The Singularity Is Nearer
| Author | Ray Kurzweil |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
Publication date | June 25, 2024[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 432 |
| ISBN | 9780399562761 |
| Preceded by | How to Create a Mind |
The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI is a 2024 non-fiction book by futurist Ray Kurzweil. It is the sequel to his 2005 bestseller book The Singularity Is Near. The book was released on June 25, 2024. He reiterates two key dates from his previous book, which predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) would reach human intelligence by 2029 and merge with humans by 2045, an event he calls "The Singularity."[1][2][3][4]
Content
[edit]In an interview with societyforscience and ScienceNews, Kurzweil said that the book will contain a chapter "that shows ...how dramatically every aspect of human life has improved over the decades and over the centuries".[5][6]
Kurzweil only mentions OpenAI twice, suggesting he sees it as a blip in the larger story of human history.
He explained, "Some people find this frightening. But [The Singularity] is going to be beautiful and will expand our consciousness in ways we can barely imagine, like a person who is deaf hearing the most exquisite symphony for the first time."[1]
Development
[edit]The book was initially scheduled to be released in 2021, but was delayed until 2022,[7][8] and then 2024.
When asked in an interview with The Guardian why Kurzweil wrote the book, he answered: "The Singularity Is Near talked about the future, but 20 years ago, when people didn’t know what AI was" and that "It is time to take a look again both at the progress we’ve made [...] and the coming breakthroughs."[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Dreibelbis, Emily (3 June 2024). "Ray Kurzweil: AI Is Not Going to Kill You, But Ignoring It Might". PCMag. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Kuzwell, Ray. "The Singularity is Nearer". Penguin. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ Hill, David J. (2015-06-05). "Exponential Finance: Ray Kurzweil Stresses Humanity's 'Moral Imperative' in Developing Artificial Intelligence". Singularity Hub. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ Smith, Daniel S. (2024-03-07). "The Singularity is Nearer". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
- ^ "Conversations with Maya: Ray Kurzweil | Society for Science & the Public". Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ "Conversations with Maya: Ray Kurzweil". Science News. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ Sullivan, Danny (2020-05-20). "Longevity and the Singularity - Longevity.Technology - Latest News, Opinions, Analysis and Research". Longevity.Technology - Latest News, Opinions, Analysis and Research. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ Kurzweil, Ray (2020-01-01). "celebrating: 15 year anniversary of the book the Singularity Is Near". Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ Corbyn, Zoë (2024-06-29). "AI scientist Ray Kurzweil: 'We are going to expand intelligence a millionfold by 2045'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
External links
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