This book had mixed reviews I could see so I'm not sure about it. However, I'm sharing it here in the hopes that it will help you understand better the age that we presently are moving into.
I wish Ray Kurzweil was about 40 or 50 years old now because we need someone like him to help us through these times we are living in right now this century.
However, unfortunately he is my age which is 78 when we tend to see the world differently than when we were 30 to 60 years old. So, hopefully other people who are that age (30 to 50) will step into the breech to help us through these times with wisdom and knowledge so as many human beings as possible can survive this century successfully and democracy can remain a real thing on into the future where people still have free will and opportunities to survive in this world and aren't just slaves to either some human beings or to AI overlords who have killed off all other leaders on earth.
So, I'm cautiously hopeful that at least some human beings will survive this century as we start to venture off into Space from here on earth more and more to other planets and dimensions.
begin quote:
The Singularity Is Nearer
 | |
| Author | Ray Kurzweil |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Publication date | June 25, 2024[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 419 |
| ISBN | 9780399562761 |
| Preceded by | How to Create a Mind |
The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI is a nonfiction book by futurist Ray Kurzweil. It is the sequel to his 2005 bestseller, The Singularity Is Near. The book was released on June 25, 2024. Kurzweil reiterates two key dates from the earlier book, which predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) would reach human intelligence by 2029 and that people would merge with machines by 2045, an event he calls "The Singularity".[1][2][3]
Content
In an interview with societyforscience and sciencenews, Kurzweil said the book would contain a chapter "that shows [...] how dramatically every aspect of human life has improved over the decades and over the centuries".[4][5] He added, "Some people find this frightening. But [the Singularity] is going to be beautiful and will expand our consciousness in ways we can barely imagine, like a person who is deaf hearing the most exquisite symphony for the first time."[1]
Development
The book was initially scheduled to be released in 2021, but was delayed till 2022[6][7] and then 2024.
When asked in a 2024 interview with The Guardian why he wrote the book, Kurzweil answered: "The Singularity Is Near talked about the future, but 20 years ago, when people didn't know what AI was", and "It is time to take a look again both at the progress we've made [...] and the coming breakthroughs."[8]
Reception
In The Washington Post, Becca Rothfeld wrote that The Singularity Is Nearer is "daunting to summarize [...] because it is so careless and careening", adding, "Far from the sort of disciplined treatise we might expect from a veteran programmer, this book is a welter of free associations and shameless simplifications."[9] According to Rothfeld, Kurzweil "ventures into foreign territory, with unfortunate results."[9] She wrote, "At times, Kurzweil's prophecies read like passages from messianic religious texts."[9]
References
- Dreibelbis, Emily (3 June 2024). "Ray Kurzweil: AI Is Not Going to Kill You, But Ignoring It Might". PCMag. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- Hill, David J. (2015-06-05). "Exponential Finance: Ray Kurzweil Stresses Humanity's 'Moral Imperative' in Developing Artificial Intelligence". Singularity Hub. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- Smith, Daniel S. (2024-03-07). "The Singularity is Nearer". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- "Conversations with Maya: Ray Kurzweil | Society for Science & the Public". September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- "Conversations with Maya: Ray Kurzweil". Science News. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- Sullivan, Danny (2020-05-20). "Longevity and the Singularity - Longevity.Technology - Latest News, Opinions, Analysis and Research". Longevity.Technology - Latest News, Opinions, Analysis and Research. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- Kurzweil, Ray (2020-01-01). "celebrating: 15 year anniversary of the book the Singularity Is Near". Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- Corbyn, Zoë (2024-06-29). "AI scientist Ray Kurzweil: 'We are going to expand intelligence a millionfold by 2045'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
- Rothfeld, Becca (2024-06-26). "Ray Kurzweil is (still, somehow) excited about humans merging with machines". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
External links
