Singularity.
The hypothetical moment where we create a greater than human intelligence that triggers further extremely rapid technological and self-reinforcing change. Beyond this proposed moment, AI is no longer controlled by humans and is capable of such rapid self-improvement that everything is unpredictable beyond anything we've experienced before. Human civilisation would, at this point, change significantly and it's a historic turning point. Our world would be without our control and it's likely that technological innovation would be beyond our understanding or visibility from this point on. Many believe reaching the singularity would be catastrophic for us humans. Some believe we might already be at the singularity with the recursive model training and development already being used. Why "singularity"? It's a term taken from maths and physics with sci-fi connotations. In maths it's where an equation zooms to infinity, and in physics it's more like the centre of a black hole where time and space are mushed into one and there's no going back.
In the wild
“are we beginning to see the first signs of the singularity, or are we still a long way from it?”
Seen here: Bernard Marr, Forbes, 2026
For AI users
One for broad awareness for now as a concept, especially with the link to ASI and AGI. All of which are very topical right now with significant concern from certain expert voices about AI safety and AI pacing.
For business leaders
To avoid the catastrophic elements of the singularity, we must solve "the alignment problem", i.e. how to align human and machine values, objectives and interests in a way that's effective and permanent, ensuring any future AI is aligned to these.