Google’s Leading Futurist Predicts The Singularity’s Arrival Within 12 … – Wall Street Pit

Were going to get more neocortex, were going to be funnier, were going to be better at music. Were going to be sexier. Were really going to exemplify all the things that we value in humans to a greater degree.

Those are the exact words of well-known futurist and Director of Engineering at Google, Ray Kurzweil, in an SXSW (short for South by Southwest) interview a few days ago. He is talking about the singularity, of course. And compared with the ominous predictions of other notable personalities, Kurweils outlook seems much more appealing.

The singularity (or technological singularity) is defined as that moment when as a result of technological advances, artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, and establishes itself as the new super intelligence. Simply put, its that time when machines become smarter than any human.

Theres no denying that were heading towards that direction, and that were moving closer and closer towards singularity. As Kurzweil said: Its here, in part, and its going to accelerate.

While some have predicted that it will happen by 2045 2047, Kurzweil says it will happen sooner by 2029 to be exact. The question is: should we be frightened or should we be excited?

Maybe the influence of sci-fi movies has a hand in it somehow. But its hard not to be terrified of the idea that robots will one day threaten our existence. And when that fear is echoed by well-respected critical thinkers like Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates, the prospect of such future becomes even more real and terrifying. Which is why Kurzweils perspective is such a welcome change.

For starters, hes saying that its unrealistic to believe science fictions version of the singularity of one or a few super AIs taking over the world. Because we dont have just one or two AIs; we have billions. And the way were interacting with AIs right now is inconsistent with the sci-fi version of the future were imagining. Specifically, Kurzweil cites patients with Parkinsons disease who have computers in their brains. Think about it the computer is there to help the patient and not take over his/her mind, right?

Thats how it all starts. And because the natural course is for technology to improve and not deteriorate, Kurzweil envisions that instead of taking over, AI will help make us smarter. They may not yet be inside our bodies but by the 2030s we will connect our neocortex, the part of our brain where we do our thinking, to the cloud, he said.

Once we have uploaded our brains to the cloud, it will supposedly allow us to spend less time on lower-level types of mental tasks, and spend more time on higher-level ones, those that have to do with creative thinking like art and music.

Ultimately it will affect everything. Were going to be able to meet the physical needs of all humans. Were going to expand our minds and exemplify these artistic qualities that we value, he adds.

AI and human intelligence, not AI versus human intelligence. It definitely sounds much better, right?.

References: Futurism, SXSW

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Google's Leading Futurist Predicts The Singularity's Arrival Within 12 ... - Wall Street Pit