The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

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'Startling in scope and bravado' The New York Times

In his now-classic and hugely influential exploration of the evolving union of human and machine, world-renowned inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil foresees the dawning of a new civilisation where humans will transcend our biological limitations and amplify our creativity by combining our aptitudes with the vastly greater capacity, speed and knowledge-sharing abilities of Artificial Intelligence. This melding of human and machine is what he terms 'the singularity'.

On the eve of publication of his latest book, The Singularity is Nearer, this new edition of the first instalment of his groundbreaking vision offers a fascinating and thought-provoking perspective on decades of innovation - and what still lies ahead.

PRAISE FOR THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR

'Artfully envisions a breathtakingly better world' Los Angeles Times

'Elaborate, smart and persuasive' The Boston Globe

'A pleasure to read' The Wall Street Journal

An Amazon Best Science Book of 2005

A CBS News Best Autumn Books of 2005

A St Louis Post-Dispatch Best Nonfiction Book of 2005

Reviews

'Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence'Bill Gates

'Startling in scope and bravado'New York Times

'Artfully envisions a breathtakingly better world'Los Angeles Times

'Elaborate, smart and persuasive'Boston Globe

'A pleasure to read'Wall Street Journal

'Kurzweil is dazzling in his enthusiasm for things to come'Financial Times

Author Bio

Ray Kurzweil is a prize-winning author and scientist and the director of engineering at Google. Recipient of the MIT-Lemelson Prize (the world's largest for innovation), and inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame, he received the 1999 National Medal of Technology. has been described as 'the restless genius' by The Wall Street Journal, and 'the ultimate thinking machine' by Forbes. Inc. magazine ranked him 8th among entrepreneurs in the United States, calling him the 'rightful heir to Thomas Edison,' and PBS selected Ray as one of 16 'revolutionaries who made America,' along with other inventors of the past two centuries. He is considered one of the world's leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists, with a 30-year track record of accurate predictions.