the more that I think about them, the more they seem inevitable.

I think what is inevitable is the general idea that human intelligence will one day be surpassed. And that the pathway will be largely computational. If you (or anyone else) is interested in reading about potential singularity scenarios I recommend this paper by Ben Goertzel (also linked in the TAA article).

At the moment singularity and global brain theorists are quite combative. However, I definitively take the stance that singularity theorists are observing the individual trend towards increased intelligence and global brain theorists are observing the collective trend towards increased intelligence. The singularity pathway is computation and the global brain pathway is through the internet. So from my perspective both theorists are trying to explain the same phenomenon on different levels (individual vs. system). I hope to write a paper in the future describing the unity of singularity/global brain theories. It is something that has been on my mind a lot lately.

(I've also linked several talks by researchers working on the revolutions mentioned in the video in the TAA article).

Still, as many of us have discussed in the past the need for religion is born largely out of the fear of death.

Yes, I agree with this. I think that is fundamental to the phenomenon of religion.

I suppose there is a part of me that suspects that the conjuring of such a positive view of the not too distant future is also aided by this fear.

Yes, I am aware of that, most definitely. I'm currently in talks with a researcher at the Global Brain Institute to conduct a psychological survey of singularity/global brain theorists and their perspective on death, the idea of singularity as religion, and whether they feel there own fear of death effects extrapolations and predictions for a 2045 singularity. In a report I'm in the process of writing, one of the main questions that I have to address is "Global Brain as Religion". I personally think a form of transhumanism (stemming from an earlier version of humanism) will become a "religion-like" in the Global Brain. I would more conceptualize it as spiritual... but the link between these ideas and religion is obviously there. The main difference is that the Global Brain is an idea rooted in empirical study and scientific theory (or at least we are working on that). If all predictions and extrapolations prove erroneous we will have to discard of the theory.