ABSTRACT
Our world is experiencing profound technological changes at an accelerating rate. Moore’s Law—the doubling of computer processing speed every 18 months—is one manifestation of this exponential rate of technological change, which rushes toward an explosion in capability that will radically alter the world in ways impossible to seriously predict. The systems, processes, and structures that underpin our society are facing radical disruption. For instance, what would happen to businesses that manufacture, distribute, and service vehicles if self-driving electric cars become a cheaply available commodity? What new terrorism opportunities will emerge at the convergence point between transit automation and hacking? Likewise, what are the implications of global information systems with ubiquitous access to information, as they begin to know us better than we know ourselves (Harari 2017)? Ray Kurzweil (2006, 2013) describes a singularity event approaching where super Artificial Intelligence (AI) hits a tipping point so extreme that it will be impossible to predict the outcomes on the other side of the digital event horizon. What does it mean for humanity as AI emerges and converges with breakthroughs in robotics, automation, genetic engineering, quantum theory and social media?
