Futurist Ray Kurzweil is famous for his accurate predictions of technological advancement in the years to come. He accurately predicted things such as the rise of the internet, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the exponential growth of computer knowledge to the point that artificial computer intelligence (AI) would beat human intelligence in things such as chess and trivia. As director of Engineering for Google, and even before he took on that role, he has been instrumental in shaping these technologies and by anyone’s standards, he can be seen as the ultimate thinker, visionary, and genius. With this kind of a track record, it is quite informative to understand what sort of technologies are his pet technologies now.
According to the Times of London, in their December 31, 2013 online edition , Kurzweil’s prime projects at present are “Google Brain” and “Solving Death.” The former is a type of artificial intelligence or machine learning that uses algorithms to understand the human mind and emotions. Ultimately, Kurzweil predicts a time where artificial intelligence via computer technology will exceed the sum total knowledge of the whole of humanity – changing the world forever. The applications for this super intelligence have been and are the focal point of many transhumanists today in that they foresee a time where humans can be augmented to become greater than humans or post-humans with capability that we can not even imagine today. Kurzweil foresees this “singularity” of technological advance as happening around the year 2045, while others place it even earlier.
Kurzweil’s other pet project is solving death. At 65 years old, the agnostic Kurzweil who has poured his whole existence into improving this world would understandably want to create a reality in which humans never died. According to the article cited above, he takes 150 vitamins a day with the aim of extending his life until science is able to improve the immune system so that this will be possible. Theological speaking, I believe they will get close on this one – but ultimately, it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment.
With this in mind, it is valuable to pause right now and think about what the Bible has to say about technological advancement and how the current course of this world will play out. As an aside, though it will tie in to the former, I promise, I would like to take us back through biblical history and see if some of these technologies and philosophies have existed in times past. This exploration will take several posts, but I think in the end, it may not be far off in helping us to understand what is coming down the pike.