Zeqian Ma Ma itibaren Cravencères, Fransa
Anne of Green Gables boxed set = LOVE (when you are a 9 y/o girl).
Ray Kurzweil suggests that exponential trends in information technology will usher in world changing revolutions in Genetics, Nanotechnology and Robotics. By the year 2040 there will be little left of our biological intelligence. Eventually, once we have harnessed the maximum computational capacity of matter, we will expand out from our solar system. He believes that there will be a way to circumvent the speed of light, so pretty soon we're going to be a universe spanning intelligence. So we will be god. And then perhaps we will create a new universe, to run a new program. And the cycle starts again, I suppose. If you haven't read enough science fiction, this all sounds completely insane. However, having examined his arguments, and having a general sense of the sort of progress being made in Genetics, Nanotech and Robotics, I feel that his prognostications are, on the whole, accurate. I see no reason why aging can't be conquered before the year 2020. Assuming trends in miniaturization continue, I don't see any reason why we won't have mastered nanotechnology by the end of the 2020's. I find myself less willing to accept that human level artificial intelligence will arrive in the 2030's, but I do consider it an inevitability. So, since we conquered aging in second decade of this century, we'll get there eventually. I mostly accept Kurzweil's analysis of the trajectory of technological progress. To be fair, his book is sometimes a bit light on evidence to back up some of his claims. There are a few examples for each topic, and he tends to use them over and over again. However, all his ideas are firmly grounded in reality. On a long enough time-line, there is no reason why nearly everything described in this book cannot be accomplished by humanity. Whether you accept the time frame that he endorses is up to you, but you have to acknowledge that he is writing a book about the likely shape of the future, be it near or far. Additionally, I would add that my acceptance of Kurzweil's thesis can probably be attributed to several factors: 1) The internet rising to prominence during my formative years has given me a very real sense of the world changing possibilities of technology. 2) I've read a shit-ton of science fiction, and I've certainly read about futures more bizarre than what he describes. 3) It provides me with some measure of hope for the future. If the world isn't going to drastically change in the next forty years then we, as a species, as well and truly fucked. No one has any interest in solving the problems of the future. They'd rather fuck things up now, and let future generations deal with the fallout. Only a general acceptance of accelerating change will force people to consider the future consequences of decisions we make now. 4) I want to be able to morph my genitals at will and have crazy zero-gravity sex in virtual reality. IS THAT SO WRONG????