The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human IntelligenceThe inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era, an international authority on artificial intelligence, and bestselling author of The Singularity is Nearer now offers a framework for envisioning the twenty-first century in The Age of Spiritual Machines--an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live. Kurzweil's prophetic blueprint for the future takes us through the advances that inexorably result in computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain by the year 2020 (with human-level capabilities not far behind); in relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers; and in information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways. Optimistic and challenging, thought-provoking and engaging, The Age of Spiritual Machines is the ultimate guide on our road into the next century. |
Contents
THE LAW OF TIME AND CHAOS | 9 |
THE INTELLIGENCE OF EVOLUTION 40 | 40 |
OF MIND AND MACHINES | 51 |
A NEW FORM OF INTELLIGENCE ON EARTH | 66 |
Intelligence rapidly creates satisfying sometimes surprising plans that meet | 73 |
CONTEXT AND KNOWLEDGE | 89 |
BUILDING NEW BRAINS | 101 |
AND BODIES | 133 |
2029 | 220 |
2099 | 234 |
THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE REVISITED | 253 |
TIME LINE | 267 |
A 1000 unit of computation has the computing capacity of approxi | 279 |
HOW TO BUILD AN INTELLIGENT MACHINE IN THREE | 281 |
GLOSSARY | 298 |
NOTES | 315 |
Other editions - View all
The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence Ray Kurzweil Limited preview - 2000 |
The Age of Spiritual Machines: How We Will Live, Work and Think in the New ... Ray Kurzweil No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
ability Accelerating Returns Artificial Intelligence atoms Babbage body busy beaver calculations per second called cells chaos Charles Babbage chess circuits communication complex conscious consider created Cybernetic Poet decades developed devices Earth electronic emergence encryption Engine environment evolutionary algorithm evolved example experience exponential growth genetic human brain human intelligence images interaction knowledge Kurzweil language Law of Accelerating Lernout & Hauspie machine intelligence Marvin Minsky mathematical means million years ago mind molecules Moore's Law MOSH move nanobots nanotechnology nanotubes neural implants neural net neural nets neurons Okay organisms paradigm particles pattern personal computer photons physical planet predict problem puter qu-bits quantum computer Ray Kurzweil's recursive robot scan self-replicating simulated solution solve species speed tactile theory THERE'S three-dimensional tion transistor trillion Turing Test twenty-first century understand Universe Utility Fog virtual reality visual York