Article January 8, 2001 Issue

From Robert to robot: what about future identity?

Does the future hold a mechanized you?

By Patricia Tupper Hyatt

Artificial Intelligence. Cloning. Robots creating robots. From year to year, the world you and I live in changes dramatically. It's like living in science fiction.

Some of the world's most renowned thinkers are predicting that in the not-too-distant future, further changes may affect even the continuation of humanity as we know it. For instance, Ray Kurzweil's book The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence predicts that by the year 2029, people will be starting to use neural brain implants to enhance memory and reasoning abilities. This will bring on a growing discussion about whether computers are conscious. And about how much artificial enhancement a person could have and still be considered human.

Kurzweil predicts that by 2099, there will no longer be any clear distinction between humans and machines. He says people who aren't making use of technology in brain and body will be so inferior to those who are that they won't be able to participate in society in any meaningful way.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Virtual spirituality?