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February 05, 2006
Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near
In his most recent book, The Singularity Is Near, Ray Kurzweil asks big questions and makes large-scope predictions about the future of technology and technology's impact on society, life, and the universe. Some of his ideas are so breathtaking that I found myself asking "Is this guy a crackpot? Should his work be featured on the pulp magazines at the grocery store checkout?" But, his argument proceeds in a way that is impossible for me to dismiss. It's only the conclusions that seem so odd. And history is riddled with people who foolishly doubted strange conclusions based on well reasoned arguments.
Here's Bill Gates' take on the back page of the dustcover:
"Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence. His intriguing new book envisions a future in which information technologies have advanced so far and fast that they enable humanity to transcend its biological limitations -- transforming our lives in ways we can't yet imagine."
Actually, I think Kurzweil has imagined some of the transformations.
Posted by DavidK at February 5, 2006 12:25 PM | Permalink