Kurzweil’s talk, which took place before our “Fireside Chat” that was announced as a surprise final event of the day’s proceedings, amounted to his first public appearance in connection with the publication of his new book, “How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed.”

Naturally, it builds a bit on his previous book, “The Singularity Is Near,” in which he argues that… read more

On Technology: Ray Kurzweil | “20 years from now, biotechnology — reprogramming biology as an information process — will be in a mature phase. We will routinely turn off genes that promote disease and aging such as the fat insulin receptor gene that tells the fat cells to hold onto excess fat. We will be able to add genes that protect us from diseases… read more

Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream is currently applying the finishing touches to its upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive Beyond: Two Souls — but the studio may also be working on a PlayStation 4 title.

Seasoned online snoop Superannuation has uncovered a domain name for SingularityPS4.com, which was registered by the Parisian outfit in mid-November.

The name, as Superannuation notes, is curious, as David Cage recently cited … read more

It’s not an accredited university, and it doesn’t actually teach the singuarity, the supposed superintelligence that will result when man merges with machine, due (according to prolific inventor and author Ray Kurzweil) sometime around 2045. Still, the official welcome at Singularity University’s (SU) opening executive-programme class this fresh December afternoon in Nasa’s Ames research campus, at Moffett Federal Airfield, California, is delivered, appropriately, by a 60cm-tall NAO… read more

NW: How did your Nerd Life evolve?

RK: By the age of five I was convinced I would be a scientist/inventor. I always knew what I was going to be. I got involved in projects [that] grabbed my imagination and that usually winded up being a lot more complicated than originally anticipated. At the age of seven or eight, I built a puppet theater that had mechanical systems that changed the scenery. I got involved with computers at about the age of twelve. I built some computer like devices with electrical parts I would buy down on Canal Street in New York. You could buy these telephone relays that were primary electrical devices I could use to implement logical circuits.… read more

For inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, being human with limited intelligence and doomed biology was never good enough. So he came up with an idea called the Singularity —  a time when humans merge with machines, become smart and live forever. From MIT to the White House, people either hate the idea or can’t wait for it to happen. So, asks Liz Else, will any of us live long enough to… read more