Is the moment that man and machine converge almost upon us? Ray Kurzweil thinks it’s not far off.
The American computer scientist discussed the future of technology at the inaugural B.C. Tech Summit in Vancouver this week, and shared his thoughts on how rapid advances in nanotechnologies will make humans artificially intelligent. Kurzweil believes nanobots — or microscopically small computers — will be implanted in human brains by the 2030s.
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“Twenty-five years from now, computers will be a billion times more powerful per dollar. They’ll be 100, 000 times smaller. They’ll be the size of blood cells. And they can go inside the brain and connect the neo-cortex to the cloud wirelessly, ” he told the CBC’s Duncan McCue.
Kurzweil is optimistic this massive expansion of human intelligence will help solve age-old human problems such disease, aging and environmental degradation. He also warns advances in artificial intelligence could be potentially dangerous, using warfare as an example.
“That’s the biggest challenge for humanity for 21st century: how do we reap the promise of artificial intelligence and biotechnology while controlling the peril? I think we can do it, but not if we don’t pay attention to the problem.”
