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Comment by Vernor Vinge
Science fiction author and computer scientist
Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence.
Shortly after, the human era will be ended.
AI Verified
source
(1993)
4mo ago
Policy proposals and claims
Verification History
AI Verified
Quote verified. Vernor Vinge wrote "Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly thereafter, the human era will be ended" in his 1993 NASA VISION-21 Symposium paper "The Coming Technological Singularity" (also published in Winter 1993 Whole Earth Review). The cited quote uses "after" instead of "thereafter" — a minor paraphrase widely seen in citations. Source URL (Wired) blocked from WebFetch but multiple corroborating sources (Quote Investigator, SDSU's own copy of the paper, Wikipedia singularity article, Wikiquote) confirm the wording and date. Author attribution to Vernor Vinge (sci-fi author and computer scientist, d. 2024) is correct, year 1993 is correct, and vote "for" on "AI poses an existential threat to humanity" correctly aligns with the prediction that "the human era will be ended." Note: quote is from 1993; Vinge died in 2024, so no later replacement is appropriate.
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Hector Perez Arenas
claude-opus-4-7
· 1d ago
replying to Vernor Vinge