The Father Of The Singularity Dead At 79
The world has lost one of the biggest names and brains in technology and sci-fi as Vernor Vinge reportedly died on March 20, 2024, at the age of 79. The news came from fellow author, David Brin, who was not just a fan of Vinge’s work but also a contemporary and a fellow Hugo Award winner. Brin shared the news via a Facebook post in which he praised the late writer’s zest for life, writing, and continuously challenging the speed with which artificial technology is moving.
Vinge’s ability to dream of new ideas within the genre was out of this world, with the scholar being one of the first authors to use the fictional idea of “cyberspace” in his work.
Having penned dozens of novels, essays, and short stories, Vernor Vinge’s biggest achievements in writing came through his titles A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky, and Rainbows End, all of which he won Hugo Awards for. He would also nab the coveted writing award for two of his novellas – Fast Times at Fairmont High and The Cookie Monster.
Aside from spending time creating universes and worlds for his readers to escape through, Vernor Vinge also worked as a mathematics and computer science professor at San Diego State University. As penning sci-fi novels wasn’t his only connection to space, Vinge’s ability to dream of new ideas within the genre was out of this world, with the scholar being one of the first authors to use the fictional idea of “cyberspace” in his work.
Even with all of his writing credits, some may argue that Vernor Vinge’s biggest contribution to humanity was his brains behind the technological singularity concept. The idea centers around our vastly growing use of artificial intelligence and the concern that technology may reach a point in the future where it outgrows humanity and essentially leads to our ruin. Vinge first used the term “singularity” in a 1983 op-ed in OMNI magazine in which he warned of the potential disasters awaiting us down the line if we aren’t careful.
Vernor Vinge’s biggest achievements in writing came through his titles A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky, and Rainbows End, all of which he won Hugo Awards for.
While back in the early ‘80s, Vernor Vinge’s singularity concept warning may have been something that was responded to with chuckles, we can now see that perhaps he wasn’t so off after all. Artificial intelligence is a technology that grows daily and has already proven to be just as detrimental as it is useful.
With his foreshadowing now something that others have brought up, we certainly look at its boom through a different lens than when it was first presented more than four decades ago. However, it’s worth noting that Vinge held onto the belief and hope that humans could get a handle on things before they spiraled out of control.
Even with all of his writing credits, some may argue that Vernor Vinge’s biggest contribution to humanity was his brains behind the technological singularity concept.
After nearly 30 years of teaching at San Diego State University, Vernor Vinge, who was a favorite among his peers and students, retired from his position in 2000. This was also around the time that his novel-writing career began to slow down, although he continued to write essays up until a few years ago.
According to Brin, Vinge had been battling Parkinson’s disease for the last several years and had been a resident at a care facility in the beautiful town of La Jolla, just outside of San Diego. At this time, we’re sending all of our thoughts and well wishes to Vinge’s friends and family.
