The Singularity Is Near

http://singularity.com ^ | September 22, 2005 | Ray Kurzweil

[Momaw Nadon]

At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and the most thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged, as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity.

For over three decades, the great inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he presented the daring argument that with the ever-accelerating rate of technological change, computers would rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now, in The Singularity Is Near, he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our own creations.

That merging is the essence of the Singularity, an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly nonbiological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today—the dawning of a new civilization that will enable us to transcend our biological limitations and amplify our creativity. In this new world, there will be no clear distinction between human and machine, real reality and virtual reality. We will be able to assume different bodies and take on a range of personae at will. In practical terms, human aging and illness will be reversed; pollution will be stopped; world hunger and poverty will be solved. Nanotechnology will make it possible to create virtually any physical product using inexpensive information processes and will ultimately turn even death into a soluble problem.

While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, The Singularity Is Near maintains a radically optimistic view of the future course of human development. As such, it offers a view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny.

[Momaw Nadon]

Ray Kurzweil is one of the world’s leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists, with a twenty-year track record of accurate predictions. Called “the restless genius” by The Wall Street Journal and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes magazine, Kurzweil was selected as one of the top entrepreneurs by Inc. magazine, which described him as the “rightful heir to Thomas Edison.” PBS selected him as one of “sixteen revolutionaries who made America,” along with other inventors of the past two centuries. An inductee in the National Inventors Hall of Fame and recipient of the National Medal of Technology, the Lemelson-MIT Prize (the world’s largest for innovation), and twelve honorary doctorates and awards from three U.S. presidents, he is the author of four previous books: Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (coauthored with Terry Grossman, M.D.), The Age of Spiritual Machines, The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life, and The Age of Intelligent Machines.

[Momaw Nadon]

IMHO, this is the most important book of the new century.

[Tench_Coxe]

[Brilliant]

Hmm... I thought when I read the title that it was about a black hole swallowing us up.

[inquest]

Singularity. Now there's a rallying cry.

[Momaw Nadon]

Ping!

[Captain Rhino]

Welcome to the Matrix.

[cripplecreek]

I was thinking about a singularity bomb that would make all the worlds nukes look like firecrackers. That would suck.

[BenLurkin]

[PatrickHenry]

It all began with the TV remote control ...

[i.l.e.]

That merging is the essence of the Singularity, an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly nonbiological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today

No one ever went broke underestimating the (gullibility) of the American Public.

[SamAdams76]

Hopefully this does not extend to animals. For example, if cats were to get smarter and learn to read, we would all be in big trouble.

[johnny7]

I've been enjoying Singularity for 6 years now... the ex doesn't even know where I live.

[little jeremiah]

It's called "Let's Play God". Result: hell on earth. Let God be God.

[Petronski]

Sounds like a bit of a nutbar to me.

[Fruitbat]

Do we have a pic of Michael Jackson dismantled...

[DoughtyOne]

Nah, smart dogs would keep them in line. LOL...

[inquest]

So what do we do about it?

[Matchett-PI]

LOL bttt