The Singularity Is Near

“This is one aspect of the uniqueness of our species: our intelligence is just sufficiently above the critical threshold necessary for us to scale our own ability to unrestricted heights of creative power—and we have the opposable appendage (our thumbs) necessary to manipulate the universe to our will.”

Kurzweil explains that human civilization is currently on the cusp of an intelligence revolution. Humans’ current status places them in limbo: They are intelligent enough to recognize their limitations and the problems of the world but not intelligent enough to solve those problems. Kurzweil argues that human creativity, however, can fix any problem. The development of advanced technologies enables humans to supplement their intelligence, rushing them into a new epoch in which their creativity has the potential for infinite exponential growth.

“I describe myself as a ‘patternist,’ someone who views patterns of information as the fundamental reality.”

Kurzweil argues that the unique processing power of the human brain is its ability to detect patterns, an assertion that reflects his belief in Patterns as Fundamental Reality. The core of his arguments for the Singularity is built upon his pattern finding as he considers how humans evolve and the history of their technological advancement. When machines take on this currently uniquely human quality of pattern finding and pattern making, the Singularity is achieved.

“This book will argue, however, that within several decades information-based technologies will encompass all human knowledge and proficiency, ultimately including the pattern-recognition powers, problem-solving skills, and emotional and moral intelligence of the human brain itself.”

Kurzweil suggests that once the Singularity reaches a certain point in its development, all non-biological intelligence will be considered human. He suggests that humans will be augmented with mechanical intelligence to such a degree that it will be impossible to determine where human intelligence ends and mechanical intelligence begins, thus embodying