One Half of An Argument
July 31, 2001 by Ray Kurzweil
A counterpoint to Jaron Lanier’s dystopian visions of runaway technological cataclysm in “One Half of a Manifesto.”… read more
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Review of Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us by Rodney Brooks
January 28, 2002 by Ray Kurzweil
Ray Kurzweil reviews Rodney Brooks’ latest book on robotics for Wired Magazine. Brooks challenges Jaron Lanier’s claim that AI is “based on an intellectual mistake” and Kurzweil’s statements on reverse-engineering the brain and the date of the “Singularity.” Kurzweil responds.… read more
Predictive Human Genomics Is Here
May 29, 2002 by Terry Grossman
Thanks to breakthroughs in genomics testing, physicians now have tools for true preventive medicine. Gene chips and genomics test panels can predict one’s predisposition towards many serious — and often preventable — genetic diseases and allow doctors to modify gene expression through precise, targeted, individualized interventions.… read more
Exponential Growth an Illusion?: Response to Ilkka Tuomi
September 13, 2003 by Ray Kurzweil
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Ray Kurzweil responds to Ilkka Tuomi’s essays, “The Lives and Death of Moore’s Law” and “Kurzweil, Moore, and Accelerating Change,” in which Tuomi challenges Kurzweil’s “law of accelerating returns” and the exponential growth of semiconductor technology.… read more
Interview with Robert A. Freitas Jr. Part 1
February 2, 2006 by Sander Olson, Robert A. Freitas Jr.
Robert A. Freitas Jr. has written pioneering books on nanomedicine,
nanorobots, and molecular manufacturing. What’s next? The last two books in the Nanomedicine series and a book on fundamentals of nanomechanical engineering, extending Eric Drexler’s classic Nanosystems, he reveals in this interview.… read more
THE AGE of INTELLIGENT MACHINES | Brother Giorgio’s Kangaroo
February 21, 2001
Scientist-painter Harold Cohen reveals the mystery works behind his famous “artificially” intelligent AARON program, which draws landscapes and portraits. A profound symbiosis of man and machine, as computer imitates art and art imitates life, it demonstrates the growing capacity of technology to reflect the subtlety of human experience. From Ray Kurzweil’s revolutionary book The Age of Intelligent Machines, published in 1990.… read more
Researching Health and Well-Being at the Library
August 6, 2001 by Ray Kurzweil
Researching immortality, written for “The Futurecast,” a monthly column in the Library Journal.… read more
A Dialog with the New York Times on the Technological Implications of the September 11 Disaster
September 27, 2001 by Ray Kurzweil
In preparation for the New York Times article, “In the Next Chapter, Is Technology an Ally?,” Ray Kurzweil engaged in a conversation with computer scientist Peter Neumann, science fiction author Bruce Sterling, law professor Lawrence Lessig, retired engineer Severo Ornstein, and cryptographer Whitfield Diffie, addressing questions of how technology and innovation will be shaped by the tragic events of September 11, 2001.… read more
Movie reviews: A Beautiful Mind, Vanilla Sky, Waking Life
January 15, 2002 by Amara D. Angelica
It’s only a movie. Or is it? The three coolest films of this millennium so far tantalizingly blur the boundary between real and virtual worlds and suggest the question: Are you living in a simulation? Spoilage warning: the following reveals plot details.… read more
Robots in the bloodstream: the promise of nanomedicine
February 26, 2002 by Robert A. Freitas Jr.
In just a few decades physicians could be sending tiny machines into our bodies to diagnose and cure disease. These nanodevices will be able to repair tissues, clean blood vessels and airways, transform our physiological capabilities, and even potentially counteract the aging process.… read more
On the Search for the Neural Correlate of Consciousness
June 26, 2002 by David Chalmers
There’s a variety of proposed neural systems associated with conscious experience, but no way to directly observe or measure consciousness. Chalmers suggests though that there may be a “consciousness module” — a functional area responsible for the integration of information in the brain, with high-bandwidth communication between its parts.… read more