Futurists like Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil have argued that the world is rapidly approaching a tipping point, where the accelerating pace of smarter and smarter machines will soon outrun all human capabilities. They call this tipping point the singularity, because they believe it is impossible to predict how the human future might unfold after this point.

Once these machines exist, Kurzweil and Vinge claim, they’ll possess… read more

Last week, Paul Allen and a colleague challenged the prediction that computers will soon exceed human intelligence. Now Ray Kurzweil, the leading proponent of the “Singularity,” offers a rebuttal.

Although Paul Allen paraphrases my 2005 book, The Singularity Is Near, in the title of his essay (cowritten with his colleague Mark Greaves), it appears that he has not actually read the book. His only citation is to an… read more

Futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil believes humans will soon be able to live forever with the help of computers. Barmy or brilliant?

It used to be that you would go into a dark tent where an old woman would gaze into a ball and tell you about the dark handsome stranger in your future.

In the 21st century, it seems, the tent is a rather eccentrically decorated office… read more