[TheOtherHobbes]

Yes, exactly. I think faith in an apocalyptic singularity is a hangover from religion, and not something that can be justified scientifically.

We're actually incredibly bad at making robust, reliable software. So there's no realistic basis for assuming a self-improving machine is even possible. Never mind a conscious self-improving machine. Even less a conscious self-improving machine that develops god-like capabilities at an exponential rate.

Game changer tech is always possible. But AI-on-silicon is going to be a dead end without some new non-Turing computing substrate.

The real problems are political and social, and we already have those. Automation - rather than true autonomous AGI - may well make them worse. But that's a different problem, and not obviously related to quasi-sentient paperclip machines rampaging through our cities.