Brief But Spectacular: Inventor Ray Kurzweil
Throughout most of history, we have assumed that people will live the same type of existence from one generation to the next. However, we are living in what is the most transformative era in all of history. Over the last 30 years, technological advances have occurred at an exponential growth rate, making it hard to imagine the world in which the next generation will live. Ray Kurzweil has every intention of being around to see this changing world. He is the Director of Engineering at Google, an inventor, and technological genius. He believes that we are on the verge of being able to extend our life expectancy indefinitely. Kurzweil asserts that, assuming we have solved the problem of limited resources, having the capacity to live indefinitely
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He explains that we have a rationalized view of death being a good thing because of the inevitability of it. However, he presents a future where that will all change shortly, and the certainty of death will be no longer be a problem. Kurzweil knew he would be an inventor early in his childhood. He would comb his neighborhood in search of gadgets to fix, with the idea that if he could figure out how to put things together, he could solve any problem. Today his focus is on information technology and its exponential growth. He sees the growth rate that is predictable, and by his calculations, doubles every time period. Kurzweil speaks of advancements in technology that allow for computers and devices that are much more cost-effective and efficient; computers the size of blood cells, robotic devices small enough to go through the bloodstream, technology that can be connected to the cloud giving even the tiniest robot’s exponential capabilities. Kurzweil sees these advances moving into areas such as dementia. For instance, if a person’s memory is failing, their memories will be backed up and can be downloaded when need be. He speculates that this will all be possible by the 2030’s, stating, “We’re going to get to a point 10, 15 years from now, where we’re adding more time than is going by to our remaining life expectancy
He explains that we have a rationalized view of death being a good thing because of the inevitability of it. However, he presents a future where that will all change shortly, and the certainty of death will be no longer be a problem. Kurzweil knew he would be an inventor early in his childhood. He would comb his neighborhood in search of gadgets to fix, with the idea that if he could figure out how to put things together, he could solve any problem. Today his focus is on information technology and its exponential growth. He sees the growth rate that is predictable, and by his calculations, doubles every time period. Kurzweil speaks of advancements in technology that allow for computers and devices that are much more cost-effective and efficient; computers the size of blood cells, robotic devices small enough to go through the bloodstream, technology that can be connected to the cloud giving even the tiniest robot’s exponential capabilities. Kurzweil sees these advances moving into areas such as dementia. For instance, if a person’s memory is failing, their memories will be backed up and can be downloaded when need be. He speculates that this will all be possible by the 2030’s, stating, “We’re going to get to a point 10, 15 years from now, where we’re adding more time than is going by to our remaining life expectancy