The Singularity Is Near

This book is one of the nuttiest I’ve read in its imaginings of a modern world on steroids. The part that teases most is that its predictions might come true.

I know our smartphones and laptops have changed our world, but cures that would extend longevity ad infinitum? Neural interfaces that would connect us directly to the internet? Nanobots that would reduce the cost of goods to zero?

Because the topic of modernity has come to engross me so, the big question always is, “How far will it carry us?” The answer to which (according to Kurzweil) is much farther… show more.

Kurzweil’s classic stems from a single observation: that technology accelerates at an exponential rate.

He goes beyond Moore’s Law to make a much broader principle of this, then uses this framework to make an insane number of predictions in a wide variety of fields, boldly going farther than where more futurists dare venture. He does not hesitate to provide exact dates, for instance for the birthing of Artificial Super-Intelligence. In hindsight we can say that several predictions have not materialized at the dates he gave.

The book remains fascinating nonetheless, and Ray’s enthusiasm for the future is deeply contagious. A… show more.

Kurzweil is fantastically optimistic.

He thinks that in 2029 we will have AGI. And he’s thought that for a long time, he’s been saying it for years. He then thinks we’ll have an intelligence explosion and achieve uploading by 2045.

Kurzweil is important because he, more than anybody else, has made people think about these things. 

If Ray hadn’t written The Singularity is Near, I would never have written my own books. 

It was after reading a news article on the release of the book all the way back in early 2005, that, at the tender age of 27 and for the first time in my life, I knew I had a subject that people would love to read about—and I also had a plot! 

Reading Ray’s description of being able to download “upgrades” to our bodies like we upgrade our computers, of immortality, and of molecular assemblers that could replicate anything we… show more.

I saved the most influential book on me writing my own book for last. Ray Kurzweil’s theory of “the singularity” between human beings and machine intelligence sucked me into the rabbit hole and I never looked back. For one, it is completely fascinating to imagine humanity merging with rapidly advancing technology, and intelligence expanding at an exponential rate. More importantly, I wanted to better understand the world of the future that my two little girls will be a part of one day. The more I learned as I delved into futurism, technology, and what it all means for humanity, the… show more.