Toby Ord: time delays in the intelligence feedback loop rule out a true singularity
tobyordoxford · x · 2026-11-10
Replying to Fin Moorhouse's singularity thread, philosopher Toby Ord adds a mathematical constraint: a delayed differential equation with a feedback-loop time delay that doesn't shrink to zero cannot blow up to infinity in finite time — so a strict hyperbolic singularity is impossible. Still, with small delays and strong compounding, growth can go a long way before the delay bites. This complements Moorhouse's point that lags and frictions only postpone, not prevent, a singularity.
Related event: Ord vs Moorhouse: Can Time Delays Stop an Intelligence Singularity?(6 posts)→
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