The next two decades will be a time of dramatic change as the human race experiences more technological advancement in a single twenty year period than we experienced in the entire 20th Century.
Our technological progress will usher in many long-awaited advancements such as the curing of disease, extended life spans (some believe immortality), and the elimination of poverty. The next twenty years might also usher in a period of profound tribulation, marked by massive unemployment, social upheaval, and the prospect of an arms race and subsequent war so destructive it remains beyond our ability to comprehend. This will be the period of human history that leads us toward the singularity.
Whether it will be a time of great benefit, great danger, or most likely, a combination of the two, one thing can be certain: the next twenty years will be a time of profound and rapid change.
Throughout history, human progress (as measured by our technological advancement) has gradually marched forward. From rocks, to spears, to muskets, to machine guns, to nuclear weapons, the 21st Century man has become accustomed to, and in fact, embraces, change.
However, our wisdom has not necessarily kept pace with our growing knowledge base. As the saying goes - ignorance is not always bliss, and the world at large remains grossly ignorant of this impending event horizon.
As our technology has advanced, we've taken for granted that tomorrow will closely resemble today, that the rate of technological advancement is constant, and that progress will advance at the same rate to which we've become accustomed.
Ray Kurzweil calls this the "intuitive linear view," and it is wrong.
Unfortunately, most of humanity has planned for the future based on this false assumption. In reality, our technological advancement is not linear in nature, but exponential.
As the centuries and decades have passed, the technological advancement of humanity has begun to climb the exponential curve.
The 20th Century, known for staggering advancements in almost every field of endeavor, is fully indicative of this trend.
But while most people believe the 21st Century will witness the same rate of progress as the 20th Century, Ray Kurzweil has demonstrated that the 21st Century will more likely bring the equivalent progress of 200 20th Centuries.
As a result of this exponential increase in computational power, advanced artificial intelligence, genetics, robotics, and molecular manufacturing, we will be unable to speculate on events beyond a certain time horizon.
It is this event (the time horizon itself) that is known as the singularity, a time at which technological progress will accelerate beyond the ability of present-day humans to fully comprehend or predict.
According to Kurzweil's models, we will reach this point in the year 2029.
Britt Gillette is the founder of End Times Bible Prophecy and the author of Coming To Jesus and Signs Of The Second Coming. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for FREE when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.
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