The Singularity Is Near By Kurzweil: An Analysis
Salvation or Destruction: The Singularity is Near!
Is the singularity humanity’s new evolution, which will catapult the species to a god-like status, or the ultimate means of its destruction? This is the main theme of Transcendent Man, based off the book The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. Ray, a notable futurist, hypothesizes that in the near future our technology will reach a point where computers can outperform the human brain, continue getting smaller and humanity will then blend with its creations, essentially manufacturing the next (and presumably final) evolution of mankind (Grossman, 2011). The implications are both terrifying and exciting. According to Ray, humanity would reach a godlike status but others argue that the singularity contains a power which is potentially too much for humanity to contain (Ptolemy, 2011).
The idea of artificial intelligence reaching a point where it outsmarts its creators and rises up against us has been a popular starting point for science fiction stories in recent decades, notably with movies like a Terminator series. The truth is, once a computer is smart enough to think for itself, humanity will have created the first synthetic beings. Should we choose to merge, at what point do we transcend the genus Homo and humanity …show more content…
He believes that advances in biotechnology will augment our biological form beyond disease and again, as well, he believes that artificial intelligence, will essentially allow us to bring back the dead, through our own memories of the person, DNA samples and any records we may still have of them (Ptolemy, 2011). Though he would state otherwise, the film Transcendent Man leaves one to wonder if Mr. Kurzweil has a vested interest in the singularity coming sooner, then later. Ray’s obsession with eating pills to maintain his health and desire to bring his father back to life, give the idea a sense of “wishful thinking,” at least in the
Is the singularity humanity’s new evolution, which will catapult the species to a god-like status, or the ultimate means of its destruction? This is the main theme of Transcendent Man, based off the book The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. Ray, a notable futurist, hypothesizes that in the near future our technology will reach a point where computers can outperform the human brain, continue getting smaller and humanity will then blend with its creations, essentially manufacturing the next (and presumably final) evolution of mankind (Grossman, 2011). The implications are both terrifying and exciting. According to Ray, humanity would reach a godlike status but others argue that the singularity contains a power which is potentially too much for humanity to contain (Ptolemy, 2011).
The idea of artificial intelligence reaching a point where it outsmarts its creators and rises up against us has been a popular starting point for science fiction stories in recent decades, notably with movies like a Terminator series. The truth is, once a computer is smart enough to think for itself, humanity will have created the first synthetic beings. Should we choose to merge, at what point do we transcend the genus Homo and humanity …show more content…
He believes that advances in biotechnology will augment our biological form beyond disease and again, as well, he believes that artificial intelligence, will essentially allow us to bring back the dead, through our own memories of the person, DNA samples and any records we may still have of them (Ptolemy, 2011). Though he would state otherwise, the film Transcendent Man leaves one to wonder if Mr. Kurzweil has a vested interest in the singularity coming sooner, then later. Ray’s obsession with eating pills to maintain his health and desire to bring his father back to life, give the idea a sense of “wishful thinking,” at least in the