Difference between revisions of "Ray Kurzweil"
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| − | Raymond Kurzweil is an American author, computer scientist, and inventor. Among his early contributions to the field of computer science, Kurzweil worked with optical character recognition, image scanning, and piano synthesizer technology. His literary works focus on topics including Artificial Intelligence (AI), life extension, transhumanism, and the ethical implications related. Kurzweil is known for his views on post-biological life extension. | + | Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, computer scientist, and inventor. Among his early contributions to the field of computer science, Kurzweil worked with optical character recognition, image scanning, and piano synthesizer technology. His literary works focus on topics including Artificial Intelligence (AI), life extension, transhumanism, and the ethical implications related. Kurzweil is known for his views on post-biological life extension. |
==Early Life== | ==Early Life== | ||
| + | Raymond Kurzweil was born in 1948 in Queens New York. At 15, Kurzweil began experimenting with pattern recognition that eventually led him to create software matching high school students with colleges that he sold as an undergraduate at MIT for $100,000. Kurzweil earned a B.S in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140102111050/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/kurzweil.html</ref> | ||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
| − | ==Books== | + | Kurzweil founded Kurzweil Computer Products shortly after his graduation from MIT and invented the first CCD (charge coupled device) flatbed scanner, the first optical character recognition (OCR) software, as well as a speech synthesizer which were coupled together as a machine that could read printed documents, interpret the characters regardless of font, and read aloud the content of the printed work. The Kurzweil Reading Machine of 1976 provided the framework for all subsequent text-to-speech technology. |
| + | |||
| + | Kurzweil Music Systems, which Kurzweil founded with Stevie Wonder, tasked themselves with replicating the true sound of musical instruments and developed the K250 piano synthesizer in 1983. Believing their technology to have successfully created a synthesizer capable of emulating acoustic instruments in a way indistiguishable from the original acoustic instrument, Kurzweil Music Systems was sold in 1990.<ref>http://www.kurzweiltech.com/kms.html</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Books<ref>https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Ray+Kurzweil</ref>=== | ||
| + | =====Visions of the Future (1985)===== | ||
| + | A collection of future-themed short stories and essays by multiple authors. | ||
| + | =====The Age of Intelligent Machines (1990)===== | ||
| + | A non-fiction book about Artificial intelligence published by MIT Press. | ||
| + | =====The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life (1993)===== | ||
| + | A diet book published by Three Rivers Press | ||
| + | =====The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999)===== | ||
| + | A non-fiction book about artificial intelligence and the future of technology published by Viking Press. | ||
| + | =====Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (2004)===== | ||
| + | A non-fiction book co-written with Dr. Terry Grossman that addresses health and life extension published by Rodale, Inc. | ||
| + | =====The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (2005)===== | ||
| + | A non-fiction book about artificial intelligence published by Penguin Books. | ||
| + | =====Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever (2009)===== | ||
| + | A non-fiction health book co-written with Dr. Terry Grossman that addresses health and life extension published by Rodale Books. | ||
| + | =====How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed (2012)===== | ||
| + | A non-fiction book about human and artificial brains published by Viking Penguin. | ||
==Futurist Concepts== | ==Futurist Concepts== | ||
| + | ===Accelerating Returns=== | ||
| + | Kurzweil proposes that technological innovation is measurably increasing exponentially and, furthermore, that exponential growth is also growing exponentially, the implication being that technological change will outpace current estimates for the pace of innovation leading toward a rate of change incomprehensible to the human mind, which he refers to as ‘’the Singularity.’’<ref>http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns</ref> | ||
| + | ===Singularity=== | ||
| + | Kurzweil proposes a moment in the future, a tipping point on the curve of the accelerating acceleration of technological innovation described in ‘’The Law of Accelerating Returns’’, where artificial intelligence has surpassed the capacity of human intelligence and, combined with self-replicating technology, creates a future where humans “multiply [their] effective intelligence a billion fold, by merging with the intelligence [they] have created.”<ref>http://www.kurzweilai.net/futurism-ray-kurzweil-claims-singularity-will-happen-by-2045</ref> | ||
| + | ===Transhumanism=== | ||
| + | Kurzweil is a pioneer of the idea that human life can be extended without biological bodies by the “uploading” of consciousness to machines, often referred to as ‘’transhumanism.’’ He believes in the impending obsolescence of biological humanity and its replacement by cyborg machines housing human consciousness supplemented by extra-human intelligence.<ref>http://thetechnologicalcitizen.com/?p=2197</ref> | ||
==Ethical Concerns== | ==Ethical Concerns== | ||
| + | In his 2001 publication, ‘’The Law of Accelerating Returns’’, Kurzweil states that the extension of human life through the uploading of human consciousness to machines will create questions of consciousness and identity that “will be confronted as vital, practical, political, and legal issues.”<ref>http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns</ref> echoing sentiment by information ethicist James Moor that emerging technology creates need for policy discussion to address shifting ethical concerns driven by the increased pace of change.<ref>Moor, James H. "Why We Need Better Ethics for Emerging Technologies" Ethics and Information Technology (2005) 7:111–119 doi: 10.1007/s10676-006-0008-0</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kurzweil touches on privacy issues with regard to the possibility ingestible of surveillance nanobots, suggesting further applications of forward-looking policy discussion to address current gaps.<ref>http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | In his 2007 publication, ‘’Nanoethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Nanotechnology‘’, Kurzweil proposes relinquishment, purposeful abandonment of technology, at a granular level as a response to the negative ethical implications of self-replicating nanotechnology while dismissing wholesale relinquishment citing fears that development will proceed underground and out of site of regulators and policy makers.<ref>Kurzweil, Ray. 2013. Progress and Relinguishment. The Transhumanist Reader, ed. Max More and Natasha Vita-More. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aL2QThQPuxgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA40&dq=Kurzweil+relinquishment&ots=lQiDZjTeSU&sig=VMMWndbF6Wm3ILoVePSL1R8aEy4#v=onepage&q=relinquishment&f=false</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | =References= | ||
| + | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 17:25, 16 March 2018
Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, computer scientist, and inventor. Among his early contributions to the field of computer science, Kurzweil worked with optical character recognition, image scanning, and piano synthesizer technology. His literary works focus on topics including Artificial Intelligence (AI), life extension, transhumanism, and the ethical implications related. Kurzweil is known for his views on post-biological life extension.
Contents
- 1 Early Life
- 2 Career
- 2.1 Books[3]
- 2.1.1 Visions of the Future (1985)
- 2.1.2 The Age of Intelligent Machines (1990)
- 2.1.3 The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life (1993)
- 2.1.4 The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999)
- 2.1.5 Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (2004)
- 2.1.6 The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (2005)
- 2.1.7 Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever (2009)
- 2.1.8 How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed (2012)
- 2.1 Books[3]
- 3 Futurist Concepts
- 4 Ethical Concerns
- 5 References
Early Life
Raymond Kurzweil was born in 1948 in Queens New York. At 15, Kurzweil began experimenting with pattern recognition that eventually led him to create software matching high school students with colleges that he sold as an undergraduate at MIT for $100,000. Kurzweil earned a B.S in Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970.[1]
Career
Kurzweil founded Kurzweil Computer Products shortly after his graduation from MIT and invented the first CCD (charge coupled device) flatbed scanner, the first optical character recognition (OCR) software, as well as a speech synthesizer which were coupled together as a machine that could read printed documents, interpret the characters regardless of font, and read aloud the content of the printed work. The Kurzweil Reading Machine of 1976 provided the framework for all subsequent text-to-speech technology.
Kurzweil Music Systems, which Kurzweil founded with Stevie Wonder, tasked themselves with replicating the true sound of musical instruments and developed the K250 piano synthesizer in 1983. Believing their technology to have successfully created a synthesizer capable of emulating acoustic instruments in a way indistiguishable from the original acoustic instrument, Kurzweil Music Systems was sold in 1990.[2]
Books[3]
Visions of the Future (1985)
A collection of future-themed short stories and essays by multiple authors.
The Age of Intelligent Machines (1990)
A non-fiction book about Artificial intelligence published by MIT Press.
The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life (1993)
A diet book published by Three Rivers Press
The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999)
A non-fiction book about artificial intelligence and the future of technology published by Viking Press.
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (2004)
A non-fiction book co-written with Dr. Terry Grossman that addresses health and life extension published by Rodale, Inc.
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (2005)
A non-fiction book about artificial intelligence published by Penguin Books.
Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever (2009)
A non-fiction health book co-written with Dr. Terry Grossman that addresses health and life extension published by Rodale Books.
How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed (2012)
A non-fiction book about human and artificial brains published by Viking Penguin.
Futurist Concepts
Accelerating Returns
Kurzweil proposes that technological innovation is measurably increasing exponentially and, furthermore, that exponential growth is also growing exponentially, the implication being that technological change will outpace current estimates for the pace of innovation leading toward a rate of change incomprehensible to the human mind, which he refers to as ‘’the Singularity.’’[4]
Singularity
Kurzweil proposes a moment in the future, a tipping point on the curve of the accelerating acceleration of technological innovation described in ‘’The Law of Accelerating Returns’’, where artificial intelligence has surpassed the capacity of human intelligence and, combined with self-replicating technology, creates a future where humans “multiply [their] effective intelligence a billion fold, by merging with the intelligence [they] have created.”[5]
Transhumanism
Kurzweil is a pioneer of the idea that human life can be extended without biological bodies by the “uploading” of consciousness to machines, often referred to as ‘’transhumanism.’’ He believes in the impending obsolescence of biological humanity and its replacement by cyborg machines housing human consciousness supplemented by extra-human intelligence.[6]
Ethical Concerns
In his 2001 publication, ‘’The Law of Accelerating Returns’’, Kurzweil states that the extension of human life through the uploading of human consciousness to machines will create questions of consciousness and identity that “will be confronted as vital, practical, political, and legal issues.”[7] echoing sentiment by information ethicist James Moor that emerging technology creates need for policy discussion to address shifting ethical concerns driven by the increased pace of change.[8]
Kurzweil touches on privacy issues with regard to the possibility ingestible of surveillance nanobots, suggesting further applications of forward-looking policy discussion to address current gaps.[9]
In his 2007 publication, ‘’Nanoethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Nanotechnology‘’, Kurzweil proposes relinquishment, purposeful abandonment of technology, at a granular level as a response to the negative ethical implications of self-replicating nanotechnology while dismissing wholesale relinquishment citing fears that development will proceed underground and out of site of regulators and policy makers.[10]
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140102111050/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/kurzweil.html
- ↑ http://www.kurzweiltech.com/kms.html
- ↑ https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Ray+Kurzweil
- ↑ http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns
- ↑ http://www.kurzweilai.net/futurism-ray-kurzweil-claims-singularity-will-happen-by-2045
- ↑ http://thetechnologicalcitizen.com/?p=2197
- ↑ http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns
- ↑ Moor, James H. "Why We Need Better Ethics for Emerging Technologies" Ethics and Information Technology (2005) 7:111–119 doi: 10.1007/s10676-006-0008-0
- ↑ http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns
- ↑ Kurzweil, Ray. 2013. Progress and Relinguishment. The Transhumanist Reader, ed. Max More and Natasha Vita-More. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aL2QThQPuxgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA40&dq=Kurzweil+relinquishment&ots=lQiDZjTeSU&sig=VMMWndbF6Wm3ILoVePSL1R8aEy4#v=onepage&q=relinquishment&f=false
