Ray Kurzweil was an invited guest lecturer Wednesday Dec. 3 at MIT’s Engineering Systems Doctoral Seminar, speaking on “Insights for Complex Engineering Systems from Evolutionary Theory.”

The seminar, co-lead by Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld of MIT’s Engineering Systems Division, brings together diverse areas of expertise in the emerging field of engineering systems.

Kurzweil presented a broad overview of current thinking on the exponential pace of technological change in semiconductor technology, genetics research, biomedical engineering, reverse-engineering the brain, human life expectancy (“we anticipate being able to stop aging in a mouse within ten years and perhaps humans in another ten years”), and other key areas. He also touched on ways to deal with risks of rogue uses of these technologies, the regulatory infrastructure needed to keep pace with technological developments, and the key current paradigm shifts in biological and technological evolution.

Kurzweil said he is in discussion with Gershenfeld and others at MIT about presenting a course at MIT “… after I complete my next book, ‘The Singularity is Near.'”