Google and NASA launching school to help humans keep up with computers

From the world of truth is stranger than fiction comes the news that Google and NASA are partnering to create a special school for futurists in Silicon Valley to "prepare scientists for an era when machines become cleverer than people," according to the Financial Times article.

The institution - “Singularity University” - will be led by Ray Kurzweil, who predicted the exponential pace of technological change.

Among other things, Kurzweil gained notoriety for his stance that before 2050 artificial intelligence will outpace humans, thus meaning we will be living in the freaking Matrix.

To quote the FT article:

The so-called “singularity” is a theorised period of rapid technological progress in the near future. Mr Kurzweil, an American inventor, popularised the term in his 2005 book “The Singularity is Near”.

Proponents say that during the singularity, machines will be able to improve themselves using artificial intelligence and that smarter-than-human computers will solve problems including energy scarcity, climate change and hunger.

Yet many critics call the singularity dangerous. Some worry that a malicious artificial intelligence might annihilate the human race.

Well, I'm glad NASA is on this one. We will need the world's brightest minds to save us from computers. Aren't we already addicted enough to these things?

Not to trivialize a significant matter, because the law of unintended consequences is alive and well. Who knew that those computer punch cards of yore would lead to where we are today, a world where people text instead of talk, surf instead of walk and theorize without chalk.

Welcome to the future.