The Singularity is Nearer

The Singularity is Nearer

When We Merge with AI

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

This is what our future looks like: in the next decade, AI will be able to convince us that it’s human. During the 2030s, it will become ‘superintelligent’, vastly outstripping our capabilities by almost every measure. By 2045, it will be possible to connect our brains with these AIs using invisibly small nanotechnologies. Our minds and theirs will merge, expanding our consciousness more profoundly than we can fully comprehend, unlocking possibilities we can barely imagine. This is the singularity.

Ray Kurzweil is the world’s most renowned and successful oracle of technology. Dozens of his predictions about the internet and AI that were made decades ago are now being borne out. He sees further because of his first-hand knowledge of the machines, some of which he helped invent, and his deep understanding of the science behind them.

In this visionary, captivating book, he shares his thinking in a way that everyone can grasp. He explains how the singularity will occur and explores what it might mean to experience the world from beyond the limits of biology, to inhabit new realms of beauty, connection and wonder. The risks of such powerful technology are grave, some potentially catastrophic, but Kurzweil shows there is every reason to be optimistic that we can transform life on earth profoundly for the better.

As he argues, these are the most exciting and momentous years in all of history. As the last generation to live before the singularity, it is our duty to navigate it successfully. We should know what we’re in for and face up to its dangers and its staggering opportunities now.

‘Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence’ BILL GATES

©2024 Ray Kurzweil (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Reviews

  • Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence
    BILL GATES

About the author

Ray Kurzweil

Ray Kurzweil is the field of AI’s longest-serving expert, the inventor of numerous world-changing technologies and the author of several best-selling books. The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999) and The Singularity is Near (2005), in which he first predicted that computers would reach human level intelligence by 2029 and outlined his vision of the merging of human and artificial intelligence, have together inspired several major films, hundreds of books and thousands of articles. Many of his inventions, such as text and speech recognition, and vocal and musical synthesizers, have enabled breakthroughs in communication between humans and computers. He is a Principal Researcher and AI Visionary at Google, the recipient of the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation, one of the nation’s highest honours, and a member of the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.
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