[extropy-chat] Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near - Advance Signed Copies Available

[Tyler Emerson]

On September 22, 2005, distinguished scientist and bestselling author Ray
Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology will be
published. But you needn't wait. In partnership with Ray Kurzweil, the
Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence is giving an advance
signed edition to everyone contributing $200 or more to the Institute.

Kurzweil's follow-up to his bestseller The Age of Spiritual Machines is an
in-depth analysis of emerging technologies and the transformation we'll
undertake as the line between human and machine disappears. With a 20-year
track record of accurate predictions, Kurzweil has produced what is certain
to become one of the most important and widely discussed books of 2005.

  More: http://www.singinst.org/kurzweil.html 

WHAT IS THE SINGULARITY INSTITUTE?

The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, SIAI, is a nonprofit
research think tank and public interest institute for the study and
advancement of beneficial artificial intelligence and ethical cognitive
enhancement. Since cognitive ability influences how well difficult problems
can be solved, SIAI aims to further the safe and significant enhancement of
cognition to make contemporary humanitarian challenges generally more
solvable. The Singularity Institute has the additional goal of fostering a
broader discussion and understanding of beneficial artificial intelligence.

For more about SIAI's charitable purpose, see:

  http://www.singinst.org/what-singularity.html  
  http://www.singinst.org/why-singularity.html 

SUPPORT THE SINGULARITY INSTITUTE

You can make a one time or monthly contribution. With your contribution,
please include the mailing address where we should send The Singularity Is
Near. Monthly donors giving at least $30 each month toward the requested
$200 will receive The Singularity Is Near immediately upon availability.
Your contributions are 100% tax deductible in the United States and Canada.

  To Donate: http://www.singinst.org/kurzweil.html  

Kurzweil will donate $200 for each of the first five donors giving $200.

THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR QUOTES

"Ray Kurzweil's intriguing new book envisions a future in which information
technologies have advanced so far and fast that they enable humanity to
transcend its biological limitations - transforming our lives in ways we
can't yet imagine."
	-Bill Gates

"If you have ever wondered about the nature and impact of the next profound
discontinuities that will fundamentally change the way we live, work, and
perceive our world, read this book. Kurzweil's Singularity is a tour de
force, imagining the unimaginable and eloquently exploring the coming
disruptive events that will alter our fundamental perspectives as
significantly as did electricity and the computer."
	-Dean Kamen, physicist and inventor of the first wearable insulin
pump, HomeChoice portable dialysis machine, IBOT Mobility System, and Segway
Human Transporter; recipient of the National Medal of Technology

"Ray's optimistic book well merits both reading and thoughtful response. For
those like myself whose views differ from Ray's on the balance of promise
and peril, The Singularity Is Near is a clear call for a continuing dialogue
to address the greater concerns arising from these accelerating
possibilities."
	-Bill Joy, cofounder and former chief scientist, Sun Microsystems

AN EXCERPT FROM THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR

Chapter One - The Six Epochs

"I am not sure when I first became aware of the Singularity. I'd have to say
it was a progressive awakening. In the almost half century that I've
immersed myself in computer and related technologies, I've sought to
understand the meaning and purpose of the continual upheaval that I have
witnessed at many levels. Gradually, I've become aware of a transforming
event looming in the first half of the twenty-first century. Just as a black
hole in space dramatically alters the patterns of matter and energy
accelerating toward its event horizon, this impending Singularity in our
future is increasingly transforming every institution and aspect of human
life, from sexuality to spirituality.

"What, then, is the Singularity? It's a future period during which the pace
of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human
life will be irreversibly transformed. Although neither utopian nor
dystopian, this epoch will transform the concepts that we rely on to give
meaning to our lives, from our business models to the cycle of human life,
including death itself. Understanding the Singularity will alter our
perspective on the significance of our past and the ramifications for our
future. To truly understand it inherently changes one's view of life in
general and one's own particular life. I regard someone who understands the
Singularity and who has reflected on its implications for his or her own
life as a singularitarian.

"I can understand why many observers do not readily embrace the obvious
implications of what I have called the law of accelerating returns (the
inherent acceleration of the rate of evolution, with technological evolution
as a continuation of biological evolution). After all, it took me forty
years to be able to see what was right in front of me, and I still cannot 
say that I am entirely comfortable with all of its consequences."

TECH CENTRAL STATION'S EARLY REVIEW OF THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR 

"The singularity is a future period in which technological progress becomes
so rapid that it radically transforms humankind. To picture the singularity
imagine computers trillions of times smarter than Newton, Einstein and
Edison inventing new technologies while continually enhancing their own
abilities. Ray Kurzweil argues that the Singularity will occur around 2045."

  More: http://techcentralstation.com/081505C.html  

~~
Tyler Emerson | Executive Director | Singularity Institute 
Box 50182 | Palo Alto, CA 94303 | T-F: 866.667.2524 
emerson at singinst.org | http://www.singinst.org