Summary
In this paper, I discuss the conditions necessary for computer simulations to qualify as a technological singularity in the empirical sciences. A technological singularity encompasses two claims: (a) the enhancement of human cognitive capacities by the computer, and (b) their displacement from the center of the production of knowledge. For computer simulations to be a technological singularity, then, they must fulfill points (a) and (b) above. Although point (a) is relatively unproblematic, point (b) needs further analysis. In particular, in order to show that humans could be displaced from the center of the production of knowledge, it is necessary to establish the reliability of computer simulations. That is, I need to show that computer simulations are reliable processes that render, most of the time, valid results. To be a reliable process, in turn, means that simulations accurately represent the target system and carry out error-free computations. I analyze verification and validation methods as the grounds for such representation accuracy and error-free computations. Since the aim is to entrench computer simulations as a technological singularity, the entire analysis must be careful to keep human agents out of the picture.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Since the context is clear, from now on I will use the terms ‘technological singularity’ and ‘singularity’ interchangeably.
- 2.
Unrealistic results are not equivalent to erroneous results. In this case, the results are correct of the simulation model although they do not represent any known empirical system.
References
Marco Ajelli and Stefano Merler. The impact of the unstructured contacts component in influenza pandemic modeling. PLoS ONE, 3(1):1–10, 2008.
ASME. Guide for verification and validation in computational solid mechanics. Technical report, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME Standard V&V 10-2006, 2006.
R. J. Field and R. M. Noyes. Oscillations in chemical systems IV: Limit cycle behavior in a model of a chemical reaction. Journal of Chemical Physics, 60:1877–1884, 1974.
Roman Frigg and Julian Reiss. The philosophy of simulation: Hot new issues or same old stew? Synthese, 169(3):593–613, 2009.
Alvin I. Goldman. What is justified belief? In G. S. Pappas, editor, Justification and Knowledge, pages 1–23. Reidel Publishers Company, 1979.
I. J. Good. Speculations concerning the first ultraintelligent machine. In F. Alt and M. Rubinoff, editors, Advances in Computers, volume 6. Academic Press, 1965.
Paul W. Humphreys. The philosophical novelty of computer simulation methods. Synthese, 169(3):615–626, 2009.
Ian C. Jenkins, Marie T. Casey, James T. McGinley, John C. Crocker, and Talid Sinno. Hydrodynamics selects the pathway for displacive transformations in DNA-linked colloidal crystallites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111:4803–4808, 2014.
Hans Jonas. Technology and responsibility: Reflections on the new task of ethics. In Morton Winston and Ralph Edelbach, editors, Society, Ethics, and Technology, pages 121–132. Cengage Learning, 2011.
R. Kurzweil. The singularity is near: When humans transcend biology. New York: Viking, 2005.
James Miller. Some economic incentives facing a business that might bring about a technological singularity. In Amnon H. Eden, James H. Moor, Johnny H. Soraker, and Eric Steinhart, editors, Singularity Hypotheses: A Scientific and Philosophical Assessment. Springer, 2012.
W. L. Oberkampf and T. G. Trucano. Verification and validation benchmarks. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 238(3):716–743, 2008.
A. M. Turing. Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind, 59(236):433–460, 1950.
V. Vinge. The coming technological singularity: How to survive in the post-human era. In Proc. Vision 21: interdisciplinary science and engineering in the era of cyberspace, pages 11–22. NASA: Lewis Research Center, 1993.
E. L. Wright. Preliminary results from the FIRAS and DIRBE experiments on COBE. In M. Signore and C. Dupraz, editors, The Infrared and Submillimeter Sky After COBE. Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute. Les Houches, France, Mar. 20–30, 1991, pages 231–248. Kluwer, 1992.
Kaj. Sotala and Roman. V. Yampolskiy. Responses to catastrophic AGI risk: a survey Physica Scripta, 90(1), 2015.
Acknowledgements
This article was possible thanks to a grant from CONICET (Argentina). Special thanks also go to Pío García, Marisa Velasco, Julián Reynoso, Xavier Huvelle, and Andrés Ilcic (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba - Argentina) for their time and comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Durán, J.M. (2017). Computer Simulations as a Technological Singularity in the Empirical Sciences. In: Callaghan, V., Miller, J., Yampolskiy, R., Armstrong, S. (eds) The Technological Singularity. The Frontiers Collection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54033-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54033-6_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-54031-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-54033-6
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)