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What is a Singleton?

nickbostrom.com · 1,801 words · saved by 1 readers

This note introduces the concept of a “singleton” and suggests that this concept is useful for formulating and analyzing possible scenarios for the future of humanity. In set theory, a singleton is a set with only one member, but as I introduced the notion, the term refers to a world order in which there is a single decision-making agency at the highest level.[1] Among its powers would be (1) the ability to prevent any threats (internal or external) to its own existence and supremacy, and (2) the ability to exert effective control over major features of its domain (including taxation and territorial allocation). Many singletons could co-exist in the universe if they were dispersed at sufficient distances to be out of causal contact with one another. But a terrestrial world government would not count as a singleton if there were independent space colonies or alien civilizations within reach of Earth. A democratic world republic could be a kind of singleton, as could a world dictatorship

What is a Singleton? What is a Singleton? (2005) Nick Bostrom Future of Humanity Institute Faculty of Philosophy Oxford University www.nickbostrom.com [ Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations , Vol. 5, No. 2 (2006): pp. 48-54] ABSTRACT This note introduces the concept of a “singleton” and suggests that this concept is useful for formulating and analyzing possible scenarios for the future of humanity. 1. Definition In set theory, a singleton is a set with only one member, but as I introduced the notion, the term refers to a world order in which there is a single decision-making agency at t

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