The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence

by Ray Kurzweil

  DESPITE IT HAVING BEEN WRITTEN ALL IN LONGHAND USING A PENCIL, IT WAS A RATHER ARTICULATE AND EFFECTIVE DOCUMENT, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO THE NANOPATHOGEN CONCERN.

  So what is the concern with nanopathogens?

  ACTUALLY, I JUST ATTENDED A CONFERENCE ON THAT.

  You attended virtually?

  THAT’S USUALLY THE WAY I ATTEND CONFERENCES NOWADAYS. ANYWAY, THE CONFERENCE SESSIONS OVERLAPPED THE COMMISSION MEETINGS, SO I HAD NO CHOICE.

  You can attend more than one meeting at a time?

  IT DOES GET A LITTLE CONFUSING. IT’S KIND OF POINTLESS, THOUGH, TO JUST SIT IN A LONG MEETING AND NOT DO SOMETHING USEFUL WITH YOUR TIME.

  I agree. So, what was the view of the conference?

  NOW THAT THE BIOPATHOGEN CONCERN IS ABATING—GIVEN THE NANOPATROL AND SCANNER TECHNOLOGIES, AND ALL—THERE IS MORE ATTENTION BEING PAID TO THE NANOPATHOGEN THREAT.

  How serious is it?

  IT HASN’T BEEN A BIG PROBLEM YET. THERE WAS A WORKSHOP ON A RECENT PHENOMENON OF NANOPATROLS THAT HAVE RESISTED THE COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS, AND THAT DID SET OFF A FEW ALARMS. BUT THERE’S NOTHING LIKE YOU HAD IN 1999 WITH OVER 100,000 PEOPLE DYING EACH YEAR FROM ADVERSE REACTIONS TO PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS. AND THAT’S WHEN THEY WERE PRESCRIBED AND TAKEN CORRECTLY.

  And drugs in 2029?

  DRUGS TODAY ARE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE INDIVIDUALS OWN DNA COMPOSITION. INTERESTINGLY, THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS THAT’S USED IS BASED ON THE PROTEIN-FOLDING WORK THAT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR THE NANOPATROLS. IN ANY EVENT, DRUGS ARE INDIVIDUALLY TAILORED AND TESTED IN A HOST SIMULATION BEFORE INTRODUCING ANY SIGNIFICANT VOLUME TO THE ACTUAL HOST’S BODY. SO ADVERSE REACTIONS ON A MEANINGFUL SCALE ARE QUITE RARE.

  So there isn’t much concern with nanopathogens?

  OH, I WOULDN’T SAY THAT. THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF CONCERN EXPRESSED ABOUT SOME OF THE RECENT SELF-REPLICATION RESEARCH.

  There should be.

  BUT THE ENVIRONMENT RESTRUCTURING PROPOSALS SEEM TO REQUIRE IT.

  Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

  I’LL KEEP THAT IN MIND, NOT THAT I HAVE MUCH INFLUENCE ON THE ISSUE.

  Your work is mostly on the census issue?

  YEAH, FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS ANYWAY. I SPENT THREE YEARS BASICALLY GOING THROUGH THE COMMISSION’S STUDY GUIDE, SO I COULD BE QUALIFIED TO SIT IN ON THE COMMISSION MEETINGS, ALTHOUGH I STILL DON’T HAVE A VOTE.

  So you had a three-year leave to study?

  IT FELT LIKE I WAS BACK IN COLLEGE. AND LEARNING WAS JUST AS TEDIOUS AS IT WAS THEN.

  Don’t the neural implants help?

  OH, SURE, THERE’S NO WAY I COULD HAVE GOTTEN THROUGH IT OTHERWISE. UNFORTUNATELY, I STILL CAN’T JUST DOWNLOAD THE MATERIAL, NOT THE WAY GEORGE CAN. THE IMPLANT PREPROCESSES THE INFORMATION, AND FEEDS ME THE PREPROCESSED KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES QUICKLY. BUT IT’S OFTEN DISCOURAGING; IT JUST TAKES SO LONG. GEORGE HAS BEEN A BIG HELP, THOUGH. HE KIND OF WHISPERS TO ME WHEN I’M PUZZLED ABOUT SOMETHING.

  So the three-year study leave is over now?

  ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THE COMMISSION MEETINGS GOT PRETTY INTENSE, AND I’VE FOCUSED ON THAT. NOW WITH THE CENSUS ONLY A YEAR AWAY, WE’RE WORKING ON IMPLEMENTATION. SO ASIDE FROM THE LAWSUIT, THAT’S PRETTY MUCH IT.

  Lawsuit?

  OH, JUST A ROUTINE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DISPUTE. MY PATENT ON AN ENHANCED EVOLUTIONARY PATTERN-RECOGNITION ALGORITHM FOR NANOPATROL DETECTION OF CELL IMBALANCES WAS ATTACKED WITH A PRIOR ART CITATION. I HAPPENED TO MENTION IN ONE OF THE DISCUSSION GROUPS THAT I THOUGHT SEVERAL OF THE PATENT CLAIMS WERE BEING INFRINGED, AND NEXT THING I KNEW I GOT HIT WITH A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT SUIT FROM THE NANOPATROL INDUSTRY.

  I didn’t know you did work on nanopatrols.

  TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, IT WAS GEORGE’S INVENTION, BUT HE NEEDED A RESPONSIBLE AGENT.

  Since he has no standing.

  IT’S TRUE, THERE ARE STILL SOME LIMITATIONS WHEN YOU CAN’T ESTABLISH YOUR HUMAN ORIGIN.

  So how’s this going to get resolved?

  IT’S UP BEFORE THE MAGISTRATE NEXT MONTH.

  It can be rather frustrating taking these technical issues to court.

  OH, THIS MAGISTRATE KNOWS HIS STUFF. HE’S A RECOGNIZED EXPERT ON NANOPATROL PATTERN RECOGNITION.

  Doesn’t sound like the courts I know.

  THE EXPANSION OF THE MAGISTRATE SYSTEM HAS BEEN A VERY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT. IF WE WERE LIMITED TO JUST THE HUMAN JUDGES ...

  Oh, so the magistrate is—

  A VIRTUAL INTELLIGENCE, YES.

  So the machines do have some legal standing.

  OFFICIALLY, THE VIRTUAL MAGISTRATES ARE AGENTS OF THE HUMAN JUDGE IN CHARGE OF THAT COURT, BUT THE MAGISTRATES MAKE MOST OF THE DECISIONS.

  I see, sounds like these magistrates are pretty influential.

  THERE’S REALLY NO CHOICE. THE ISSUES ARE JUST TOO COMPLICATED, AND THE PROCESS WOULD TAKE TOO LONG OTHERWISE.

  I see. So, tell me about your son.

  HE’S A SOPHOMORE AT STANFORD, AND HAVING A GREAT TIME.

  They certainly have a beautiful campus.

  YEAH, WE’VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE OVAL AND QUAD FOR A LONG TIME. JEREMY’S HAD THREE-DIMENSIONAL PROJECTIONS OF THE STANFORD CAMPUS ON THE PICTURE PORTALS FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS.

  He must feel right at home then.

  HE IS AT HOME. HE’S DOWNSTAIRS.

  So he’s attending virtually.

  MOST STUDENTS DO. BUT STANFORD STILL HAS SOME ANACHRONISTIC RULES ABOUT SPENDING AT LEAST A WEEK EACH QUARTER ACTUALLY ON CAMPUS.

  With your physical body?

  EXACTLY, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR A VIRTUAL INTELLIGENCE TO ATTEND OFFICIALLY.

  Not that they need to, since they can download knowledge directly from the Web.

  IT’S NOT THE KNOWLEDGE BUT THE DISCUSSION GROUPS THAT WOULD BE OF INTEREST.

  Can’t anyone attend the discussion groups?

  ONLY THE OPEN DISCUSSIONS. THERE ARE A LOT OF CLOSED DISCUSSION GROUPS—

  Which are not on the Web?

  OF COURSE THEY’RE ON THE WEB, BUT YOU NEED A KEY.

  Right, so that’s how Jeremy attends from home?

  EXACTLY. JEREMY AND GEORGE HAVE GROWN QUITE CLOSE LATELY, SO JEREMY LETS GEORGE LISTEN IN TO THE CLOSED SESSIONS, BUT DON’T TELL ANYONE THAT.

  My lips are sealed. I’ll only tell my other readers.

  WELL, THEY NEED TO KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL AS WELL.

  I’ll pass that on.

  I HOPE THAT WILL BE OKAY. ANYWAY, GEORGE IS HELPING JEREMY WITH HIS HOMEWORK RIGHT NOW.

  I hope George doesn’t do all of it for him.

  OH, GEORGE WOULDN’T DO THAT. HE’S JUST BEING HELPFUL. HE HELPS ALL OF US. WE REALLY COULDN’T MANAGE OTHERWISE.

  You know, I could use his help, too. He might help me meet this book deadline I have.

  WELL, GEORGE IS CLEVER, BUT I’M AFRAID HE DOESN’T SEEM TO HAVE THAT POETIC-LICENSE TECHNOLOGY THAT ENABLES YOU TO TALK TO ME FROM THIRTY YEARS AWAY.

  That’s too bad.

  BUT I’LL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU OUT.

  Yes, I know, you already have.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  2099

  When I look out my window what do you think I see? ... so many different people to be.

  —Donovan

  We know what we are, but know not what we may become.

  —William Shakespeare

  Human thinking is merging with the world of machine intelligence that the human species initially created.

  The reverse engineering of the human brain appears to be complete. The hundreds of specialized regions have been fully scanned, analyzed, and understood. Machine analogues are based on these human models, which have been enhanced and extended, along with many new massively parallel algorithms. These enhancements, combined with the enormous advantages in speed and capacity of electronidphotonic circuits, provide substantial advantages to machine-based intelligence.

  Machine-based intelligences derived entirely from these extended models of human intelligence claim to be human, although th
eir brains are not based on carbon-based cellular processes, but rather electronic and photonic “equivalents.” Most of these intelligences are not tied to a specific computational-processing unit (that is, piece of hardware). The number of software-based humans vastly exceeds those still using native neuron-cell-based computation. A software-based intelligence is able to manifest bodies at will: one or more virtual bodies at different levels of virtual reality and nanoengineered physical bodies using instantly reconfigurable nanobot swarms.

  Even among those human intelligences still using carbon-based neurons, there is ubiquitous use of neural implant technology, which provides enormous augmentation of human perceptual and cognitive abilities. Humans who do not utilize such implants are unable to meaningfully participate in dialogues with those who do.

  There are a multiplicity of ways in which these scenarios are combined. The concept of what is human has been significantly altered. The rights and powers of different manifestations of human and machine intelligence and their various combinations represent a primary political and philosophical issue, although the basic rights of machine-based intelligence have been settled.

  There is a plethora of trends that we can already taste and feel in 2099 that will continue to accelerate in this coming twenty-second century, interacting with each other, and...

  YES, YES, AS NIELS BOHR LIKED TO SAY, “IT’S HARD TO PREDICT, ESPECIALLY THE FUTURE.” SO WHY DON’T YOU JUST CONTINUE WITH MY OBSERVATIONS. THAT WILL BE EASIER AND LESS CONFUSING.

  Perhaps that makes sense.

  AFTER ALL, A HUNDRED YEARS IS A LONG TIME. AND THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WAS LIKE TEN CENTURIES IN ONE.

  We thought that was true for the twentieth century.

  THE SPIRAL OF ACCELERATING RETURNS LIVES ON.

  I’m not surprised. Anyway, you do look amazing.

  YOU SAY THAT EVERY TIME WE MEET.

  I mean you look twenty again, only more beautiful than at the start of the book.

  I KNEW THAT’S HOW YOU’D WANT ME.

  Great, now I’m going to be accused of preferring younger women.

  I‘M GLAD I’M IN 2099.

  Thanks.

  HEY, I CAN LOOK UGLY, TOO.

  That’s okay

  NO REALLY, I CAN LOOK UGLY WITHOUT CHANGING MY APPEARANCE. IT’S LIKE THAT WITTGENSTEIN QUOTE, “IMAGINE THIS BUTTERFLY EXACTLY AS IT IS, BUT UGLY INSTEAD OF BEAUTIFUL.”

  I was always a little confused by that quote, but I’m glad you’re quoting twentieth-century thinkers.

  WELL, YOU WOULDN’T BE FAMILIAR WITH THE TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY ONES.

  So you’re expressing this appearance. But I don’t have the ability to see virtual reality, so I don’t—

  UNDERSTAND HOW YOU CAN SEE ME?

  Right.

  MY BODY RIGHT NOW IS JUST A LITTLE FOG SWARM PROJECTION. NEAT, HUH?

  Not bad, not bad at all. You feel pretty good, too.

  I THOUGHT I’D GIVE YOU A HUG, I MEAN THE BOOK’S ALMOST OVER.

  This is quite a technology.

  OH, WE DON’T USE THE SWARMS SO OFTEN ANYMORE.

  Last time I saw you, there were no nanobot swarms. Now you’re mostly past using them. Guess I missed a phase there.

  OH, ONE OR TWO. IT’S BEEN SEVENTY YEARS SINCE WE LAST SAW EACH OTHER! AND AN EVER ACCELERATING SEVENTY YEARS AT THAT.

  We’ll have to see each other more often.

  I DON’T KNOW IF THAT WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE BOOK’S COMING TO AN END, AS YOU SAID.

  So, are you and George still close?

  OH, VERY CLOSE. WE’RE NEVER APART.

  Never? Don’t you get bored with each other?

  DO YOU GET BORED WITH YOURSELF?

  Actually, sometimes I do. But are you saying that you and George have, what’s the word I’m looking for ...

  MERGED?

  Hmmm. Is this like a corporate merger?

  WELL, MORE LIKE A JOINING OF TWO SOCIETIES.

  Two societies of mind?

  EXACTLY. OUR MIND IS NOW JUST ONE BIG HAPPY SOCIETY.

  The female spider devouring the little male spider?

  OH NO, GEORGE IS THE BIG SPIDER. HIS MIND WAS like ...

  A galaxy?

  ALL RIGHT, LET’S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY, MAYBE LIKE A BIG SOLAR SYSTEM.

  So you’ve joined societies, or, uh, joined your societies. So you can’t make love to each other anymore?

  THAT DOESN’T FOLLOW AT ALL.

  Okay, I guess some things are beyond my 1999 comprehension.

  THAT DOESN’T FOLLOW EITHER. THE PROFOUND THING ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS—EVEN MOSHS—IS THAT ALMOST NOTHING IS TRULY BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION. THAT JUST WASN’T TRUE OF THE OTHER PRIMATES.

  Okay, my questions are getting queued up now. MOSHs?

  OH, MOSTLY ORIGINAL SUBSTRATE HUMANS.

  Yes, of course—unenhanced ...

  EXACTLY.

  But how can you be intimate with George now that you’ve joined forces, so to speak?

  WELL, AS BARRY SPACKS’S POEM—

  You mean “Made double by his lust, he sounds a woman’s groans ...”

  RIGHT, I MEAN EVEN MOSHs SPLIT THEMSELVES—

  When we’re by ourselves—

  OR WITH ANOTHER. THAT’S REALLY THE ULTIMATE, DON’T YOU THINK, TO BECOME THE OTHER PERSON AND YOURSELF AT THE SAME TIME.

  Especially when the other person is already part of yourself.

  SURE. BUT GEORGE AND I CAN STILL SPLIT OURSELVES, AT LEAST OUR OUTER LAYERS.

  Layers?

  OKAY, WELL MAYBE SOME THINGS ARE HARD TO EXPLAIN TO A MOSH, EVEN A NICE ONE LIKE YOURSELF.

  Yeah, a MOSH that created you, don’t forget.

  OH, I’LL NEVER FORGET. I’LL BE GRATEFUL FOREVER. YOU CAN THINK OF THE OUTER LAYERS AS OUR PERSONALITIES.

  So, you separate your personalities ...

  AT TIMES. BUT WE STILL SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE STORES AT ALL TIMES.

  Sounds like the two of you have a lot in common.

  [GIGGLES]

  I see you still have your old personality.

  OF COURSE I’VE KEPT MY OLD PERSONALITY. IT HAS A LOT OF SENTIMENTAL VALUE TO ME.

  I see, so you have others?

  YEAH, MY FAVORITES ARE A FEW THAT GEORGE CAME UP WITH.

  Creative guy.

  OH YES.