Ray Kurzweil is the inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era, an international authority on artificial intelligence, and one of our greatest living visionaries. Now he offers a framework for envisioning the twenty-first century--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.
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"This book is an extremely optimistic look at what the author believes technology will be able to do in the next century. In the first half the author gives a convincing argument on how and why technology (both man made and non man made) increase at an exponential rate. The ideas are really interesting, and I found them to be extremely compelling. In the second half the author makes specific predictions that I find less believable, but just as fun to think about. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys both technology and philosophy. I don't know how it compares to his new book Singularity." — Andrew (4 out of 5 stars)
"This book is an extremely optimistic look at what the author believes technology will be able to do in the next century. In the first half the author gives a convincing argument on how and why technology (both man made and non man made) increase at an exponential rate. The ideas are really interesting, and I found them to be extremely compelling. In the second half the author makes specific predictions that I find less believable, but just as fun to think about. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys both technology and philosophy. I don't know how it compares to his new book Singularity."
" The core problem with Kurzweil is that he seems to have no analysis of power or oppression whatsoever. He inhabits a happy-go-lucky futurist utopia filled with wondrous technological toys and gives no thought to how any of the technology could be used oppress, dominate or control. I basically spent the entire book imagining all the horrible things governments and corporations would do (and perhaps will do) with all the fantastic technology Kurzweil describes. "
" This book blew my mind - encouraged me to get my ass back in school. Looks like I will be Ray Kurzweil will be a keynote at a blackberry conference I am attending in two weeks! Would love to have a drink with him =) "
" This was a book that made me think in a way I never had before. I think I need to go back and read it again! "
" Not recommended. I hoped to get some intro into futurism/transhumanism/singularity. Kurzweil describes his concepts briefly and quite handwaveingly in the very beginning and the rest of the book is a long monotonous list useful only if you want to write a near-future/cyberpunk short story and you've run out of ideas. (I'm not subtracting points for being overtly optimistic for his 2009 predictions.) "
" Takes a few premises like Moore's Law and runs with it to conclusions that don't seem to follow necessarily. I found it to be a lot of pie in the sky dreaming. Kurzweil is a technological speculator. If I had wanted guessing about A.I. I would've read William Gibson instead. "
" Interesting, but thick. I started reading it in 1999. There's a bookmark on p. 152. Many things are probably past due, but I will soldier on. "
" Awesome book that explains the evolution of computer technology and elaborates on the potential social issues that artificially intelligent machines may invoke. "
" we are in great trouble! "
" An interesting outline of futurist milestones. "
" Mind fuck, somewhat depressing, perfect. "
" Futurist Ray Kurzweil takes us down the rabbit hole of what our future may be like. "
" I wish I could give this book zero stars. Never again. "
" Thought provoking to say the least "
" Actually, I couldn't finish it--too technical and uninteresting. "
" On the plus side, I'm definitely ready to be immortal and able to download my brain. However, all this talk of the Technology Singularity strikes me, as another commentator put it, as the Christian Rapture with computers. "
" An exciting and thought-provoking foray into one possible future! "
" Way more science than fiction, I would guess. Read Kurzwiel and know stuff before everyone else around you does. "
" One of the best books I've read on technology progressing into the 21st century and beyond. Very eye-opening and backed up with a lot of reference material.Great book. "
" An abridged audiobook of this title, and thus a pretty good synopsis of Kurzweil's Law of Accelerating Returns and the reasoning behind his technology predictions. Less important but still interesting are seeing how his predictions from 1999 line up with the present. "
" Maybe this would be better if I read it 10 years before the predictions were meant to happen. "
" I skim read this book off my husband's bookshelf. It freaked me out. Made me think outside of a box I didn't realize I was in. Some parts over my head. Made me realize I personally interact with machines far more than I like. Where's the balance? "
" Terrific book with accurate predictions and scary futuristic ones. "
" One of the core books to read in understanding how technology will be changing our society "
Ray Kurzweil is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Singularity Is Near and the national bestseller The Age of Spiritual Machines, among others. One of the leading inventors of our time, Kurzweil was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002. He is the recipient of many honors, including the National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest honor in technology. He lives in Boston.
Alan Sklar, a graduate of Dartmouth, has excelled in his career as a freelance voice actor. Named a Best Voice of 2009 by AudioFile magazine, his work has earned him several Earphones Awards, a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award (twice), a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and Audiobook of the Year by ForeWord magazine. He has also narrated thousands of corporate videos for clients such as NASA, Sikorsky Aircraft, IBM, Dannon, Pfizer, AT&T, and SONY.
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