File this under Crazy
Scientist Says Humans will Become Cyborgs in 20 Years
Scientist Ray Kurzweil claims that our advancements in computer technology and the study of genes will help humans become immortal in as little as 20 years' time. He says theoretically, at the rate our understanding is increasing, nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be available in 20 years time.
Kurzweil calls his theory the Law of Accelerating Returns. "I and many other scientists now believe that in around 20 years we will have the means to reprogram our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, aging," he said. "Then nanotechnology will let us live forever."
He continued: "Ultimately, nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively. Within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen. Heart-attack victims – who haven't taken advantage of widely available bionic hearts – will calmly drive to the doctors for a minor operation as their blood bots keep them alive."
"Nanotechnology will extend our mental capacities to such an extent we will be able to write books within minutes. If we want to go into virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals and take us wherever we want to go.
Kurzweil concluded: "So we can look forward to a world where humans become cyborgs, with artificial limbs and organs."
posted by Mr. Carlisle at 2:39 PM
17 Comments:
No
5:04 PM
Yes, I think this is based off of the "Singularity" idea(a theoretical point in the future where technology becomes interchangeable with people or body parts) The Singularity idea has been around for a long time and is a popular topic for science fiction. Personally, I don't think it will happen until we get quantum computers working but it's very possible for something like this story to happen within 20 years.
5:27 PM
If this does come to pass I want a flame thrower attached to my shoulder.
5:34 PM
I read this yesterday, and it reminds me of a concept in a book series called The Uglies. They main character is a 15 year old girl living in a future distopian society where, on their 16th birthday, the kid gets a surgery that transforms their entire physical appearance. They basically reinvent them with new and improved muscles, hair and even skin. After, they are called The Pretties. It's kind of creepy. I feel like something like this could be really cool, but it could go wrong in so many ways. The earth would overpopulate, but if we're at that kind of technology in 20 years, I guess we'll have gotten to other planets, too.
5:44 PM
While I have no doubt that technology will one day surpass the biological, I still don't see most sci-fi scenarios ever coming true in my lifetime. Look at the theory of evolution: random mistakes over thousands of years adding and refining details for a specific niche. Whereas we, intentionally design for specific parameters and hope it's efficient. Because we can't afford random. Blah...
5:47 PM
Actually, engineers can use programs designed to emulate evolution by making random small changes to a design and then calculating how effective the new design is. This can help make things that are well suited to their environment, and can use extremely compressed time scales to have the equivalent of years of evolution in seconds.
I think that nanobots will be able to surpass our cells, perhaps even as early as this guy claims. I do not see the majority of people becoming cyborgs any time soon though. I do not think that many people would want to be a cyborg, and it would probably be prohibitively expensive as well. I think that technology like this will probably only be used for medical purposes for quite a while after its initial development.
6:32 PM
That scientist needs to get the snot beat out of him. If we lived forever, the world would overpopulate very quickly. And then, what's the point of living forever? You live for long enough, and you'll see enough pain, and death through war. Enough heartache, enough mental and emotional baggage, that life just wouldn't be worth living. And then, there's the, "I've seen all a man can see in their life, and now it's all boring." What will you do when you've seen everything? Heard, read, done everything you wanted to do and more? What will you do? Do it all again, and again, and again? Pretty soon, it will all get boring. And then, when it does, I would want to end it. Life is not worth living if everything is like it is. Now, if we can go to other populated planets, then I could see living for, not forever, but a lot longer. TO see those other planets, and planets that I myself could go to, be the first to explore, be the first to see the sights of beautiful, and maybe, sometimes, dangerous, planets. But unless that happens... This kind of thing should go on the back burner... So that way we don't kill the only planet we have right now... More than we already are...
And weren't we supposed to have flying cars by now? I mean, really, they need to start working on those! I want to get under the hood of one and tinker with it!
7:34 PM
wow, this experiment could set off the biggest religious war against christians since they don't believe humans can become immortal.
7:43 PM
I have a confession to make: I'm afraid of the nanobots turning against us.
7:57 PM
If something like this happens the amount of possible experiences in the world would grow exponentially, it would probably take several millennia to get bored, and even then, because the world is constantly changing, you would be supplied with new experiences. Because of the overall technological leap that this would bring, overpopulation wouldn't be a problem. Even now, we are only a few decades away from having a cheap and efficient way to get to space. (space elevators) As for flying cars, they are being developed right now. One of the most likely candidates I've heard of would be the Skycar. (http://www.moller.com/skycar.htm)
8:04 PM
I can already hold my breath for 20 minutes.
8:04 PM
This is sounds like a psychopath talking even if we could get the technology to do all that its not like ordinary people would actually be able to use it...big businesses would monopolize it and make a huge profit just as they always do. Or governments would put it to military use.
8:51 PM
This all seems like psycho babble talk.
9:05 PM
Cant wait
9:17 PM
Mr. Carlisle, I know that i can run flat out for 30 minutes at this altitude.
(The Bourne Identity)
9:56 PM
You are truly the man of tomorrow.
10:05 PM
If we do this, if enough men tried, we could throw the world off it's access, mess up all the world, and we'd all be screwed, all because of this. And the space elevator could only go so far. 'Cause when we do meet extraterrestrials, they might want to fly here, and a big ol' elevator would get in their way. And what would science stop over population? Science can not make the earth grow. Even if it could, we'd have to make sure the proportions of our earth would not go out of wack. Our earth is very precarious as is with Global Extremes. We would all fry, or freeze, or run out of air... We'd be completely screwed. I've had a bunch of arguments with my science teachers, and we always butt heads about this. And the flying cars... They should have been in mass production, and many of us should have one.
7:34 PM
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