How to Create a Mind | Ray Kurzweil | Talks at Google
Why Hacker News recommends it
Linked in threads about Kurzweil joining Google, mostly as a source for his exponential progress charts and his ambitions there.
What it is
Ray Kurzweil presents his book How to Create a Mind at Google, on reverse engineering the brain and using that understanding to build intelligent machines. He shows his graphs of exponential technological progress.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2012 to 2013.
What Hacker News said
Cites mtgx · 2012-12 · on “Jimmy Wales: $50 Android smartphones are disrupting Africa”
How can you call people getting access to technology for the first time "stagnation"? It's the exact opposite of that. Here's Ray Kurzweil showing a graph from 1800 till recently that demonstrates how technology has had a direct effect on the wealth of the nations and on the average "conditions of living" for everyone: [this video] Also a relevant bit from Louis CK on how we take technology for granted at every step: [LINK] longer audio version: [LINK]
Cites rpm4321 · 2013-01 · on “Ray Kurzweil Says He’ll Get ‘Unlimited Resources’ to Work on AI at Google”
God damn it... Not this again. =================MY PREVIOUS POSTS================= I don't think that's a very fair assessment of Kurzweil's role in technology. He was on the ground, getting his hands dirty with the first commercial applications of AI. He made quite a bit of money selling his various companies and technologies, and was awarded the presidential Medal of Technology from Clinton. As I was growing up, there was a series of "Oh wow!" moments I had, associated with computers and the seemingly sci-fi things they were now capable of. "Oh wow, computers can read printed documents and recognize the characters!" "Oh wow, computers can read written text aloud!" "Oh wow, computers can re
Cites rpm4321 · 2013-01 · on “Ask PG: Is Ray Kurzweil full of it?”
Hey Paul, thanks for responding. Just in case you’re interested, this Time cover story on him from a couple of years back actually does a reasonably good job on the broad strokes: [LINK] as does this NY Times one: [LINK] - there's also this intro by Peter Norvig to a Google Talks event with Ray from a month ago: [this video] The basic idea is that exponential growth in tech will result in strong AI, advanced nanotech, biotech, and neural interfaces that will lead to a near utopian civilization (if things go smoothly) in less than forty years. As outlandish as it seems, he actually makes a fairly convincing, well-researched case, and has had a pretty impressive career as an inventor and tech progn
Cites cadalac · 2013-06 · on “Google Chrome LOTR easter egg”
Two rings to rule 'em all. (One for Larry, one for Sergey.) All joking aside, I watched a presentation by Ray Kurzweil at Google and it's pretty (what's the word?) what they're up to. [this video]