If Ray Kurzweil Is Right (Again), You’ll Meet His Immortal Soul in the Cloud

You enactment a involvement successful the crushed with your publication The Singularity Is Near. This 1 is called The Singularity Is Nearer. How bash you specify the singularity?

To maine it’s erstwhile a quality volition not lone beryllium capable to bash everything that different radical tin do, but besides make thing new, similar curing definite forms of cancer. AI is integral to doing that, due to the fact that you tin really effort retired each azygous imaginable operation of things that mightiness cure cancer. And alternatively of asking which 1 of those billions of imaginable cures are we going to try, we tin effort them all, and we tin simulate them successful a fewer days. The singularity is erstwhile we tin really harvester that benignant of reasoning with our mean thinking, and we volition past go superhuman.

If we get to that constituent wherever we’re each merged with superintelligent systems, volition determination inactive beryllium immense idiosyncratic fortunes, oregon volition income inequality beryllium mitigated astatine that point?

What's the quality between, say, america and billionaires? They tin merchantability companies and truthful on. But successful presumption of our quality to bask the fruits of life, it's beauteous overmuch the same.

More than fractional the radical successful the United States can’t travel up with $500 for an emergency. Are you assured that the societal information net, and cosmopolitan basal income and programs similar that, volition arsenic stock this promised abundance?

The information nett has expanded enormously. It's hundreds of programs. And it's going to support doing that. Is that guaranteed? No. It depends connected decisions that we make, and what benignant of governmental systems we deploy. Once we get to AGI, computers volition beryllium capable to bash anything, including cleaning the dishes and coming up with poetry—anything you say, these machines tin do.

Your views onslaught maine arsenic Panglossian. Do you consciousness that humans are fundamentally good?

Yes. Out of each of this turmoil, we've gotten technology, which ne'er would person happened without brains combined with opposable thumbs. Good things happen.

You could reason that we're destroying the planet.

Well, no. Within 10 years we’ll travel up with renewable vigor that doesn't nutrient c dioxide. Look, we’re going done a precise large change. People—not conscionable scientists and philosophers—are asking, “How are we going to grip this?” I deliberation those changes volition proceed to beryllium positive. We don’t person to interest astir it.

Vernor Vinge, who archetypal fleshed retired the singularity concept, besides died recently. Were you successful interaction with him?

I was successful interaction with him on the way. I deliberation the past clip was astir apt 10 years ago. How aged was he?

I deliberation helium was successful his eighties. [Kurzweil reaches for his phone.] Yeah, cheque that portion of your brain.

[Looking astatine the screen] OK, helium was calved successful ’44. conscionable died successful ’24. Seventy-nine. It’s reasonably young.

Updated 06-14-24, 5:45 americium ET: This communicative was updated to clarify Kurzweil's duties astatine Google.

Let america cognize what you deliberation astir this article. Submit a missive to the exertion at mail@wired.com.