Simon Mansfield is back from his mid-winter holiday. His newsletter, SpaceDaily Express, is a must for intergalactic geeks!
“The Singularity Is Near”, Kurzweil’s latest futuristic tome is the sequel to his last bestseller, “The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence,” which posited that the ever-accelerating rate of technological change would lead to computers that would rival the full range of human intelligence. He now takes his readers to the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the fusion of human brain and machine. Thus, “the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will merge with the vastly greater capacity, speed and knowledge-sharing ability of our own creations.”
The event Kurzweil envisages – the “singularity” – is when technological change becomes so rapid and profound that our bodies and brains merge with our machines. Singularity depicts what life will be like after the brain-machine fusion takes place and our experiences shift from real reality to virtual reality.
Kurzweil takes human evolution far beyond today’s most optimistic forecasts. These hold that anyone born today will live to be 130 and productive to 110, and those born in the 22nd century will live to 250. The glass-half-full-and-filling geomancers of the human genome research world can perceive “immortality” in the 23rd century. Kurzweil’s sees the same evolution achieving a similar breakthrough for the children and grandchildren of the post-World War II baby boomers.
I’m too old to take advantage of any of Kurzweil’s hopes and predictions. Still, I don’t see a problem with being positive about the potential of today’s scientific research. Perhaps, someday, we’ll start to produce generations governed by reason instead of superstition?
What if we’re actually supposed to die? What if, by being immortal, we’re losing out on something? Maybe there will be companies selling death to those who can afford it?
Miguel, you can always choose to die. Personally, I’d like to live a healthy life until I choose to die rather than have this fate thrust on me in an untimely fashion. Obviously, if you believe in god and god wants you dead for some reason nothing we’re going to do is going to be able to stop it so there’s really no argument here unless you think that god is powerless in the face of human technology.
“shift from real reality to virtual reality”? What’s the difference? Reality is perception and all is illusion (or so I’ve heard). I’ve had dreams that seemed as real as anything I experienced wakefully. Heck, I’ve had some that I wish were ongoing. Escape from so-called reality eats up a lot of disposable income in this country. Virtual reality? We want more!
“Maybe there will be companies selling death to those who can afford it?”
Miguel, that may be the funniest comment I’ve seen in a year.
If it becomes lucrative to sell death I bet all this “culture of death” crap the neocons bitch about would suddenly become holy.
Selling death already is lucrative: funeral parlors and transport organs. And don’t forget the hit man!
I heard him on coast to coast one night. The dude is very smart and I like his theories. I even took some of his research and fused it into my novel. But he needs to understand its just that a theory. The second time I heard about him I found out he was quite nuts about this.
A point of singularity, perhaps.
A point of singularity in our lifetimes…It won’t happen man.
But it sells books.
Miguel, you can always choose to die.
Funny to read that, so soon after the Terry Schiavo “debate”.
Especially since I’m from Oregon, where the voter-approved Assisted Suicide law is being challenged by the Justice Department – on the grounds that federally-controlled drugs can not be used for such purposes. Too bad John Ashcroft isn’t still around to threaten doctors with felony narcotics charges, and losing their license to practice medicine. 🙁
You can choose to die, but you had better get it right the first try – and hope you are DOA at the medical facility.
Once the “all life is sacred” crowd get you on life-support you will have a hard time convincing anyone to pull the plug – since by wanting to die, you are obviously non compos mentis.