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Archive for the ‘Ray Kurzweil’ category: Page 23

Oct 31, 2016

No Technology Thrives Alone: Progress Is All About Convergence

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, computing, Ray Kurzweil

15 years ago, Ray Kurzweil published one of the most significant essays in the history of futurism: “The Law of Accelerating Returns.” This piece showcased the immense power of exponential technology versus linear technology and became a pivotal concept for anyone trying to anticipate what the future held.

The essay predicted advances in business and technology with eerie precision, including how exponential growth would ripple through any technology that became an information technology, such as computing, biotechnology, or energy.

[ Go here to learn more about the law of accelerating returns ]

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Oct 15, 2016

Ray Kurzweil — Nanotechnology

Posted by in categories: nanotechnology, Ray Kurzweil

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Oct 11, 2016

Brexit for Transhumanists: A Parable of Getting What You Wish For

Posted by in categories: governance, government, human trajectories, humor, life extension, Ray Kurzweil, transhumanism

For the past two years, Zoltan Istvan has been campaigning for the US presidency on the Transhumanist Party, a largely one-man show which nevertheless remains faithful to the basic tenets of transhumanism. Now suppose he won. Top of his policy agenda had been to ensure the immortality of all Americans. But even Zoltan realized that this would entail quite big changes in how the state and society function. So, shortly after being elected president, he decides to hold a national referendum on the matter.

The question on the ballot is one that makes the stakes crystal clear: ‘The government shall endeavour to release all Americans from the constraints of mortality’. Zoltan liked this way of putting things because were he to lose to the referendum, which he half-presumed, the opportunity to air publicly the relevant issues would continue to shift naysayers in Congress to increase funding for broadly anti-death research and treatments — a step in the right direction, as far as he’s concerned.

Zoltan also liked the idea that the referendum effectively ‘rotated the political axis’, from left-right to up-down, a turn of phrase he picked up from some philosopher whose name he couldn’t remember. But this also meant that the ensuing campaign, which was fierce, attracted a motley crew of supporters on both sides.

The ‘Remainers’ (as the anti-immortalists call themselves) were composed of a mix of traditional religious believers, environmental activists and hard-headed sceptics who distrust all transcendental hype, whether it comes from religion or science. In other words, those who wanted us to remain in our normal bodies held that our fate either is confined to our current circumstances or requires that we remain in those circumstances in order for something better to happen post mortem. The stakes were so high that even the Pope was called out to argue the case, which of course he was more than happy to do, Obama-style.

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Oct 10, 2016

Ray Kurzweil — How are Brains Conscious?

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, Ray Kurzweil

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Sep 22, 2016

Ray Kurzweil: We Can Control AI Before It Controls Us

Posted by in categories: Ray Kurzweil, robotics/AI, singularity

Over time, technology offers solutions to old problems while creating new issues in the process. The more powerful the technology, the greater its potential to do good and harm. Artificial intelligence is no exception, and as AI has advanced, worry about its risks has grown too.

Technology’s dual identity isn’t new, Ray Kurzweil said in a Q&A at Singularity University.

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Sep 21, 2016

Not Content With Silencing Human Critics, Russia Has Now Arrested A Robot

Posted by in categories: government, internet, Ray Kurzweil, robotics/AI

1st Robot has been arrested this year; guess Kurzweil’s request for Robots to have Constitutional Rights may have a need.


You might be forgiven if you were under the impression that the Russian government is a bit behind the times when it comes to modern technology and its never ending desire to stifle every last bit of dissent possible. Between the bouts its had with internet censorship and some strange claims about how binge-watching streaming services are a form of United States mind-control, it would be quite easy to be left with the notion that this is all for comedy. Alas, blunders and conspiracy theories aside, much of this technological blundering is mere cover for the very real iron grip the Russians place upon free speech, with all manner of examples in technology used as excuses to silence its critics.

And now it’s no longer just human beings that need fear the Russian government, it seems. Just this past week, a robot was arrested at a political rally. And, yes, I really do mean a robot, and, yes, I really do mean arrested.

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Sep 17, 2016

Kurzweil Says Passion Projects Are the Best Way to Learn

Posted by in categories: education, Ray Kurzweil

“The whole model of education, of stuffing information into kids’ minds is very much obsolete, since we carry all the knowledge of the world on our belts… The knowledge we carry around with us is only going to get ever more rich, and it’s going to become more and more intimately integrated with our lives.” says Kurzweil.

While traditional education has revolved around rote memorization and standardized testing, the one-size-fits-all model of learning pales in comparison to passionately engaging in problems we’re personally interested in solving.

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Sep 13, 2016

Google’s Ray Kurzweil: The Business Of Extending Human Life Is Going Into “High Gear”

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, Ray Kurzweil

The futurist says that we’re getting closer and closer to “reprogramming” the human body.

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Sep 13, 2016

The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine

Posted by in categories: futurism, Ray Kurzweil

The accelerating pace of technological progress means that our intelligent creations will soon eclipse us—and that their creations will eventually eclipse them.

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Sep 9, 2016

Ray Kurzweil: Accelerating Tech Is Making Old Intellectual Property Laws Obsolete

Posted by in categories: law, Ray Kurzweil, singularity

As technology and innovation move faster and faster, concerns over ownership and access continue to increase. In answer to a question at a Singularity University event, Ray Kurzweil suggested we need to rethink intellectual property laws to more realistically match today’s pace.

Intellectual property laws from the 19th century were envisioned with roughly 20-year cycles, he said, which was enough to give you a head-start on a new idea or invention and attract funding to see it through. But how relevant is a 20-year cycle today when a generation of technology can come and go in a year—and even that is set to speed up?

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