Vernor Vinge obituary

Sci-fi author and computer scientist who coined the term ‘the Singularity’ to describe the rapid acceleration of AIOne day in 1979, while logged in to San Diego State University’s principal computer from his home, Vernor Vinge found himself chatting to another user via the TALK program, both using implausible names and trying to figure out each other’s true name. “Afterwards, I realised that I had just lived a science-fiction story – at least by the standards