leisure to enjoy the many benefits of the new existence. They say that
men and women will merge with artificial intelligence through brain and
body implants, boosting health and strength. Kurzweil predicts that by the
2030s, humans will have become “more non-biological than biological,”
a condition sometimes known as
transhumanism. Kurzweil and a group
of like-minded individuals known as
Singularitarians believe that ultimately,
many humans will decide to abandon
biology altogether by uploading their
consciousness into computers. Their minds
will live on without their bodies.
But the fulfillment of Kurzweil’s
controversial vision will require more than
supersmart computers. Other technologies,
such as genetic engineering (altering genes,
the biological units that determine how living things grow and function),
will also play important roles. Kurzweil says that techniques developed with
the help of artificial intelligence will allow doctors to replace damaged genes
with normal, healthy ones, “reprogram[ming] our biology,” with the goal of
eliminating disease and increasing human physical and mental capacities.
Kurzweil also believes that nanotechnology, the manipulation of
infinitesimal (super-small) particles of matter, will combine with AI to
transform human society. In Kurzweil’s words, nanotechnology will “enable
us to redesign and rebuild—molecule by molecule—our bodies and brains
and the world with which we interact, going far beyond the limitations
of human biology.” He speculates that billions of nanobots (microscopic,
semiautonomous machines) will course through the human bloodstream,
killing disease-causing organisms, disposing of contaminants, and correcting
mistakes in the genetic code. Kurzweil also thinks that nanobots will
interact with neurons in the brain to greatly enhance human intelligence.
In his scenario, we will be able to download information from the Internet
Ray Kurzweil
predicts that
by the 2030s,
humans will have
become “more
non-biological
than biological.”
78
Artificial Intelligence
