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Papers
- Evolutionary Biology for the Future (ActionBioScience.org)
"Most people are unaware of uses of evolutionary biology. Public non-appreciation of evolutionary biology may depend as much on its perceived irrelevance as anything else. Yet, evolution, especially microevolution, has been fundamental to some social improvements this century, and it promises to be profoundly important to biomedical technology in the next generation." 9-05
- Future of Humans (MSNBC News)
"Where are humans headed? Here's an imprudent assessment of five possible paths, ranging from homogenized humans to alien-looking hybrids bred for interstellar travel.”
"When it comes to intelligence, some scientists say, the most likely route to our future enhancement — and perhaps our future competition as well — just might come from our own machines."
On the other hand, "Two intelligent species, human and machine, just might work together to spread life through the universe." 9-05
- Future of Humans - Distant Future (MSNBC News)
Projects up to 4 million years into the future. 9-05
- How to Create a Mind (Amazon.com)
"Kurzweil discusses how the brain functions, how the mind emerges from the brain, and the implications of vastly increasing the powers of our intelligence in addressing the world’s problems. He thoughtfully examines emotional and moral intelligence and the origins of consciousness and envisions the radical possibilities of our merging with the intelligent technology we are creating."
"Certain to be one of the most widely discussed and debated science books of the year, How to Create a Mind is sure to take its place alongside Kurzweil’s previous classics which include Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever and The Age of Spiritual Machines." 12-12
- Where Humans Are Headed: Mind and Technology (Telegraph.co.uk)
"Ray Kurzweil is an American technologist and futurist who is on a mission to make us all immortal, starting with himself, thanks to what he calls 'the law of accelerating returns'. The rate of change is getting faster to the extent that 'within 10 or 15 years we will be able to overcome cancer and heart disease, and stop and reverse ageing'. Thanks to the 'exponential progression' of technology, Kurzweil says, we are heading for 'profound changes', an event horizon where artificial intelligence spirals beyond our control, or even our understanding."
"It is a cliché to fear the relentless rise of machine power and intelligence. But it doesn't frighten Kurzweil. In his books The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity Is Near he has argued that artificial intelligence will augment human intelligence, not replace it. There is appetite for his boldly optimistic way of thinking: both books were bestsellers." 12-12
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