Ray Kurzweil on The Age of Spiritual Machines: A 1999 TV interview

October 2, 2017

Dear readers,

For your interest, this 1999 interview with me, which I recently re-watched, describes some interesting predictions that are still coming true today. It’s intriguing to look back at the last 18 years to see what actually unfolded. This video is a compelling glimpse into the future, as we’re living it today.

Enjoy!

— Ray


Dear readers,

This interview by Harold Hudson Channer was recorded on Jan. 14, 1999 and aired February 1, 1999 on a Manhattan Neighborhood Network cable-access show, Conversations with Harold Hudson Channer.

In the discussion, Ray explains many of the ahead-of-their-time ideas presented in The Age of Spiritual Machines*, such as the “law of accelerating returns” (how technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view); the forthcoming revolutionary impacts of AI; nanotech brain and body implants for increased intelligence, improved health, and life extension; and technological impacts on economic growth.

I was personally inspired by the book in 1999 and by Ray’s prophetic, uplifting vision of the future. I hope you also enjoy this blast from the past.

— Amara D. Angelica, Editor

* First published in hardcover January 1, 1999 by Viking. The series also includes The Age of Intelligent Machines (The MIT Press, 1992) and The Singularity Is Near (Penquin Books, 2006).