Rating: 
Summary: Moore's Law versus the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Review: Ray Kurzweil has postulated a new theorem to predict the rateat which intelligence will evolve. That is to say, what we now call'artificial intelligence.' Whether this rule will be any more accurate than reading goats' entrails, only time will tell. But not much time. Kurzweil's estimates say that most people reading this sentence will live to see software with more human intelligence than most humans now have. And the end of the century will see software more intelligent than human society in total.Most of the new technologies Kurzweil describes we've already met through science fiction: the robot companions in "I, Robot" and the nanobots in "Diamond Age." However, this book comes without the baggage of plot lines and fictional characters. Kurzweil is a self-described optimist: he spends only a few pages on considerations of the ethics or morality of vacuum cleaners with feelings. He believes (most) humans will accept these new intelligent forms, and merge them with our own society. The 4-star rating is because even the author doesn't seem sure who his audience is. He expects readers to follow along as he talks fluently about Wittgenstein, qu-bits and set theory. Then he interrupts each chapter with an imaginary Q&A session, apparently between Kurzweil and a particularly dim student, to re-explain the entire topic. I found that device disruptive. Kurzweil is a booster for science. He obviously loves living in 'interesting times' and that comes through in every chapter. I found it refreshing to read a book about future technologies that isn't filled with dire warnings and doom and gloom. It's the best book I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Scary concepts!
Review: Interesting tape. The first tape (of two) is fairly commonplace - the growth of computing power, Moore's Law and some nice definitions of intelligence and human learning. However on tape two things get real scary! OK a lot of the themes are covered in books like "What Will Be" (Michael Dertouzos) and hinted at in Bill Gates' phrophecies but man this guy really stretches possibility. The Law of Accelerating Returns sounds like something Moses should have brought down from the mountain. If it is true, then we are talking about something much much stronger than "survival of the fittest". Could it really be that we have been created purely as a stepping stone to the next level of intelligence? OK, I am sure that the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits have done this but lets put aside cynicism for a while. If you link together what Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra talk about in terms of higher intelligence and Kurzweil's Law, what you have is a Universal (I mean Universal not just the metaphor) drive to create intelligence. Hey, I mean this could be the theory of everything! The battle between chaos (disintegration into atomic form) versus intelligence (the creation of higher forms). Very thought provoking and definitely worth getting a hold of. I only gave it three stars because (at least on the tape) he seemed to duck out of an number of issues. As machine intelligence supercedes human intelligence and we can copy our minds onto software, where does that leave identity? If we use nanobots to replace our immune systems and repair/modify our bodies so we are heathier, stronger, improved, wont that end up with a homogeneous human race? And if it does, what happens to the cauldron of chaos that evolution uses to energise itself and try out new ideas? Lastly, in a world where humanity and machine co-exist, what is death? A system crash, a jump from one old body to a new one or an erased disk?
Rating: 
Summary: I have a question for the author and interested readers
Review: I was thinking about the progression of evolution and the consequences of introducing artificial features to the human race. If this becomes common place how will be base our selection of mates? As we know, human beings are attracted to specific types of features that are esthetically appealing. Also, another major attraction is intelligence. If we have a future of people routinely preforming cosmetic surgery and brain implants, what will the genetic evolutionary features be of the human race? Will we regress? Will the human mind stop evolving? What about the cummulative knowledge that we share in terms of our social environment? Will that be artificially enhanced as well to quell agression and racist attitudes? Look at the possibilities and the downsides. I would love to talk about it. I enjoyed the book because the topic is something I have been thinking about without the insight of the education that the author has. I am a Anthroplogy and philosopy major in New England. Anyone that would like to discuss this book in a forum please let me know at sepj65@hotmail.com
Rating:
Summary: If we evolve by sexual selection what happens next?
Review: I considered this book very thought provoking and reiterating ideas I have already considered. I have also thought of the long term effect of this likely future. We will continue to be attracted to others with appealing features, intelligence and success. We will not be able to differentiate the artificial features from the genetic and over a course of time what will the human race become? Will we eventually 'devolve'? Will the evolutionary progression become regression in genetic qualities we now value? I would like to present these questions to the author. It would be an interesting discussion. I saw a show on satellite of his interview. I was very intrigued that someone else thinks in the same way as I. I am an Anthropology, philosopy major, and would like to start a forum regarding this book. email me if you are interested sepj65@hotmail.com
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This book brings together the theory of evolution, philosophy, biology, chemistry and the exponential growth of technology to explain how the world became to be what it is today, and where it will continue to go. Kurzweil puts together very strong arguments for his theories and predictions and leaves me a believer. I think that every computer science major (and anyone interested in the future) should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: It's good to read a book like this at least once a year
Review: This book got me excited. It changed the way I think about the future, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the possibilities that the future holds. Kurzweil presents his theories a lot more convincingly than I can, but I've certainly tried a lot since I read this book. It stimulates philosophical debate on the nature of life and intelligence, but grounds its philosophical wanderings in believable theory. The book is not without its problems. The jump into the future of nanotechnology leaves is abrupt and the Law of Accelerating returns is not a law but a trend. He ignores the possibility of social movements or government action to prevent Artificial Intelligence research once it reaches a certain level. When he speaks about specific aspects of humanity or sex, he reveals an incomplete understanding of the way people feel and love. But these flaws only serve to remind the reader that the book is indeed speculation, not fact. And the speculation is beautiful, absolutely inspiring. It introduced possibilities and ideas that I'm still turning over in my mind, and it did it all with clear, entertaining writing that a non-scientist like me can understand. Pick up this book, read it, make your friends read it, and enjoy the time you spend discussing it. The resulting conversations will be so much more interesting than your usual social fare. In fact, read a book like this every year, whether it's something totally off the wall (Robert Anton Wilson's "Prometheus Rising") or a little more grounded in current science (Kevin Kelly's "Out of Control"). It will broaden your "reality-tunnel" and get your mind working with big, fun concepts.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-blowing
Review: Kurzweil's second book is almost mind-numbing in the possibilities it suggests for the future of our world. Thankfully, Kurzweil has managed to convey rather technical thoughts in layman's words, so "Spiritual Machines" is both easy to read and understand. Once you get past his numerous self references and advertisements for products he designed, the ideas presented are amazing and slightly frigthening. The world we live in thirty years from now will be much different from the one we live in today. This is an excellent perspective on what that world could look like. Keep an open mind as you read it. You'll need one in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A misrepresentation of common scientific precepts
Review: In "The Age of Spiritual Machines", Mr. Kurzweil presents an interesting argument about the rapidly advancing technologies surrounding Artificial Intelligence as of date. But, his base ideas are flawed. Being an AI researcher, it seems natural that his understanding of cosmology would not be perfect. Yet, at the same time, to base his theorem of advancing technologies on the precept that the timeframe of the universe is uniquely linked with the technological advancement of a bunch of organisms is utterly preposterous. A better understanding of Quantum theory by the author would have made this a much better read, in the process confusing less people when they found out the real reasons for the advancement of Time. I give this book three stars because I enjoyed the writers style, but at the same time, the misrepresentation of information was disturbing.
Rating: 
Summary: When's Lunch?
Review: This book is entertaining at best, self-aggrandizing at worst. The author should research the idea of human conciousness a bit more, but all in all, it's about par with Asimov's worse.
Rating:
Summary: A great book with fine amplification of detail!
Review: This book is a preorganized, distinct, and phenomenal publication. With the fine amplification of details, the book is well described and the information it provided is superior. With astonishing work, the endless possibilities cannot be surpassed. Ray Kurziel did a remarkable job in the clarification of Artifical Intelligence (AI). Marvelous work!
| 
