Computers are becoming more powerful at an ever-increasing rate, but will they ever become conscious? Artificial intelligence guru Ray Kurzweil thinks so and explains how we will “download” our software (our minds) and “upgrade” our hardware (our bodies) to become immortal — before the dawn of the 22nd century.
Computers are becoming more powerful at an accelerating rate, but will they ever become conscious?
In the forthcoming book Are We Spiritual Machines? — a debate with leading critics of “strong artificial intelligence” — Ray Kurzweil says that nonbiological intelligence will become indistinguishable from conscious entities such as humans — at least from the…
An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be approximately 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate). The “returns,” such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. This exponential growth is not restricted to hardware, but with accelerating gains in brain reverse engineering, also applies to software. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, allowing nonbiological intelligence to combine the subtleties of human intelligence with the speed and knowledge sharing ability of machines. The results will include the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence, downloading the brain and immortal software-based humans — the next step in evolution.…
Michael Denton asserts that the most basic vital characteristics of organisms, such as self-replication, morphing, self-regeneration, self-assembly and the holistic nature of biological design, cannot be achieved with machines. If this is the case, then how will consciousness ever be instantiated in a “spiritual machine”?, asks Denton.…
In this detailed response to John Searle’s “Chinese Room” argument, Ray Kurzweil argues that Searle’s reasoning is based on the naïve, unrealistic premise that nonbiological entities can only manipulate logical syntax, whereas the current trend is toward emergent self-organizing chaotic systems based on pattern recognition, biologically inspired massively parallel methods, and reverse-engineering the brain. According to Kurzweil, Searle’s belief that consciousness requires a neurobiological substrate is equally unsupported. “We will meet [nonbiological] entities in several decades that at least convincingly claim to be conscious,” he concludes.…