Peak prediction, peak human?

On Twitter and here I’ve mentioned a few times that I think “science fiction” has become kind of a meaningless term — if we can think of something, we likely can achieve it. (Go ahead, try to come up with something that you think we won’t be able to realize…eventually. I’ll wait. 🙂)

The last few years I’ve been fond of saying that there really is no such thing as science fiction any more. It seems to me the term will soon become an anachronism harkening back to a time when humans (or our robot heirs) couldn’t bring every idea to fruition.

Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, there are things we don’t yet understand. Yes, I think there are things we’ll never understand; the machines — created by the machines that we create — most certainly will take the reins before we can fully unlock the universe. But, on the whole, there are few nuts we humans haven’t been able to crack, or otherwise won’t be able to soon.

Maybe at its edges the AI singularity is simply the inability for us to predict our future…at which point we will begin to struggle to maintain our dominance on Earth (and potentially other planets). It’s a completely insane time to be the organic kings of this spinning rock we call home. Enjoy it while it lasts.