Will this generation see the unification of tech and humans? Are we close to achieving singularity in this lifetime? Some smart, intelligent futurists seem to think so.
Sure, the tech and ideas are still in its infancy, but the truth is the world is inching closer to a meld between physiology and tech with every new innovation and invention. This is even more so with the continuing miniaturization of devices, making them wearable and portable.
About Ray Kurzweil's AI Future Predictions
So, we just might be living in an age where man and tech become one. The tech is already at the budding stages in the form of wearable devices; even if these are still imperfect and unsatisfactory in their functions, often causing a significant percentage of adopters to abandon the devices.
However, we can only wait to see what the future brings. But if you’re anything like us, you probably can’t wait to see the bounty the future holds. You want to see what the smartest folks on earth think about the future and what it’ll bring.
Well. There’s no shortage of future predictions particularly in tech and space exploration. But amid the horde of folks talking about the possible futures, one name constantly pops up and stands out in the person of Ray Kurzweil.
Referred to as one of the best predictors of AI, by none other than Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, Ray has a pretty decent strike rate when it comes to predictions regarding artificial intelligence and tech generally.
The Enigma Called Ray Kurzweil
An incredibly bright inventor, Ray’s accomplishments are the stuff of legends and myths.
For starters, the man is a recipient of 20 honorary doctorate degrees, some from Ivy League schools, been honored by 3 presidents, is a New York Times bestselling author, has patented many inventions and produced them. He is currently heading Google’s AI subsidiary, and is both a co-founder and the chancellor of Singularity University.
What Does Ray Think Of AI and The Future?
The man sure does have some incredible –dare I say, incredulous?- ideas and predictions. Let’s explore them by decades, shall we?
Decade 2020-2030
- AI will most likely pass the Turing Test, putting it on the same scale as humans
- The decade will usher in incredible revolution in robotics
- Progress in the development of nanotech will herald a new era of enhanced biology, resulting in less biological limitations
- Computers will be so miniaturized they will power nanobots, which will pioneer in the medical field. So, nanobots just might be able to do a complete scan of your body during this decade.
- PC’s might be so powerful they will be able to contain and emulate the intelligence of an adult human.
- Software programs will emulate human intelligence,
- The human brain will be fully understood
- Life expectancy will be increased by at least one year, courtesy of exponential medical technology’s growth and one extra year for every year if breakthrough medical research. He specified that the effectiveness of medical tech will increase a thousand fold by the year 2022.
- Nanobots will change the way we eat, transitioning man from what we now know as foods to healthier options. These nanobots will be able to enter the bloodstream, feed the cells and clear out the waste. This will be the beginning of the extinction of man’s digestive system.
- Nanobots will make food production, processing and manufacturing so cheap that food will be sold at rates far cheaper than man has ever seen.
- The later part of the 2020 decade will see rapid advancements in virtual reality that it will be difficult to separate it from everyday reality.
- Body parts will become optimized through nanotech’s feeding and waste, resulting in super-optimal brain function and little or no need for food as we know it.
Decade 2030-2040
- Humans will be able to upload their minds into the cloud, live on the internet and become so integrated into software that ensures that they live for as long as they want
- Humans will become “enhanced” versions of themselves, reaching far beyond the current biological state. He calls this state the “postbiological state” which will usher in a new era of mankind and superior beings.
- Full immersion virtual reality will be attainable courtesy of nanomachines inserted into the brains. These will work with the brain’s neurons to receive and give signals.
- People would be able to remotely experience other people’s reality through the use of nanobots. This is known as “experience beamers”.
- Humans will be able to communicate with each other and computers using telepathy courtesy of their ultra-enhanced brains.
- Humans will enjoy increased intelligence, better personality, and the possible elimination of all flaws. Man will begin the ascent to “perfection”.
- The human body becomes less tangible or solid and can metamorphose into whatever it chooses using nanotech.
Years 2040-2045
- Biological intelligence will be so crude because artificial intelligence would have greatly surpassed the human intelligence
- Full immersion reality will become people’s real reality
Year 2045
- Ushers in the era of singularity, a state so disruptive it changes the entire course and future of humanity. Unimaginable intelligence can be purchased for about a thousand dollars, and artificial intelligence becomes the “true intelligence”.
- Machines evolve and become so efficient and effective that they function at rates far higher than man’s brains or mind.
- Technology becomes so unpredictable because man in his natural state is left behind while the machines take over everything.
- Man and machine will become one as humans become cybernetically enhanced.
Ray Kurzweil's AI Future Predictions Conclusion
All these predictions probably seem unbelievable to you. However, before you think of them as the “ravings of an educated lunatic”, consider the technological strides man has made in the last two decades.
The last 2-3 decades have seen a technological explosion so advanced, they wouldn’t have been thought of five decades ago. Just two decades ago, no one was talking about self-driving cars, cellphones, modular homes, nanotech, smart homes and virtual assistants and so much more.
Now, not only are these a consistently recurring part of our daily conversations, they now exist. We can no longer pretend as these don’t exist.
And the future is poised to look even better. Wearables are becoming commonplace, the world is talking about RFID chips that have all your biological and financial data, cryptocurrencies help you move your money across geographical zones without lugging cash around… the next few decades will be very exciting, even if disruptive.
If we continue developing technologically at this rate, we just might be looking at singularity by the century’s end.
