The book The Singularity is Near I was written by Rey Kurzweil, an American author, inventor, and futurist. The book talks about the author’s concept of “Singularity”, or the fusion of humans and machines. He points out that humans will inevitably mutate because of the effects of fast-paced developments in technology. Furthermore, Kurzweil theorizes that we are actually experiencing the initial stages of this evolution (Kurzweil).
The Quotation
“A related but distinct question has to do with our own identities. We talked earlier about the potential to upload the patterns of an individual mind—knowledge, skills, personality, memories—to another substrate. Although the new entity would act just like me, the question remains: is it really me? Some of the scenarios for radical life extension involve reengineering and rebuilding the systems and subsystems that our bodies and brains comprise. In taking part in this reconstruction, do I lose my self along the way? Again, this issue will transform itself from a centuries-old philosophical dialogue to a pressing practical matter in the next several decades. So who am I? Since I am constantly changing, am I just a pattern? What if someone copies that pattern? Am I the original and/or the copy?” (Kurzweil)
This quotation from The Singularity is Near reflects the part that basically points out what the whole book is actually about. This quote by Kurzweil, opens a question on how the state of human life will be in the era of “Singularity”. The quote may seem to not belong in the field of hard sciences like the most parts of this book does, but looking closely, one will see a train of thought on how it relates to the hard sciences.
The other chapters of the book discuss several topics from the field of hard sciences such as biology, genetics, chemistry, physics and many other concepts. Re-evaluating the quotation, one will now possibly see how it connects with the above-mentioned topics. It discusses how important identity is to human beings. It questions the authenticity and genuineness of one’s self in the process of extending his/her life using the advancements in technology.
Kurzweil relates Transcendence to what is commonly called as Spirituality by many. The aforementioned quote reflects how the author sees transcendence as an unavoidable step towards the evolution of humans. Through the help of technology, Kurzweil believes that in order for people to transform and go beyond what s/he is right now, one must understand the patterns that make up his/her body. However, he points out that transcending and going beyond does not necessarily mean that we surpass this current state and be able to go beyond the known levels of reality, which in this case, is the spiritual level (Kurzweil).
Kurzweil’s view of transcendence is quite hard to digest. Maybe this is because I still cannot see myself undergoing these possibilities that the author stated. In evaluating Kurzweil’s insights, I tried hard to maintain a good balance between objectivity and subjectivity. I tried to be objective in understanding the possibility of this phenomenon to happen. With the rapid advancements in science and technology, the concept of Singularity does have a chance of happening. However, I became subjective in analyzing the moral implications of this phenomena. Humans are the stewards of the world. Machines are invented by humans in order to make life easier. Though Kurzweil made realistic claims, I don’t think singularity is near. I cannot see the merging of humans and machines in the next decade. Not unless scientists and experts begin to study the full capacity of the human brain which is the most important ingredient of Kurzweil’s concept of Singularity (Allen). Though the current state of science and technology nowadays can be considered quite far from the primitive era, I believe that the world still needs to further examine the full extent of human potential.
Works Cited
Allen, Paul G. "The Singularity Isn't Near." Rev. of The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil. MIT Technology Review 12 Oct. 2011. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 29 Apr. 2016. <https://www.technologyreview.com/s/425733/paul-allen-the-singularity-isnt- near/>.
Kurzweil, Ray. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Viking Penguin, 2005. Print.
