The movie is available on netflix just so everyone knows, It is a good watch.

Mass Effect was never amount the technological singularity. In essence, it was always a hi-tech civil war story set against a space opera backdrop.

"The Issue is going to transcend nation states."

This reminds me how outdated the notion of a country is in the 21st century. Hello, we have the internet? When I can talk to or do business with some guy in China instantly from my computer in Canada, do we really need countries? The internet is so international, and the laws associated with regulating it should also be international in nature. I think it's time to ditch the concept of a "nation" like we ditched the concept of a "kingdom" or "empire" 150 years ago.

@815Sox said:

@Amtiskaw said:

Moore's Law isn't about computing speed, it's about the cost of placing transistors on an integrated circuit.

"Moore's law is a rule of thumb in the history of computing hardware whereby the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The period often quoted as "18 months" is due to Intel executive David House, who predicted that period for a doubling in chip performance (being a combination of the effect of more transistors and their being faster)

The capabilities of many digital electronic devices are strongly linked to Moore's law: processing speed, memory capacity, sensors and even the number and size of pixels in digital cameras. All of these are improving at (roughly)exponential rates as well (see Other formulations and similar laws). This exponential improvement has dramatically enhanced the impact of digital electronics in nearly every segment of the world economy. Moore's law describes a driving force of technological and social change in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

But yes I should have maybe explained it more...

Every two years, not one.

@Napalm said:

Mass Effect was never amount the technological singularity. In essence, it was always a hi-tech civil war story set against a space opera backdrop.

The Geth, Project Overload (sortof), EDI are all AIs. Shepard was resurrected through the use of technology, Cerberus, Husks, Reapers modifying the Protheans...