Technological Singularity Research Starters Ebsco

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 27, 2025, 7:49 PM

technological singularity research starters ebsco

The technological singularity is a theoretical concept suggesting that the rapid advancement of technology, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), may one day surpass human control and understanding, fundamentally altering human civilization. Proponents believe this could lead to scenarios where humans merge with machines or are replaced by them, potentially resulting in self-aware computers or machines that can program themselves. The idea has roots in the 1950s and gained traction in the 1990s, with notable predictions from figures like Ray Kurzweil, who posited that machine intelligence could exceed human intelligence by 2045. While some envision a future where technology enhances human capabilities and addresses societal challenges, others express concern over the risks associated with extreme reliance on AI. Skeptics question the feasibility of achieving true machine intelligence, arguing that human cognitive abilities, shaped by millions of years of evolution, may be impossible to replicate in machines. The discourse surrounding the singularity is diverse, with opinions ranging from utopian visions of human-machine collaboration to warnings about potential existential threats posed by advanced AI.

Overall, the singularity represents a pivotal point in discussions about the future of technology and its implications for humanity. The technological singularity is the theoretical concept that the accelerating growth of technology will one day overwhelm human civilization. Adherents of the idea believe that the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence in the twenty-first century will eventually result in humans either merging with technology or being replaced by it. Variations of the technological singularity include the development of computers that surpass human intelligence, a computer that becomes self-aware and can program itself, or the physical merger of biological and machine life. Skeptics argue that creating machine intelligence at that high of a level is unlikely or impossible, as is the human capability to insert true consciousness into a machine. The concept was first touched upon in the 1950s and later applied to computers in the 1990s.

The term singularity originated in the field of astrophysics, where it refers to the region at the center of a black hole where gravitation forces become infinite. Computers are electronic machines that perform various functions, depending on the programming they receive. In most cases, even highly advanced systems are dependent on the instructions they receive from humans. Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer engineering that seeks to program computers with the ability to simulate human intelligence. In this context, intelligence is defined as the ability to learn by acquiring information, reasoning, and self-correction. The term artificial intelligence (AI) was first used in the 1950s and can refer to everything from automated computer operations to robotics.

AI is generally divided into two categories. Weak AI is a program designed to perform a particular task. Automated personal assistants such as Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri are examples of weak AI. These devices recognize a user's commands and carry out their functions. Research Starters is a feature in EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) that provides links to citable, authoritative summary articles for thousands of popular topics. Designed to assist users with their research, this feature was developed based on extensive studies with undergraduate and graduate students.

When a user conducts a search in EDS, a Research Starter (outlined below in red) may appear at the top of the Result List. For those topics identified as most popular, Research Starters will retrieve relevant articles that link the user to related information and detailed bibliographies. Research Starters content is curated from a variety of high quality sources, both proprietary and encyclopedic, including: Research Starters for EBSCO Discovery Service is a feature that provides links to citable, authoritative summary articles for thousands of popular topics. Designed to assist users with their research, this feature was developed based on extensive studies with undergraduate and graduate students. When a user conducts a search, a Research Starter can be configured to appear at the top of a Results List.

For those topics identified as most popular, Research Starters will retrieve relevant articles that link the user to related information and detailed bibliographies. Research Starters content is curated from a variety of high quality sources, both proprietary and encyclopedic, including Salem Press, Encyclopedia Britannica, and others. View the video and tutorial of the features available within Research Starters in EBSCOhost. In order for Research Starters to return articles for an EDS API profile, the Research Starters databases must be associated with your API profile. Transhumanism is an intellectual movement that advocates for the enhancement of the human condition through advanced technology. Emerging from critiques of humanism, which traditionally emphasized human-centric values and ethics, transhumanism seeks to overcome inherent human limitations such as disease and mortality.

This philosophy is closely related to posthumanism, which questions the purely human-centric perspective and considers the implications of technological advancements on our understanding of humanity. Key concepts within transhumanism include human enhancement, machine intelligence, and the technological singularity. Human enhancement involves using technology to improve physical and cognitive abilities, while machine intelligence refers to the potential for machines to think or act autonomously, blurring the lines between human and non-human agents. The singularity is a more radical idea suggesting a future point when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, fundamentally altering society. While proponents view transhumanism as a pathway to a more advanced future, critics raise concerns about its implications for social equity, environmental sustainability, and the ethical dimensions of such enhancements. These debates highlight the diverse perspectives surrounding the potential and pitfalls of integrating technology into the essence of what it means to be human.

The intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment ushered Europe into the modern era. One idea that was central to the Enlightenment was humanism, which held that human beings were the primary agents as well as sources of ethics and meaning in society. This was in contrast to the prevailing worldview of the day, which placed religion at the center of all meaning and culture. Humanism ultimately gave rise not only to the concepts of human rights, but also to numerous movements in art, culture, and even science. In the contemporary era, however, critiques from traditionalist, feminist, postmodernist, naturalist and other viewpoints have called a human-centric worldview into question. One philosophy that arose from critiques of humanism is transhumanism, which aims to promote overcoming of human limitations and weaknesses that have traditionally been considered intrinsic to the human condition through increasing connections with...

Transhumanism is closely related to posthumanism, a broader term that encompasses all views critical of a purely human-centric worldview. Posthumanism addresses concerns with humanism that arise from numerous concerns, including the European-centric way in which “human” has traditionally been defined to viewpoints sympathetic with medieval worldviews that existed prior to the Enlightenment. Transhumanism, specifically, is concerned with the way that new technology will change or replace the concept of being human. Explore our comprehensive collection of research articles in this subject area, providing reliable context and citations for your research projects. Explore our comprehensive collection of research articles in this subject area, providing reliable context and citations for your research projects. The technological singularity, often simply called the singularity,[1] is a hypothetical event in which technological growth accelerates beyond human control, producing unpredictable changes in human civilization.[2][3] According to the most popular version of the...

J. Good's intelligence explosion model of 1965, an upgradable intelligent agent could eventually enter a positive feedback loop of successive self-improvement cycles; more intelligent generations would appear more and more rapidly, causing an explosive increase... Some scientists, including Stephen Hawking, have expressed concern that artificial superintelligence could result in human extinction.[5][6] The consequences of a technological singularity and its potential benefit or harm to the human race have been... Prominent technologists and academics dispute the plausibility of a technological singularity and associated artificial intelligence "explosion", including Paul Allen,[7] Jeff Hawkins,[8] John Holland, Jaron Lanier, Steven Pinker,[8] Theodore Modis,[9] Gordon Moore,[8] and Roger Penrose.[10]... Stuart J. Russell and Peter Norvig observe that in the history of technology, improvement in a particular area tends to follow an S curve: it begins with accelerating improvement, then levels off without continuing upward into...

Alan Turing, often regarded as the father of modern computer science, laid a crucial foundation for contemporary discourse on the technological singularity. His pivotal 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" argued that a machine could, in theory, exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human.[12] However, machines capable of performing at or... The Hungarian–American mathematician John von Neumann (1903–1957) is the first known person to discuss a coming "singularity" in technological progress.[14][15] Stanislaw Ulam reported in 1958 that an earlier discussion with von Neumann "centered on... A 'Research Starter' is a feature within the Library's EBSCOhost Discovery Service (EDS) database, also known as ONEsearch. This feature appears at the top of the result list after a user has conducted a search. Research Starters provide authoritative summary articles for popular topics.

The content is curated from a variety of authoritative, high-quality, scholarly resources such as, Salem Press and H.W. Wilson reference books. The content is continuously evaluated for currency, accuracy, and relevancy. Research Starters are a great place to begin research and learn more about a broad topic.

Technological Singularity Research Starters Ebsco

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