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The Singularity Is Nearer

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The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
AuthorRay Kurzweil
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPenguin Books
Publication date
June 25, 2024[1]
Publication placeUnited States
Pages419
ISBN9780399562761
Preceded byHow to Create a Mind 
Ray Kurzweil presenting the book at South by Southwest 2024

The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI is a non-fiction book by futurist Ray Kurzweil. It is the sequel to his 2005 bestseller, The Singularity Is Near. The book was released on June 25, 2024. Kurzweil reiterates two key dates from his previous book, which predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) would reach human intelligence by 2029 and that people would merge with machines by 2045, an event he calls "The Singularity."[1][2][3][4]

Content

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In an interview with societyforscience and sciencenews, Kurzweil said that the book will contain a chapter "[...] that shows [...] how dramatically every aspect of human life has improved over the decades and over the centuries".[5][6]

He explained, "Some people find this frightening. But [The Singularity] is going to be beautiful and will expand our consciousness in ways we can barely imagine, like a person who is deaf hearing the most exquisite symphony for the first time."[1]

Development

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The book was initially scheduled to be released in 2021, but was delayed until 2022,[7][8] and then 2024.

When asked in a 2024 interview with The Guardian why Kurzweil wrote the book, he answered: "The Singularity Is Near talked about the future, but 20 years ago, when people didn’t know what AI was" and that "It is time to take a look again both at the progress we’ve made [...] and the coming breakthroughs."[9]

Reception

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Becca Rothfeld from The Washington Post wrote that The Singularity Is Nearer is "daunting to summarize [...] because it is so careless and careening", arguing that "[f]ar from the sort of disciplined treatise we might expect from a veteran programmer, this book is a welter of free associations and shameless simplifications."[10] According to her, Kurzweil "ventures into foreign territory, with unfortunate results."[10] She claims that "At times, Kurzweil’s prophecies read like passages from messianic religious texts."[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Dreibelbis, Emily (3 June 2024). "Ray Kurzweil: AI Is Not Going to Kill You, But Ignoring It Might". PCMag. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ^ Kuzwell, Ray. "The Singularity is Nearer". Penguin. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  3. ^ Hill, David J. (2015-06-05). "Exponential Finance: Ray Kurzweil Stresses Humanity's 'Moral Imperative' in Developing Artificial Intelligence". Singularity Hub. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  4. ^ Smith, Daniel S. (2024-03-07). "The Singularity is Nearer". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  5. ^ "Conversations with Maya: Ray Kurzweil | Society for Science & the Public". Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  6. ^ "Conversations with Maya: Ray Kurzweil". Science News. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Danny (2020-05-20). "Longevity and the Singularity - Longevity.Technology - Latest News, Opinions, Analysis and Research". Longevity.Technology - Latest News, Opinions, Analysis and Research. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  8. ^ Kurzweil, Ray (2020-01-01). "celebrating: 15 year anniversary of the book the Singularity Is Near". Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  9. ^ Corbyn, Zoë (2024-06-29). "AI scientist Ray Kurzweil: 'We are going to expand intelligence a millionfold by 2045'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  10. ^ a b c Rothfeld, Becca (2024-06-26). "Ray Kurzweil is (still, somehow) excited about humans merging with machines". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
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