A couple of years ago at Educause 2006 I had the pleasure of hearing Ray Kurzweil speak as a keynote speaker. Kurzweil is clearly the smartest guy I have ever heard speak. For an example of what he is involved in take a peek at his
website. Yesterday morning on Morning Edition I heard a
story about cell phones that read to the blind. This is one of the many technology advances that Kurzweil described in that Educause talk - ideas that he has had that will change people's lives. This
particular device takes a photograph and then reads the text aloud. Amazing! The example the guy in the NPR story gives is the problem of distinguishing between regular and decaf coffee in a hotel room - the packets feel the same!
This makes me wonder about the other predictions Kurzweil made in that Educause talk:
- The computer as a visible object starting to disappear by 2010
- "Target" drugs fighting disease on a cellular level
- Researchers will discover how to reverse engineer the brain
- Holography being realized for virtual reality
- Rate of change is accelerating exponentially
Kurzweil is the author of
many books including
The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Interesting stuff!
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