As reported by The International Business Times, the US Navy is asking for the help of gamers to address the Singularity, the concept that the invention of AI could trigger technological growth that alters the human race, as well as the possibility of the rise of AI.
To do this they'll be running a browser-based multiplayer game for a week, in order to crowdsource ideas for dealing with this possible Singularity
"Technology has advanced to the point that we can see the Singularity on the horizon," director of disruptive technology at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Dr. Eric Gulovsen revealed in a statement. "What we can't see, yet, is what lies over the horizon. That's where we need help from players."
"This is a complex, open-ended problem, so we're looking for people from all walks of life - Navy, non-Navy, technology, non-technologist - to help us design our Navy for a 'post-Singularity' world."
The game is called the Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet (MMOWGLI), and will allow players to post ideas, build, debate, or call for more expertise, and the best concepts will be adopted by the Navy, and by best we mean the ones that are most popular and achieve critical mass. These will then potentially be "elevated to action plans for further development or adoption."
Here is how MMOWGLI is described: "A tidal wave of change is rapidly approaching today's Navy. We can ride this wave and harness its energy, or get crushed by it. There is no middle ground. What is the nature of this change? The SINGULARITY. We can see the SINGULARITY on the horizon. What we can's see, YET, is what lies OVER that horizon. That's where you come in. Help us design our Navy for the Post-Singularity World."
You can sign up for MMOWGLI here if you're interested. Do you think the Singularity is a real threat?