The Law of Accelerating Returns (LOAR) is a principle that states that the speed of technological development tends to accelerate over time. This has been observed in a wide range of technologies in both biological and non-biological domains. The law was first proposed by Ray Kurzweil, an inventor and scientist who has had a major impact on modern technology with his inventions such as speech recognition software, optical character recognition software, and text-to-speech synthesisers. He is currently working on artificial intelligence for Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc.
The Law of Accelerating Returns is an idea that describes the exponential growth of technology, and how it will affect our lives in the future. If you’re not familiar with it yet, this article will help explain what it is and why it matters.
The concept was first introduced by Ray Kurzweil in his book The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (2005). It states that technological progress tends to follow an exponential curve rather than a linear one; as we add more time into our history, technology progresses at an increasing rate–like compound interest on money invested in the bank. As such, we can expect technological evolution to continue at its current pace until all humanity has been uploaded into cyberspace or some other form of virtual reality.*
Moore’s Law
Moore’s Law is an observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. It was first formulated by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965.
Moore’s Law can be seen as an example of accelerating returns, because it states that technological progress will occur at an exponential rate over time.
Self-Replicating Machines
Self-replicating machines are a type of machine that can make copies of themselves. DNA, RNA and proteins are examples of self-replicating machines. They have been around for billions of years and have created all the life on earth today.
For example: You could program a computer to write code that builds another computer; or you could build an android who can reproduce itself in order to make more androids – this is how we got AIs like JARVIS from Iron Man!
There are many types of self-replicating machines: software programs (like viruses), biological organisms (like bacteria), mechanical robots (like drones) or even physical buildings (like skyscrapers). All these things can create new copies of themselves over time by using energy sources such as sunlight in photosynthesis or electricity from batteries when needed during construction work such as building skyscrapers!
The biotech revolution
- Biotech is a broad term that includes genetic engineering, stem cell research and cloning.
- Biotechnology is not a threat to humanity. In fact, it will lead to better health and longer lifespans for all of us.
Nanotechnology and Molecular Manufacturing
Nanotechnology is the study of the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale. Molecular manufacturing is a process by which structures are built with atomic precision, using nanomachines or molecular assemblers. Molecular manufacturing will make it possible to create machines that can self-replicate; these replicators will be able to create new versions of themselves, along with other products desired by their owner/operator.
The Law of Accelerating Returns states that “the time required for an evolutionary leap is decreasing.” In other words, each subsequent generation advances more rapidly than its predecessor; this leads us toward a technological singularity (a point when AI becomes smarter than humans).
Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things
The internet of things (IoT) is a network of devices connected to the internet. The term was first used in 1999, but it wasn’t until recently that we’ve seen an explosion in IoT devices and applications. Today, there are billions of IoT-connected devices–from home appliances like thermostats and refrigerators, to wearable devices such as Fitbit trackers or Apple Watches, to vehicles like Tesla cars.
The IoT will create a smarter world where machines communicate with each other autonomously and react accordingly based on data they receive from sensors embedded throughout our environments. For example: imagine walking into your house after work at night when all lights automatically turn on; then imagine taking off those shoes because they detect moisture outside (and thus wouldn’t want you tracking mud inside); finally imagine checking out how much electricity costs today by simply looking at an app on your phone rather than having read through pages upon pages printed out by utility companies every month! We are already seeing some incredible examples today thanks largely due to advancements made possible through advances made possible via accelerating returns principles outlined previously herein….
The Law of Accelerating Returns will lead to machines getting smarter until they take over the world.
The Law of Accelerating Returns is a theory that predicts that machines will get smarter and more powerful until they take over the world. It’s also not a law, but rather an observation about how technological progress has been exponential throughout history. The idea was first proposed by Ray Kurzweil, inventor and futurist who has made some amazing predictions in his time–including writing software before it existed (he wrote music synthesizers with the help of computers), predicting when humans would create self-driving cars, and inventing a machine that can read text faster than any human could ever hope to do it themselves!
The law states that we will reach singularity (the point at which artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence) in 2045 thanks to two factors:
- Moore’s Law (which describes how computer processing power doubles every 18 months or so)
- The fact that computers learn from their mistakes as well as from what we teach them
In the end, it’s clear that the Law of Accelerating Returns will lead to machines getting smarter until they take over the world. We can only hope that by then we have figured out how to live in peace with them!
