Isles of autonomy: the rise of intelligent technologies

A critical metaphor for the development, implementation and penetration of autonomous machine systems into the world of human work is presented. Most especially, the 'Isles of Autonomy' concept is articulated which argues that the expropriation of human pre-eminence will be marked by a series of threshold events, some of which are, even now becoming evident. In particular, it indicates that there will be a watershed event in which differing and distinct expressions of applied autonomous systems will spontaneously coalesce to produce an emergent, general artificial intelligence. The latter may well be unrelated to the original goals, aims and constraints of the disparate entities that have joined together. This threshold will be a harbinger of cascading unifications in which an unrestrained aggregate will assume de facto control over disparate work domains. The nature of such a development, most especially in light of associated human roles, is here evaluated. While emergent systems possess no necessary privilege, neither are their non-linear properties and behaviours directly inferable from their componential elements. The demi-sesquicentennial (75th) marking of the future of a science that is focused most especially on the predominance of human, work, is considered in light of these impending forces of change.