The Singularity Is Nearer

When We Merge with AI

By: Ray Kurzweil

Narrated by: Adam Barr

The noted inventor and futurist’s successor to his landmark book The Singularity Is Near explores how technology will transform the human race in the decades to come

Since it was first published in 2005, Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity Is Near and its vision of an exponential future have spawned a worldwide movement. Kurzweil's predictions about technological advancements have largely come true, with concepts like AI, intelligent machines, and biotechnology now widely familiar to the public.

In this entirely new book Ray Kurzweil brings a fresh perspective to advances toward the Singularity—assessing his 1999 prediction that AI will reach human level intelligence by 2029 and examining the exponential growth of technology—that, in the near future, will expand human intelligence a millionfold and change human life forever. Among the topics he discusses are rebuilding the world, atom by atom with devices like nanobots; radical life extension beyond the current age limit of 120; reinventing intelligence by connecting our brains to the cloud; how exponential technologies are propelling innovation forward in all industries and improving all aspects of our well-being such as declining poverty and violence; and the growth of renewable energy and 3-D printing. He also considers the potential perils of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, including such topics of current controversy as how AI will impact employment and the safety of autonomous cars, and "After Life" technology, which aims to virtually revive deceased individuals through a combination of their data and DNA.

The culmination of six decades of research on artificial intelligence, The Singularity Is Nearer is Ray Kurzweil’s crowning contribution to the story of this science and the revolution that is to come.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF with illustrations and graphs from the book.

The peril of unregulated international AI is horrifying

Excellent audio book. Highly recommend the author’s honest detailed writing of AI. Very respectful of author’s viewpoints.

An Excellent Follow-up to The 2006 Original

This is an excellent guidebook reinforcing our path forward while making clear what changes have occured. It's great to see a summary of our progress and tie it to how our relatively optimistic future will take hold.

Great book and excellent narration.

Makes me eager for the 2045 book. Hopefully written by Ray.

Largely a rehash of its predecessor, but that in itself is a remarkable reminder that the 2005 book proved accurate.

A reason to be hopeful

With mean spirited divisions seemingly on the rise, Ray's book is a source of hope and inspiration. I've read all his books and appreciated his update to The Singularity Is Near. His predictions have been uncannily accurate, even though I often didn't believe them to be possible, at least not within his predicted timeframe. Yet year after year, decade after decade his predictions have been accurate. He addresses the dangers in a clear-headed way, but his latest book fills me with much needed optimism.

Experiência do autor

O livro deve estar entre as obras mais importantes do momento de convergência que estamos vivendo hoje