--- title: "Startup Predicts Year That Technological Singularity Will Happen" description: "Seven Year Itch A group of Italian AI scientists have come up with a unique means of measuring how far away humanity is from reaching technological singularity is, Popular Mechanics reports. And by their calculations, we're not far off. \"Language is the most natural thing for humans,\" Marco Trombetti, CEO of an Italian AI startup […]" date: "2023-01-24" modified: "2023-01-24" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-predicts-year-technological-singularity" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "artificial general intelligence" - "singularity" - "the digest" --- # Startup Predicts Year That Technological Singularity Will Happen ![Italian AI scientists have come up with a unique means of measuring how far away we are from technological singularity. By their data, we're not far off.]() *\Image: Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty / Futurism\* ## Seven Year Itch You know the technological singularity, the theoretical idea of a future moment at which AI starts to upgrade itself so rapidly that everything after that point shifts forever? Well, now a group of Italian AI scientists have come up with a new means of estimating how far away humanity is from reaching that point. And, as [*Popular Mechanics* reports](), their calculations indicate that we're not far off. "Language is the most natural thing for humans," Marco Trombetti, CEO of the Italian AI startup Translated, [said]() last year at a conference in Orlando, Florida. Per *PopMech,* Trombetti and his team basically argue that because language is so natural for humans, and historically so difficult for machines to grasp, the ability of machines to catch up with and even surpass humanity's ability to translate language could be grounds to grant a machine that does so [Artificial General Intelligence]() (AGI) status. And apparently, Translated claims, [its data suggests]() that we're within seven years of that singularity. A bold conclusion, especially because the startup is mainly looking at one number: "Time to Edit" (TTE), or the average time that it takes top-performing human translators to, per word, "check and correct \[machine translated\]-suggested translations" in the input source languages. ## Pretty Niche Per Translated, it takes an average of one second per word for those top human translators to edit. Back in 2015, it took those same editors roughly 3.5 seconds per word to do the same for a machine-generated translation; as of 2022, however, it only takes them roughly 2 seconds to edit machine-made translations. And according to Translated, advances in language-translating AIs are showing no signs of slowing down. There are some caveats here, obviously, the first being that — if you hadn't guessed — Translated is a software designed to translate languages, and as such, it certainly makes sense for them to measure AI's potential for singularity within their own slice of the very large, fairly diverse AI industry pie. There's also the reality, as *PopMech* points out, that what exactly would constitute the [singularity or AGI]() is widely debated in research communities. Sure, this is one measure, but others exist, and none is unanimously agreed upon. While TTE might be an intriguing way to measure one sector of the broader AI market's progress, we're not totally convinced that it's solid ground for insisting that we'll reach singularity by 2030. Never say never, though. **READ MORE:** *[Humanity May Reach Singularity Within Just 7 Years, Trend Shows]()* \[Popular Mechanics\] **More on AGI:** [*Google Says It's Closing in on Human-level Artificial Intelligence*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()