The accelerating rate at which technological change is occurring has been a major topic on thinkersbebo. That is because this is a topic that effects everyone of us living on earth and has a very large role to play in our progression as a species. This type of growth can be referred to as an exponential system of increased returns. The acceleration is happening in all forms of technological growth, not just information technologies. This is a somewhat complicated subject so I recommend reading "The Law of Accelerating Returns." The history and future of human kind is tied directly to the tools/technology we have been able to produce and use. We are now at a point as a species where we can use what we have learned to look into the future of our technological progress and thus be in a better position to predict our own future.
     Humans have always has been completely and utterly dependent on tools. Tools extend human biological abilities and without them our species absolutely cannot survive. Humans don't have things large claws, teeth, horns, armor plating, massive muscles or any other physical biological attribute like the ones we see in other animals all across the world. Our primary feature is our large brain and it's ability to conceptualize ways to construct tools, which in-turn compensate for our lack of physical armaments. The human capacity to create tools has improved and evolved over time, from sharp rocks to spears, to swords, to guns. From huts to thatched roof houses, to castles, to modern homes and skyscrapers; our tools have continually progressed towards improving our abilities. This world we constructed of Iphones, laptops, jets, advanced medical surgery, and mega cities, is a world of various tools all created to extend beyond the biological limitations of the human species. The usage of tools/technology is inherent to Human Beings and is an extension of our biological evolution.

     As this system of ever advancing, technological acceleration continues, it eventually hits a sort-of threshold point which has been dubbed 'The Singularity.' Singularity is a term used in physics to describe the mathematics of an event horizon of a black hole, at which point the numbers grow so large and at such a rapid rate that it becomes next to impossible to continue mathematical computations beyond this point. The singularity that we are talking about is very similar. The singularity refers to a time when the exponential technological growth becomes so massive that it becomes incredibly difficult to compute it's further growth (but not impossible). So basically the singularity represents a time when there is such vast technological change in such a tiny amount of time that it represents a sort-of rupture in the timeline of history that is hard to see beyond. Because of of the deep tie between the human species and the tools we depend on; a copious amount of technological progression will and currently is directly influencing huge changes in human civilization as a whole.

     To help you to truly conceptualize what the Singularity is and what it really means, here is a one hour video featuring the founder of the Law of Accelerating Returns, and the first to use the term Singularity in this context,  Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil has written several books on the topic of the singularity, including: The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity is Near.