Ms. Gokturk

Trends in Literature

Singularity at 2045 Writing Challenge

Read the article. Annotate it; react to it on the paper. Become one with it. Think about it. Do you believe it? Could this really happen?

YOUR TASK: Working alone or in pairs, write an excerpt from a longer story that is inspired by Kurzweil’s theory of Singularity.

1. Choose a point of view (POV) and establish what your protagonist wants:
1. A scientist involved in creating AI
2. Raymond Kurzweil
3. An average person
4. A super intelligent computer
5. An object in nature
6. Someone/something else?
2. Choose a time
1. Pre-singularity
2. Post-singularity
3. Develop the setting using at least one element addressed/predicted in the article. For example: brain implants, no more aging/immortality, downloading humans into computers, the life-death-religion relationship, resurrecting the dead, neural implants, a self-sustainable dome, silicon as the new “organic,” who is selected for immortality/how, or find another place for inspiration within the article.
4. Create an opposing character to your protagonist. What does he/she/it want and how does this create a challenge/obstacle for your protagonist? (You may refer to the above list if helpful.)
5. Write your excerpt. It should illustrate your characters in conflict in your setting. Use of 1^st or 3^rd person but remain true to your character’s POV.