Ray Kurzweil is one forward thinker, believer and advocate in the ideas of technological singularity. One of the main beliefs of "the singularity" is that super-human intelligence will one day soon be able to think and opperate of their own capacity. Kurzweil has had many of his ideas about future technological advancements published, including The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, which is a continuation on his previous writings. Kurzweil reiterates several key points,
- A technological-evolutionary point known as "the singularity" exists as an achievable goal for humanity.
- Through a law of accelerating returns, technology is progressing toward the singularity at an exponential rate.
- The functionality of the human brain is quantifiable in terms of technology that we can build in the near future.
- Medical advancements make it possible for a significant number of his generation (Baby Boomers) to live long enough for the exponential growth of technology to intersect and surpass the processing of the human brain.
The term genomics refers to the branch of biotechnology concerned with applying the techniques of genetics and molecular biology to the genetic mapping and DNA sequencing of sets of genes or the complete genomes of selected organisms, with organizing the results in databases and with applications of data. Kurzweil's own site, Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence has an interesting blog post that gives a more in depth explanation of the technological advances in regards to studying genes.
The prospect of using technology to prolong my life span indefinitely, is both an exciting concept and frightening. Having the ability to replace body parts that are no longer functioning at full capacity is a powerful and life changing ability. If it is true, that this is to become more of a common practice, then there are many ethical questions that need to be considered in regards to society as a whole and how these technological advancements will shape future generations.
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