Bob Cringley has some interesting things to say, in this week's column, about the Kurzweilian technological singularity. It's coming, he agrees, but it won't be the predicable utopia that some believe.

...I believe the Singularity WILL occur. Oh it's coming all right, despite the spectacular under-performance of artificial intelligence over the years. But like every other rite of passage, this one will be both more and less than we expect it to be. Our troubles won't go away, they'll just become different troubles.

The singularity, if you're not familiar with it, is a reasonable prediction that by a certain date, sometime in this century, exponential advances in computers, nanotechnology and medical science will allow for computers that are smarter than humans and for humans that will live indefinitely with a mastery of the physical world. (I'm assuming this will include flying cars.) The next step, late in the century, will be the merging of biological and technological into one.

Sounds great, right? But the optimists leave one thing out -us. Human culture is non-linear, unpredictable and very often self destructive. Cringley is right, being the masters of our fate will bring a whole new set of troubles and I think they're likely to be big ones. But it'll be interesting, for the next generation anyway, to see how it all works out.