Singularity as Developmental History: The Structure of Technological Predestination
When singularity theory is interpreted as a form of predestination, the central issue is not whether its forecasts are correct, but how history is narrated. Marx’s historical materialism explained social transformation through contradictions between the forces and relations of production. In later interpretations, however, this framework was often simplified into a developmental history in which societies necessarily pass through fixed stages and ultimately arrive at communism. Here, historical law replaces divine will as the force guaranteeing salvation. Singularity theory often adopts a similar structure. The growth of computing power, recursive AI self-improvement, and the emergence of superintelligence are presented as a unidirectional sequence. Human choice and institutional design are then reduced to forms of adaptation to a future that has already been decided. Yet neither technological innovation nor the development of productive forces determines social outcomes by itself...