The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with Computers

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The legendary oracle of technological change explains how AI will transform our species beyond recognition within two decades 'Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence' BILL GATES This is what our future looks like- in the next decade, AI will be able to convince us that it's human. During the 2030s, it will become 'superintelligent', vastly outstripping our capabilities by almost every measure. By 2045, it will be possible to connect our brains with these AIs using invisibly small nanotechnologies. Our minds and theirs will merge, expanding our consciousness more profoundly than we can fully comprehend, unlocking possibilities we can barely imagine. This is the singularity. Ray Kurzweil is the world's most renowned and successful oracle of technology. Dozens of his predictions about the internet and AI that were made decades ago are now being borne out. He sees further because of his first-hand knowledge of the machines, some of which he helped invent, and his deep understanding of the science behind them. In this visionary, captivating book, he shares his thinking in a way that everyone can grasp. He explains how the singularity will occur and explores what it might mean to experience the world from beyond the limits of biology, to inhabit new realms of beauty, connection and wonder. The risks of such powerful technology are grave, some potentially catastrophic, but Kurzweil shows there is every reason to be optimistic that we can transform life on earth profoundly for the better. As he argues, these are the most exciting and momentous years in all of history. As the last generation to live before the singularity, it is our duty to navigate it successfully. We should know what we're in for and face up to its dangers and its staggering opportunities now.

Reviews

Ray Kurzweils The Singularity Is Nearer is to information technology what Charles Darwins Origin of the Species was to life science a cogent, fact-based, clear-eyed, multi-disciplinary exposition of a fundamental truth about the world. There can be no more salient guide to the next two decades of life -- Martine Rothblatt, founder of United Therapeutics
Ray Kurzweil is the greatest oracle of our digital age. The Singularity Is Nearer is more than just a bookit's a survival guide for the technological renaissance we're about to experience. Rays accurate projections of what is likely to happen and when, makes the difference between surfing atop the tsunami of change, versus being crushed by it -- Peter H. Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE
Ray Kurzweils Moores Law abstraction is the most important thing ever graphed. Its continuity over his lifetime of writing is the greatest take-away for the future of humanity, and the future of intelligence -- Steve Jurvetson, Managing Director of Future Ventures
My view of the future has been forever impacted by Ray Kurzweil. Twenty-four years ago, he predicted AI would reach human-level intelligence by 2029. His vision seemed like a dream and yet here we are, right on track. This book will challenge everything you know about technology, life and death. It will light you up with answers to todays most pressing questions about artificial intelligence and the future of humanity -- Tony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within
Ray explores mounting evidence that we are right now on the brink of a new human civilization. Well experience life in a whole new way. Everyone seriously concerned about the future should read this book -- Dean Kamen, recipient of the US National Medal of Technology

Author Bio

Ray Kurzweil is one of the greatest inventors of our time and the author of several prescient books, including The Singularity Is Near and The Age of Spiritual Machines. Over the past thirty years, dozens of his predictions about technology have been borne out, including the rise of the internet, AI and bioengineering, while his vision of 'the singularity' has inspired several major films, hundreds of books and thousands of articles. He is a former director of engineering at Google, the recipient of the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation, one of the nation's highest honours, and is a member of the US National Inventors Hall of Fame. He lives in Boston.