{"id":26378,"date":"2005-10-13T13:07:42","date_gmt":"2005-10-13T17:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/?p=26378"},"modified":"2020-10-02T10:39:44","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T14:39:44","slug":"volume-8-number-15-10-13-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arlingtoninstitute.org\/volume-8-number-15-10-13-2005\/","title":{"rendered":"Volume 8, Number 15 – 10\/13\/2005"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Volume 8, Number 15
\n10\/13\/2005
\nEdited by John L. Petersen
\njohnp@arlingtoninstitute.org<\/a><\/p>\n

See past issues in the Archives<\/a><\/p>\n

In This Issue:<\/span><\/p>\n

Future Facts<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– from Think Links
\nThink Links<\/span><\/a>\u00a0– The Future in the News\u2026Today
\nA Final Quote<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

At The Arlington Institute, we believe that to understand the future, you need to have an open mind and cast a very wide net. To that end, FUTUREdition explores a cross-disciplinary palette of issues, from the frontiers of science and technology to major developments in mass media, geopolitics, the environment, and social perspectives.<\/p>\n

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Ray Kurzweil deciphers a brave new world<\/span><\/p>\n

Ray Kurzweil was one of the most remarkable and prolific inventors of the late 20th century. Now Kurzweil, who can claim credit for developing the first text-to-speech synthesizer and the first CCD flat-bed scanner, is busy inventing a future in which humans merge with machines and the pace of technological development accelerates beyond recognition.<\/p>\n

The concept is known by its proponents as the Singularity, and until recently it’s been the province of science fiction authors such as Vernor Vinge and Ken MacLeod.<\/p>\n

Now Kurzweil, in a new book called “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology\u201d claims that the inexorable pace of technological development and its exponential growth will usher in the Singularity by 2045.<\/p>\n

To appreciate the dizzying scope of Kurzweil’s predictions, read the book. But the condensed version goes like this: Thanks to Moore’s Law and other exponential growth rates, by 2030 a $1 computer will be as powerful as the human brain. Information technology’s exponential curve will fuel advances in biology, robotics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence- with world-shattering results including radical life extension and practically omniscient and omnipotent abilities for humans who elect self-augmentation.<\/p>\n

To read more, visit\u00a0http:\/\/news.com.com\/Deciphering+a+brave+new
\n+world\/2008-1082_3-5885116.html?tag=nefd.lede<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>FUTURE FACTS – FROM THINK LINKS<\/span>
\nDID YOU KNOW THAT…<\/span><\/p>\n