The Caroline Werner Gannett Project 2007-08
Ray Kurzweil

Ray Kurzweil

Legendary futurist, inventor and artificial intelligence expert

Presents:

“The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology”

When: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Gordon Field House

"Kurzweilfest" - Come learn about Ray Kurzweil! Panelists include David Lincoln, Mike Yacci, Stephen Jacobs, Gary Skuse, Henry Kautz and Laura Shackelford.

When: Monday, September 15, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
Where: Ingle Auditorium (Student Alumni Union)


Talk Description: What is the Law of Accelerating Returns and how will it transform society? What are the challenges and opportunities of transcending biology: of nanobots, fuel cells, and bioterrorism? How will innovation be managed in an era of accelerating technologies? When and how will human level AI be developed? How will biotechnology and nanotechnology impact our bodies and brains? When will we see full immersion in virtual reality? Renowned inventor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and futurist, Ray Kurzweil will expand your mind as he shares his vision of the future.

Ray Kurzweil is a legendary futurist and inventor whose work in artificial intelligence has dazzled technological sophisticates for more than three decades. A pioneer in the fields of optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology and electronic keyboard instruments, Kurzweil invented the CCD flatbed scanner, the first pocket-size print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first sonically authentic electric piano, and large-vocabulary speech-recognition software. He has launched ten companies and sold five, and has written five books on topics ranging from the union of human and artificial intelligence to nutrition. Mr. Kurzweil earned a BS in Computer Science and Literature from MIT, has received 15 honorary doctorates and has been honored by three US presidents. He has been inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame and is now gaining momentum as a cultural force with not one but two movies in the works - a documentary about his career and ideas and an adaptation of his recent 2005 bestseller, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, which he is writing and co-producing. In this work, Kurzweil deals with the fields of genetics, nanotech, robotics and the rapidly-changing definition of “postbiological” humanity! Throughout his career Kurzweil’s insights, creativity and innovation have been a source of inspiration for scientists, entrepreneurs and creators across many disciplines.

In the press:
Links: The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology  Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever  The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence