What is a singleton?

A singleton is a world order in which there is only one decision maker that controls most significant outcomes, as opposed to a multipolar scenario where there are multiple relevant actors. This decision maker would be able to prevent any other actor from threatening its continued control and would be able to ensure any outcome it desires.

A singleton may have internal complexity and multiple subagents, but ultimately it acts as a unit. Examples of a singleton could include a world government or a planet-wide superintelligence.

There are numerous pathways which could lead to a singleton. One example is if there is an extremely fast takeoff and the first superintelligence self-improves until it can overcome all opposing forces.

The concept was introduced by Nick Bostrom in 2005.