The Singularity Is Near
Ray Kurzweil, in his new book The Singularity is Near, draws an amazing and compelling picture of the future in which advances in nanotechnology, biology and genetics accelerate beyond imagination. His vision of the future, thoroughly researched and based in historical precendent and current scientific advances, is one in which humanity for the first time in history expands and self-improves such that humans will be capable of living as long as they please, thinking millions of times faster than they currently can, and producing everything they could want or need from dirt and sunlight.
This sounds like science fiction, however Kurzweil makes a very convincing argument that such advances are not only possible but inevitable within the next three or four decades. Contrary to popular conception of technological advance as linear, he says that technological advance is and always has been exponential. According to Kurzweil, the seemingly slow progress of the past has now reached the "knee" of exponential expansion, where it will in the near future increase so rapidly as to seem infinite.
Kurzweil no doubt has a solid grasp on the current trends in technology and where they are leading, and makes these seemingly fantastical claims about the future appear perfectly obvious and reasonable. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in how society might evolve as the information age breaks free of all restraint and transforms everything about humanity and life as we know it.
From a perspective of liberty and self-sufficiency, this book is both uplifting and encouraging. Despite warnings of the potential abuse of these technologies, Kurzweil's future is one in which people can provide for themselves and achieve inconceivable heights of accomplishment. No matter what your political leanings, Kurzweil's vision provides hope for a bright future in which humanity not only flourishes but exceeds every dream of advancement.
This sounds like science fiction, however Kurzweil makes a very convincing argument that such advances are not only possible but inevitable within the next three or four decades. Contrary to popular conception of technological advance as linear, he says that technological advance is and always has been exponential. According to Kurzweil, the seemingly slow progress of the past has now reached the "knee" of exponential expansion, where it will in the near future increase so rapidly as to seem infinite.
Kurzweil no doubt has a solid grasp on the current trends in technology and where they are leading, and makes these seemingly fantastical claims about the future appear perfectly obvious and reasonable. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in how society might evolve as the information age breaks free of all restraint and transforms everything about humanity and life as we know it.
From a perspective of liberty and self-sufficiency, this book is both uplifting and encouraging. Despite warnings of the potential abuse of these technologies, Kurzweil's future is one in which people can provide for themselves and achieve inconceivable heights of accomplishment. No matter what your political leanings, Kurzweil's vision provides hope for a bright future in which humanity not only flourishes but exceeds every dream of advancement.
posted by Dan at 9:52 PM
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