When I first began linking the Singularity to “utopia” it was from my viewpoint unheard of, almost shameful, to make such a link.
Transhumanists/Singularitarians typically wanted to debate and raise awareness regarding “existential threats” such as bio-terrorists according to Kurzweil.
Formerly the topic of dangerous AI, according to Anissimov and others at the Singularity Institute or elsewhere, was the overriding focus for serious futurists. No groups were actively predicting utopia, thus yours truly, Singularity Utopia, was born.
Kurzweil has actually stated, very prominently, he
does not think utopia is possible, but perhaps he is now slowly seeing
the error of his anti-utopian views.
I’ve now been causing mayhem in cyberspace, regarding raising awareness of utopia, for approximately three years, since 2010. From my viewpoint the focus on dangerous AI now appears less intense, or least it is diluted by positive views of the future. It could be coincidental but there now seems to be at least a begrudging acknowledgement of utopia being possible, and some people are almost as enthusiastic as I am. Hopefully I have made a difference but whatever the cause it is good to see awareness of utopia increasing. I think it is more productive to focus on the positives instead of negatives.
Note the positivity of Future Day, which "was first publicly discussed at the Humanity+ Leadership: MINDS conference on September 15 2011."
Note also a recent presentation titled "A Singularitarian Utopia Or A New Dark Age?" by Ian Pearson, which was commented upon via transhumanity.net and elsewhere. Admittedly the article via transhumanity.net focused on the "controversies" but at least debate is a step forward.
