Are We in the AI Singularity?

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The Drew Mariani Show.

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On Relevant Radio. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says artificial intelligence has reached a major turning point, arguing the technology is now advancing so quickly, it could fundamentally change the way we work and live.

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We are now like in the singularity, like this is the moment.

**Sam Altman** (0:31)
Ten years ago, this was like a kind of far off dream at best.

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It seemed very improbable.

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The singularity is a term used to describe the point where AI surpasses human intelligence. For decades, Hollywood has imagined the possibility of artificial intelligence becoming too powerful for humans to control. Now, Altman is taking that debate to Washington, meeting with the Trump administration this week to showcase OpenAI's most powerful model yet.

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It's The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio.

**Drew Mariani** (1:01)
So let's talk about this huge story, right? I mean, you're talking about Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, saying we are now in the singularity. Humanity is now in the singularity. What are the future you've been hearing about? It's not 20 years away. Everybody thinks, oh, AI, it's just out of the womb, it's going to take forever to get up to speed. This is not a threat. What if it's already here? What if the stuff is accelerating at light speed?
So what is the singularity? Are we standing now the dawn of a technological revolution unlike anything the world has ever seen? Greater than anything. Take the internet, take the industrial revolution, take all these things.
Are we about to enter a new world, something you couldn't even have imagined a decade ago? Could artificial intelligence become the greatest tool ever created? Could it be our greatest temptation? Could it be our ruler? Let's talk about this today. And if you want to join me too, I'd love to hear from you. Number to get in this show anytime. It's 888-914-9149, 888-914-9149. You're gonna be joining just a moment by Dr. Fernanda Psihas, and she'll be with me here in a quick second. But before I get to her, I just want to go back to this issue of the singularity.
Because I find it striking. It's a phrase that futurists, they've used for decades to describe that moment when technological progress accelerates so rapidly that life before and after becomes almost recognizable. And for thousands of years, humanity, of course, we had this gradual, we advanced gradually. We had the printing press, and that changed civilization. Electricity transformed the world. The automobile changed transportation. The internet connected the globe and changed life as we know it. But nothing like what we're now seeing. AI is going to do all those things at once, and at a speed unlike anything you've ever seen. So whether Mr. Altman is right or wrong about whether or not we're living in the singularity, there's no doubt that AI is already shaping medicine and education and finance and communication and warfare, entertainment, personal relationships. So the question isn't whether artificial intelligence will become more powerful, because it will. There's no question about that.
The real question for us is will you be able to remain in control of it? Some people wonder, you know, will AI become self-aware? I was watching a podcast over the weekend on that. I don't think it ever will. But this AI, the father of AI, you know, the great creator of it, says yeah, it will. I find that hard to believe. But let's talk about this right now with Dr. Psihas. She joins me. It's good to have her back. She's a professor of physics and computer science at Franciscan University of Steubenville. And she's been with us in the past to explore this. And it's always good to tap into her expertise. Doctor, welcome back. Thanks for joining me.

**Fernanda Psihas** (4:06)
Hi, Drew. Thanks for having me.

**Drew Mariani** (4:08)
So, I mean, when I saw that ex post go out by Sam Altman over the weekend, and he says that humanity is now living in the singularity, maybe you can unpack what that means and what it might even portend for the future. Is a singularity a scientific reality, or is it just more of a philosophical prediction? What was he saying?

**Fernanda Psihas** (4:31)
So, I think for a long time, people in the industry have, and even if you think about people who write sci-fi, we've all understood this concept of the AI singularity as the moment where artificial intelligence becomes as good or better than human intelligence. Now, the tech companies nowadays refer to it as more of a way to say AI can do what humans can do but better.