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What signs would you look for which indicated that the Singularity is near?

Vernor Vinge: There are a number of negative and positive symptoms that a person can watch for. An example of a negative symptom would be if you began to notice larger and larger software debacles. In fact, that’s sort of fun to write about. One of the simplest of positive signs is simply to note whether or not the effects of Moore’s Law are continuing on track.
[..] So, for instance, in the next ten years, if you notice more and more substitution for using fragments of human cognition in the outside world — if human occupational responsibility becomes more and more automated in areas involving judgment that haven’t yet been automated — then what you’re seeing is rather like a rising tide of this cognitive outsourcing. That would actually be a very powerful symptom."