The Future According To Ray Kurzweil
The visionary and author tells PC Expo-goers to expect mind-shattering, exponential development in computing and other tech fields and includes advice for Alan Greenspan
Originally published June 29, 2000 at Businessweek.com. Published on KurzweilAI.net May 31, 2001.
Raymond Kurzweil's recent book "The Age of Spiritual Machines" looked far into the future, when electronic devices may think, act, and even feel emotions the way humans do. And true to form, the technologist and renowned visionary cut a wide swath across history in a Thursday morning keynote speech at PC Expo.
Kurzweil's talk ranged from human evolution and the Cambrian Explosion, when the number of life forms on earth exploded, to not-yet-invented one-inch computer cubes far more powerful than the human brain. The underlying theme: It's all exponential, from the development of new technologies to the growth of economies to the life spans of humans. "Well see 1,000 times more technological progress in the 21st century than we saw in the 20th," said Kurzweil. "It's remarkable how people fail to internalize the implications of this."
When it comes to implications, Kurzweil knows where of he speaks. A renowned MIT computer scientist who also has a degree in literature, Kurzweil has started half a dozen companies and played a crucial role in the development of cutting-edge technologies in speech recognition and artificial intelligence, among other fields.
Aside from sitting on the boards of numerous companies and running his own consultancy and technology company, Kurzweil Tech, Ray Kurzweil has also proved his mettle as an insightful technology pundit.
Complete article available at Businessweek.com
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