August 2nd, 2005
Kurzweil on Achieving Immortality Through Technology
Since I'm pointing out audio interviews at the moment, here is one with Ray Kurzweil:
In the near future blood cell sized robots called nanobots will travel our bloodstreams making repairs. He sees this as one part of a larger trend of achieving immortality through technology.
Kurzweil has another new book that covers the topic - The Singularity is Near, When Humans Transcend Biology - coming out soon. This is more of a focus on the path to what he described as "Bridge Three" in Fantastic Voyage: the logical end results of applied nanotechnology and bioengineering put to work extending the healthy human life span. It'll be a good few decades before we see any of this reduced to practice, however, which is why it is important to take good care of your health now - it'd be a shame to miss the boat on actuarial escape velocity and radical life extension just because you let things go to seed.
The singularity is near when they've found the cure for common cold.
The singularity is near when they're finding cures for baldness and impotence.
There will be lots of suicides because people cannot take infinity into conciousness, and they will grow bored of life.
Yeah, lot of suicides. I plan on being one of the suicides after I'm bored. Sounds better than nature choosing for me!