This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.bigideas.fm

The singularity is near by Ray Kurzweil

Get the book; https://amzn.to/3Zz8cLA

In his now-classic and hugely influential exploration of the evolving union of human and machine, world-renowned inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil foresees the dawning of a new civilisation where humans will transcend our biological limitations and amplify our creativity by combining our aptitudes with the vastly greater capacity, speed and knowledge-sharing abilities of Artificial Intelligence. This melding of human and machine is what he terms 'the singularity'.

On the eve of publication of his latest book, The Singularity is Nearer, this new edition of the first instalment of his groundbreaking vision offers a fascinating and thought-provoking perspective on decades of innovation - and what still lies ahead.

Here are some notable quotes from The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil:

* “The singularity will allow us to transcend these limitations of our biological bodies and brains. We will gain power over our fates.”

* “What we spend our time on is probably the most important decision we make.”

* “An exponential growth curve looks like nothing is happening until you reach a certain point, and then it explodes.”

* “The future is widely misunderstood. Our forebears saw the future as something that merely happened. But the future is not simply the place we arrive at; it is the place we create.”

* “As order exponentially increases, time exponentially speeds up.”

* “We are the species that seeks to extend its own horizons. We were not placed here on Earth to stagnate.”

* “The tools to reconstruct and extend human life are at hand.”

* “Our intelligence will become increasingly non-biological, and it will eventually dominate and transcend biology.”

* “The law of accelerating returns will transform what is possible in the future.”

* “Technology will provide the means to overcome our biological limitations and amplify our creativity.”