Help The US Navy Battle The Singularity In Their New Browser MMO

The most powerful military in the world has all sorts of initiatives to help bolster its image and its recruitment, remember America's Army? Now its the US Navy's turn to tap into the endless amounts of idle time possessed by gamers. The Navy's aims are far more ambitious (and confusing) than those of their boots-on-the-ground counterpart. In an 11 minute presentation posted earlier this month, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced their Maritime Singularity Call to Action.

A US Navy Vessel in World of Warships

Billed as a MMOWGLI (Massively Multiplayer Online War Game Leveraging the Internet), Maritime Singularity is a week long browser based online game of sorts where players post ideas, interact with one another, and try to solve futuristic problems. If anything meaningful somehow manages to arise from this chatter, the Navy claims it may be implemented.

The primary 'futuristic problem' the ONR is looking to tackle seems to be the 'Singularity', a moment in time when exponentially increasing technological progress hits a critical mass/inflection point. As Dr Eric Gulovsen, director of disruptive technology at the Office of Naval Research states:

"Technology has advanced to the point that we can see the Singularity on the horizon... "What we can't see, yet, is what lies over that horizon. That's where we need help from players. This is a complex, open-ended problem, so we're looking for people from all walks of life-Navy, non-Navy, technologist, non-technologist to help us design our Navy for a 'post-Singularity' world."

Those interested in helping the Global Force For Good battle a hypothetical SkyNetesque scenario can sign up for Maritime Singualrity here. The week long game starts March 27, 2017 so be sure to sign up soon. Personally, I'm baffled by this project but I'll certainly be checking it out. My advice to the Office of Naval Research and to Dr. Eric Gulovsen in particular is to spruce up your presentation a bit. The 11 minute YouTube video put me to sleep. Maybe get the CrashCourse or PBS Space Time guys on it.

More info: MMOWGLI FAQ, Maritime Singualrity Blog

Bonus: The actual text appearing on the sign up page

A tidal wave of change is rapidly approaching today's Navy.

We can ride this wave and harness its energy, or get crushed by it.

There is no middle ground.

What is the nature of this change? The SINGULARITY.

We can see the SINGULARITY on the horizon.

What we can't see, YET, is what lies OVER that horizon.

That's where you come in.

Help us design our Navy for the Post-Singularity World.