The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil Page B
Authors: Ray Kurzweil
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does appear that machines will be able to improve their own design
.
M OLLY 2004:
Oh, we humans are starting to do that now
.
R AY :
But we’re just tinkering with a few details. Inherently, DNA-based intelligence is just so very slow and limited
.
C HARLES :
So the machines will design their own next generation rather quickly
.
G EORGE 2048:
Indeed, in 2048, that is certainly the case
.
C HARLES :
Just what I was getting at, a new line of evolution then
.
N ED :
Sounds more like a precarious runaway phenomenon
.
C HARLES :
Basically, that’s what evolution is
.
N ED :
But what of the interaction of the machines with their progenitors? I mean, I don’t think I’d want to get in their way. I was able to hide from the English authorities for a few years in the early 1800s, but I suspect that will be more difficult with these . . .
G EORGE 2048:
Guys
.
M OLLY 2004:
Hiding from those little robots—
R AY :
Nanobots, you mean
.
M OLLY 2004:
Yes, hiding from the nanobots will be difficult, for sure
.
R AY :
I would expect the intelligence that arises from the Singularity to have great respect for their biological heritage
.
G EORGE 2048:
Absolutely, it’s more than respect, it’s . . . reverence
.
M OLLY 2004:
That’s great, George, I’ll be your revered pet. Not what I had in mind
.
N ED :
That’s just how Ted Kaczynski puts it: we’re going to become pets. That’s our destiny, to become contented pets but certainly not free men
.
M OLLY 2004:
And what about this Epoch Six? If I stay biological, I’ll be using up all this precious matter and energy in a most inefficient way. You’ll want to turn me into, like, a billion virtual Mollys and Georges, each of them thinking a lot faster than I do now. Seems like there will be a lot of pressure to go over to the other side
.
R AY :
Still, you represent only a tiny fraction of the available matter and energy. Keeping you biological won’t appreciably change the order of magnitude of matter and energy available to the Singularity. It will be well worth it to maintain the biological heritage
.
G EORGE 2048:
Absolutely
.
R AY :
Just like today we seek to preserve the rain forest and the diversity of species
.
M OLLY 2004:
That’s just what I was afraid of. I mean, we’re doing such a wonderful job with the rain forest. I think we still have a little bit of it left. We’ll end up like those endangered species
.
N ED :
Or extinct ones
.
M OLLY 2004:
And there’s not just me. How about all the stuff I use? I go through a lot of stuff
.
G EORGE 2048:
That’s not a problem, we’ll just recycle all your stuff. We’ll create the environments you need as you need them
.
M OLLY 2004:
Oh, I’ll be in virtual reality?
R AY :
No, actually, foglet reality
.
M OLLY 2004:
I’ll be in a fog?
R AY :
No, no, foglets
.
M OLLY 2004:
Excuse me?
R AY :
I’ll explain later in the book
.
M OLLY 2004:
Well, give me a hint
.
R AY :
Foglets are nanobots—robots the size of blood cells—that can connect themselves to replicate any physical structure. Moreover, they can direct visual and auditory information in such a way as to bring the morphing qualities of virtual reality into real reality
. 38
M OLLY 2004:
I’m sorry I asked. But, as I think about it, I want more than just my stuff. I want all the animals and plants, too. Even if I don’t get to see and touch them all, I like to know they’re there
.
G EORGE 2048:
But nothing will be lost
.
M OLLY 2004:
I know you keep saying that. But I mean actually there—you know, as in biological reality
.
R AY :
Actually, the entire biosphere is less than one millionth of the matter and energy in the solar system
.
C HARLES :
It includes a lot of the carbon
.
R AY :
It’s still worth keeping all of it to make sure we haven’t lost anything
.
G EORGE 2048:
That has been the consensus for at least several years now
.
M OLLY 2004:
So, basically, I’ll have everything I need at my fingertips?
G EORGE
.
M OLLY 2004:
Oh, we humans are starting to do that now
.
R AY :
But we’re just tinkering with a few details. Inherently, DNA-based intelligence is just so very slow and limited
.
C HARLES :
So the machines will design their own next generation rather quickly
.
G EORGE 2048:
Indeed, in 2048, that is certainly the case
.
C HARLES :
Just what I was getting at, a new line of evolution then
.
N ED :
Sounds more like a precarious runaway phenomenon
.
C HARLES :
Basically, that’s what evolution is
.
N ED :
But what of the interaction of the machines with their progenitors? I mean, I don’t think I’d want to get in their way. I was able to hide from the English authorities for a few years in the early 1800s, but I suspect that will be more difficult with these . . .
G EORGE 2048:
Guys
.
M OLLY 2004:
Hiding from those little robots—
R AY :
Nanobots, you mean
.
M OLLY 2004:
Yes, hiding from the nanobots will be difficult, for sure
.
R AY :
I would expect the intelligence that arises from the Singularity to have great respect for their biological heritage
.
G EORGE 2048:
Absolutely, it’s more than respect, it’s . . . reverence
.
M OLLY 2004:
That’s great, George, I’ll be your revered pet. Not what I had in mind
.
N ED :
That’s just how Ted Kaczynski puts it: we’re going to become pets. That’s our destiny, to become contented pets but certainly not free men
.
M OLLY 2004:
And what about this Epoch Six? If I stay biological, I’ll be using up all this precious matter and energy in a most inefficient way. You’ll want to turn me into, like, a billion virtual Mollys and Georges, each of them thinking a lot faster than I do now. Seems like there will be a lot of pressure to go over to the other side
.
R AY :
Still, you represent only a tiny fraction of the available matter and energy. Keeping you biological won’t appreciably change the order of magnitude of matter and energy available to the Singularity. It will be well worth it to maintain the biological heritage
.
G EORGE 2048:
Absolutely
.
R AY :
Just like today we seek to preserve the rain forest and the diversity of species
.
M OLLY 2004:
That’s just what I was afraid of. I mean, we’re doing such a wonderful job with the rain forest. I think we still have a little bit of it left. We’ll end up like those endangered species
.
N ED :
Or extinct ones
.
M OLLY 2004:
And there’s not just me. How about all the stuff I use? I go through a lot of stuff
.
G EORGE 2048:
That’s not a problem, we’ll just recycle all your stuff. We’ll create the environments you need as you need them
.
M OLLY 2004:
Oh, I’ll be in virtual reality?
R AY :
No, actually, foglet reality
.
M OLLY 2004:
I’ll be in a fog?
R AY :
No, no, foglets
.
M OLLY 2004:
Excuse me?
R AY :
I’ll explain later in the book
.
M OLLY 2004:
Well, give me a hint
.
R AY :
Foglets are nanobots—robots the size of blood cells—that can connect themselves to replicate any physical structure. Moreover, they can direct visual and auditory information in such a way as to bring the morphing qualities of virtual reality into real reality
. 38
M OLLY 2004:
I’m sorry I asked. But, as I think about it, I want more than just my stuff. I want all the animals and plants, too. Even if I don’t get to see and touch them all, I like to know they’re there
.
G EORGE 2048:
But nothing will be lost
.
M OLLY 2004:
I know you keep saying that. But I mean actually there—you know, as in biological reality
.
R AY :
Actually, the entire biosphere is less than one millionth of the matter and energy in the solar system
.
C HARLES :
It includes a lot of the carbon
.
R AY :
It’s still worth keeping all of it to make sure we haven’t lost anything
.
G EORGE 2048:
That has been the consensus for at least several years now
.
M OLLY 2004:
So, basically, I’ll have everything I need at my fingertips?
G EORGE
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