A tech expert with a “proven track record of predicting major changes in the tech industry” has made several startling predictions in a new book.
Google's Ray Kurzweil predicted the "iPhone era" and that computers would beat humans at chess by 1998.
In his new book, “The Singularity is Near,” Kurzweil predicts that humans will fully merge with artificial intelligence by 2045.
He said advances in artificial intelligence would make it possible to revive our loved ones and connect our brains to cloud technology, in what he called the “fifth age” of human intelligence.
The singularity represents the idea that artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually surpass human intelligence, fundamentally changing the existence of humans.
“Children born today will have just graduated from college when the singularity occurs,” Kurzweil says. “Ultimately, nanotechnology will enable these trends to culminate in directly expanding our brains with layers of virtual neurons. That’s how we will merge with artificial intelligence.”
He explains that recent advances in AI, such as ChatGPT, show that his 2005 prediction in his first book, The Singularity Approaches, was correct, and that “the path is clear.”
Here are Kurzweil's most shocking predictions:
"Resurrection of the Dead"
Kurzweil believes that AI technology holds the promise of “resurrecting” the dead, first as a simulation of the person, then physically bringing them back to life.
Kurzweil's attempts to "bring" his father back to life using artificial intelligence began more than 10 years ago.
He created an exact replica of his father by feeding the AI system his father's letters, articles, and musical compositions.
Kurzweil predicts that humans will move to artificial bodies "more advanced than biology allows," and that by the 2040s, it will be possible to produce a copy of a person.
Humans are becoming a million times smarter.
Kurzel says we are on the cusp of entering a “fifth age” of intelligence, where humans merge with machines, as a result of the development of human-level brain chips like Neuralink.
It is believed that in the years following 2029, human intelligence will be multiplied millions of times through direct human-machine contact.
Immortality in 2030
Kurzweil predicts that people will begin to achieve “escape velocity” for immortality by 2030. This will be supported by huge leaps forward in health care.
He writes that by 2030, AI-powered biosimulators will conduct clinical trials in hours instead of years, leading to new drugs and life-extending therapies.
"The long-term goal is to develop medical nanorobots. They will be made of diamond parts with sensors, computers, communication devices and perhaps power sources," he added.
Life will become cheaper and easier.
Kurzweil believes that technology will revolutionize everyday life, with robots being able to build skyscrapers at incredible speeds, aided by 3D printers that produce building parts.
Other AI-led breakthroughs will drive down the price of solar energy.
At the same time, breakthroughs in automated extraction will lower the costs of mining raw materials.
“In the 2030s, living at a level that would be considered luxurious today will be relatively inexpensive,” Kurzweil wrote.