Rating: 
Summary: Great supplement for cognitive science
Review: I teach a cognitive science course and I'm going to add this book as a supplementary reading because I think it does a good job logically tracing out where current trends in technology will be taking us over the next 20+ years (beyond that, the book gets a bit fruity).I think my main problem with the book is his assumption that there will be legions of programmers out there programming MPP computers over the next few years. It just ain't gonna happen - it's much easier (and logical) for us humans to write software for serial computing. That's also the way that the vast majority of this generation of programmers has been trained. Clearly written and entertaining book.
Rating: 
Summary: ridiculous reasoning
Review: From what I've read about this book it seems that the author underplays the likelyhood that humans will enhance their own intelligence through genetic manipulation and computer enhancement.
Rating: 
Summary: How provocative and compelling can a book be?
Review: I did a very strange thing the minute I finished reading this book--I turned immeadiately back to page one and began reading it again! I don't remember being more excited by an author's vision. I was particularly intrigued by Kurzweil's insights into the spiritual nature of advancing technologies and the transformation process these changes are creating. Just because we must evolve beyond humanity, and soon, doesn't mean we can't make some important choices. We can have an impact on the future and effect its course. Kurzweil sheds light on our options. He argues that the prime question we will be asking in the next millennium will be, "Who am I?" We will be rapidly evolving, so the answer will necessarily be a moving target. In any event, the sizzle the future is offering, as far as I am concerned, is in the journey. Kurzweil envisions an eternity in which we will expand our spiritual quest for greater understanding--now that is something for which I can choose immortality.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun for the causual reader, superficial for technologists
Review: A two star for the technical browser and four stars for the lay reader. Mr. Kurzweil does a good job of narration. Platonic dialog was interesting approach to some chapters. You also left the book knowing how Ray thinks. Criticism. Mostly used linear projection of existent trends. Non-linear projects were surprisingly absent. A good airplane read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful visionary book
Review: Kurzweil provides a wonderful treatment where we are right now and where we might possibly be in the future. Though I do think that he is overoptimistic about the near future, he may not be optimistic enough about the far future. He takes such an earth-centric view of how life will be in 2099. But what if these vastly intelligent machines that he predicts finds us the secret of warping space or something equally revolutionary. He predicts that people on earth will abandon their earthly bodies and upload onto the web. But what if there is any sort of space exploration? Obviously our bodies would be better suited for that than virtual counterparts. But he is a futurist after all so you cant take his predictions too seriously. He does though provide a very valuable account of what is at least POSSIBLE in the future and that alone can blow your mind, whether or not you actually believe his predictions will come true.
Rating:
Summary: "Science alterest all things...."
Review: This book clearly and simply explains scientific developments- past, present and future- in a way that is fascinating and fun. Kurzweil explains that the next generation of machines will not only change how we see and interact with the world, but how we define ourselves. We may not agree with all of his predictions and warnings, but one way or the other these machines will impact our lives and those of our children. Unless we understand the exciting and frightening crossroads to which technology has brought us, our future will be controlled by a few scientists, driven by their own needs. They may or may not act to benefit society as a whole. Edgar Allan Poe wrote that "Science alterest all things with [its] peering eyes." This book suggests that next on the list to be altered is humanity itself. We might as well learn all about these machines, because they are going to know all about us!
Rating:
Summary: Extremely thought provoking
Review: One of the more insightful books I have read in years. Well researched! Recommend for anyone interested in the possiblilities the future holds.
Rating: 
Summary: Fairly interesting, but rather nutty
Review: Kurzweil is either a true visionary, or somewhat of a kook. Overall, the book is fairly interesting. It has some OK history, some interesting speculations. My problems with the book are as follows: 1. Kurzweil overestimates the power of today's computers. Or he's overimpressed. Nowadays we have all this memory and processing power, and all we get is Windows? Deep Blue did not "sail past" Gary Kasparov. Etc. Kurzweil needs to be more realistic and less elegiac about these matters. 2. Kurzweil underestimates the truly great accomplishments of humans: great art, great music, great scientific insights. 3. Kurzweil gets all kinds of philisophical issues wrong, or he misses them. For instance, humans have done the things they have done because they live in an environment with all kinds pains and pleasures. How the conscious computers of the future could have a "real" context without physical, mental or spiritual necessities is never explained. Why a conscious computer, which could just shut itself off and forget about consciousness and everything else, would not do so is never explained. 4. Kurzweil has padded his book quite nicely. The material in the chapters also fills a long timeline. There is a huge bibliography. You'll see. Kurzweil may be right, but I hope he is wrong. The world he suggests would quickly degenerate into something we humans would never accept.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging reading, but superficial treatment of consciousness
Review: Kurzweil writes with enthusiasm and insight on a wide range of topics. The book is engrossing, informative and fun. The weak area is in the author's treatment of consciousness, about which he takes the unadorned "mind = software" view. Those interested in consciousness, and especially, those who follow the contemporary state of the art in consciousness studies, will probably find Kurzweil's assumptions about the nature of consciousness and mentality to be unsatisfactory, a bit dated, and superficial. In fairness, Kurzweil himself acknowledges, albeit fleetingly, some "hurdles" that his view of consciousness must overcome (e.g. downloading a copy of a mind [understood to be 'program'], will create identity problems across copies.) Notwithstanding this objection, the book is still a worthwhile "read." His idea that our evolutionary destiny may be to create our successors, through advanced technologies, is very intriguing, and his arguments are interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A Flawed Masterpiece
Review: Although not a perfect book, "The Age of Spiritual Machines" is destined (IMO) to become one of the more important books of the late 20th Century. Kurzweil begins all the way back at the Big Bang, clearly unable to limit his scope to something more appropriate. He starts with an outdated summary of creation physics, then contrasts the slowing timeline of phase changes in the universe with the speeding up of the evolution of life -- as if the two are somehow related. He puts forth the curious idea that technology is "inevitable" wherever life evolves. Both these arguments exemplify the homocentric hubris that the universe was created for the emergence of mankind. Nevermind. Skip the first chapter (as Kurzweil himself suggests in the prefatory note) and you'll quickly get into the good stuff. His chapters on the evolution of intelligence and the growth of computing power are well founded. Where he really hits his stride however is in the second section, "Preparing the Present," where he puts forth cogent arguments for quantum computing based on DNA, mentality-enhancing neural implants, and "downloading your mind to your personal computer." He then goes on to discuss nanotechnology and life-extending technologies. This section alone is worth the price of the book. After the past and the present, he gives quick snapshots of where he thinks we may be in 10, 20, 30, and 100 years. These too are well thought out and insightful. He is generally conservative, foreseeing no large "phase changes" which could radically affect current trends. It'll be interesting to check back to see how his predictions held up. Other pluses: an excellent "further reading" list, extensive web links, and far-ranging footnotes. Minuses: he takes Roger Penrose seriously, he fails to mention Racter in the discussion of computer authors, and he spends just a wee bit too much time tooting his own horn (Kurzweil Computer Products, Kurzweil Reading Machine, Kurzweil Data Entry Machine, Kurzweil Music Systems, Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Kurzweil Education Systems, Ray Kurzweil Cybernetic Poet...) But to be fair, he HAS pioneered in all these areas, so perhaps he has earned his immodesty. Overall, a fascinating, thought-provoking book which is not afraid to make concrete predictions. Given Kurzweil's track record, he may just prove to be 100% right.
| 
