# Vinge's singularity essay (1993): SI History

> Vernor Vinge predicts superhuman intelligence within 30 years and asks whether such an event can be guided at all. Explained in plain English, with sources.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/vinges-singularity-essay-1993/
Updated: 2026-11-08

1. [Home](https://enterrsi.si/)
2. [Encyclopedia](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/)
3. Vinge's singularity essay (1993)

RSI Encyclopedia · Event · 1993

# Vinge's singularity essay (1993)

Vernor Vinge predicts superhuman intelligence within 30 years and asks whether such an event can be guided at all.

Date
:   1993

Type
:   Milestone

Status
:   Happened

Era
:   1993

## What happened

Vernor Vinge predicts superhuman intelligence within 30 years and asks whether such an event can be guided at all.

## Why it matters

Vinge presented the essay at a NASA symposium. He argued that a superhuman intelligence would end the human era, and that the change could come through computers, networks or enhanced human minds.

## Source

1. [Vinge, 1993](https://edoras.sdsu.edu/~vinge/misc/singularity.html)

## On the timeline

This event is one of 20 milestones on the [RSI timeline](https://enterrsi.si/timeline/), from 1950 to SI building SI.

The event

Date
:   March 30, 1993

Type
:   Timeline milestone

Related terms

[Technological singularity **Term**](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/technological-singularity/)[Fast takeoff **Term**](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/fast-takeoff/)

Cite this entry

"Vinge's singularity essay (1993)." The RSI Encyclopedia, enterrsi.si, November 8, 2026. https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/vinges-singularity-essay-1993/

Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.

The RSI Encyclopedia

## Keep reading

207 entries on the terms, labs, models, laws and events of rogue SI, plus every case in the Rogue Incident Database.

[Previous event The UN declaration on SI control (2026)](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/the-un-declaration-on-si-control-2026/)[Next event When a Country Bans or Pauses Frontier Super Intelligence](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/country-bans-super-intelligence/)

Enter RSI

## Every term, lab, model and law

Browse the full A to Z index, filter by category or search for a name.

[Open the encyclopedia](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/)
[Incident Database](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/)
[Containment Board](https://enterrsi.si/containment-board/)