I came to the conclusion a while back that humans are just fundamentally religious. Even most people who don't believe in "gods" seem to end up largely clinging to some over-simplified, basically religious model of the world.

As examples:

Modern liberalism = New Testament Christian ethics with the government replacing god.

"Universe is a simulation" = Gnostic/platonic belief system (our universe as a sub-creation created by a flawed sub-creator), with a technological guise.

Belief in the Singularity probably appeals to some people in the same way that an imminent Rapture or Second Coming appeals to others. Especially with the uploading consciousness to computers and living eternally ...