"The Evolution Will Be Mechanized"

Another brilliant analysis -
"Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge popularized the term singularity in the early '90s. For about a decade, it threw a wrench in the gears of science fiction as an intellectual effort. It's hard to fantasize about tomorrow when you're firmly convinced that tomorrow is inherently unfantasizable. However, sneaky sci-fi authors have been able to finesse the problem. After all, the genre doesn't exist to forecast the future; it's entertainment that depends on making the impossible seem plausible. A singularity turns out to be a great way to do that. It may be unthinkable and indescribable - but the wreckage it leaves isn't. After a singularity blows through, the world might as well be Oz, complete with talking scarecrows and tin men.

Movie fans can see this imaginary wall across the future in flicks like Terminator and The Matrix, where a dystopian technological event allows smart machines to take over. The superintelligent gizmos turn out to be fairly standard serial-killer bogeymen - although they wear cool gear, perform feats of biblical wonder, and become governer of California." - Bruce Sterling