Predictions of a radically different future
Ray Kurzweil has a vision of the future in which there is a merging of human life with technological breakthroughs in genetics, robotics, and nanotechnology. He believes the result will be a hybrid species of unrecognizably high intelligence, comprehension, and capabilities. This isn't a vision of the distant future, but rather of events that will occur in mid-century, if he's right.
Much of his premises are based upon Accelerating change, the notion that technology trends and breakthroughs go through exponential growth over time, and that these will lead to a Technological singularity.
This book is Ray's effort to describe his ideas about this event in more detail, and substantiates why his vision of the future is credible. Even more difficult, Ray then attempts to convince his readers that this is a good thing, and we will all be better for it. For a high-level summary of key messages and charts behind his arguments, read this summary, or visit his web site.
Ray is not some crazy, wild man. He's one of the most successful inventors in the world, is frequently called this century's Thomas Edison, and has testimonials from Bill Gates, Bill Joy, and Dean Kamen. Larry Paige, founder of Google, agrees that we are closing in on human intelligence. While many challenge Kurzweil's other assumptions, and his timetable may be overly ambitious, his arguments are persuasive, well constructed, and thought-provoking. This isn't light reading, but is definitely a book that will challenge your views of the future, and realize that it might be closer than you think!
