Ray Kurzweil believes that by 2030, machines will have attained something like a consciousness and that distinguishing between human and robot intelligence will be nearly impossible. This isn’t the logline for a science fiction thriller or a gimmicky Jeopardy! appearance. It’s the honest belief of an incredibly intelligent inventor, technophile, and habitual vitamin popper.
You’ve got to keep your body strong if you want to live forever.
So, yes, with his belief that humans may one day be able to live eternally by merging with machines (and having nanobots swim around inside our blood), Kurzweil seems pretty out there.
The new trailer for Transcendent Man – a movie about Kurzweil and his ideas – seems equally as out there. Fortunately, it also seems at least mildly fair-handed unlike most documentaries these days.
Check it out for yourself, and hurry up. You’re not going to live forever, you know:
Shatner!
It doesn’t matter what side of the debate you fall on, or whether you can even pick a side at this point, this seems like insanely compelling subject matter. Technology, of course, seems to be speeding up. We’re asked to learn and re-learn so quickly now, and it will only get faster.
Crack-pot or Correct, Kurzweil is vocalizing the possibilities of a new era. Time will tell him right or wrong, but what he’s predicting is damned amazing.
The movie was directed by Barry Ptolemy (which has to be a pseudonym, right?) and features talking heads like Wired Editor-in-Chief Kevin Kelly, Colin Powell, 3Com and Metcalfe’s Law founder Robert Metcalfe, Segway inventor Dean Kamen, and many more. It also features music from iconic composer Phillip Glass.
Transcendent Man will be available on iTunes starting tomorrow, March 1st.
What do you think?
Source: Apple
