The Age of Spiritual Machines
When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
-
-
4.2 • 32 Ratings
-
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
The inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era, an international authority on artificial intelligence, and bestselling author of The Singularity is Nearer now offers a framework for envisioning the twenty-first century in The Age of Spiritual Machines--an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live.
Kurzweil's prophetic blueprint for the future takes us through the advances that inexorably result in computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain by the year 2020 (with human-level capabilities not far behind); in relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers; and in information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways. Optimistic and challenging, thought-provoking and engaging, The Age of Spiritual Machines is the ultimate guide on our road into the next century.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kurzweil's reasoned scenarios of a "post-biological future" are as harrowing as any science fiction. That's the appeal of listening on tape to the inventor and MIT professor's provocative speculations on what could occur once computers reach or surpass human-level intelligence--then start to self-replicate. Computers, with their integrated circuit chip complexity, are sneaking up on us on an accelerated curve, he argues, citing the example of chess master Gary Kasparov's shocking loss to IBM's machine Deep Blue in 1997. Do computers represent "the next stage of evolution"? Will technology create its own next generations? Kurzweil suggests a timeline inhabited by "neural-nets," "nanobot" robots and scenarios of virtual reality where sexuality and spirituality become completely simulated. It's bracing and compelling stuff, propelled by the author's own strong egotistical will to prove his version of the future. Reader Sklar is thoughtful, if at times overly heavy on the ironies. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover.
Customer Reviews
great book, but no editing
Simply put the book itself is outstanding. Kurzweil's ideas are the stuff of science fiction, but a science fiction that will come to pass. And soon. Well reasoned and intelligent, I highly recommend this book.
That said, this ebook appears to have been scanned, OCR'd (optical character recognition) and then NOT edited. There are so many errors it is distracting. I am very disappointed that Apple couldn't do a better job in converting this text into an ebook.
Five stars for the book, minus one star for the abysmal editing.
Mind blowing book
I first read this in 2003. This book changed my outlook on the universe. It expanded my view of who I was, the story of our civilization and offered a hint of what's coming. I used its insight as a guide for technology and time investment and it totally paid off. Years later I look back, and I am still very fond of this book. Mu favorite to date.
Wordy
It is an interesting read, for sure, but he takes to long to make his points and becomes bogged down in sentence structure.
Just say it, Ray!