Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

The Joke

A futurist breathlessly describes the technological singularity — the hypothetical moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and accelerates beyond our comprehension. The singularity will transform civilization, end death, solve all problems, and... the futurist trails off because they realize they're describing the Rapture but for nerds.

The Humor

The comic draws a direct parallel between religious eschatology and singularity futurism. Both predict a transformative event that will radically and permanently improve the human condition, both require faith in something that hasn't been demonstrated, and both give their adherents a sense of special knowledge and purpose. The joke is that tech futurists who pride themselves on rationality are engaged in a form of religious thinking.

Context

The technological singularity was popularized by Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil. Critics (including many AI researchers) have pointed out that the concept relies on speculative extrapolations and unfounded assumptions about the nature of intelligence. The comparison to religious millenarianism has been made by multiple commentators, but SMBC's version is one of the most concise and memorable.