Microsoft Word Kurzweil, Ray The Singularity Is Near doc

Still Human?
Some observers refer to the post-Singularity period as "posthuman" and refer to the anticipation of this 
period as posthumanism. However, to me being human means being part of a civilization that seeks to extend its 
boundaries. We are already reaching beyond our biology by rapidly gaining the tools to reprogram and augment it. If 
we regard a human modified with technology as no longer human, where would we draw the defining line? Is a human 
with a bionic heart still human? How about someone with a neurological implant? What about two neurological 
implants? How about someone with ten nanobots in his brain? How about 500 million nanobots? Should we establish 
a boundary at 650 million nanobots: under that, you're still human and over that, you're posthuman? 
Our merger with our technology has aspects of a slippery slope, but one that slides up toward greater promise, not 
down into Nietzsche's abyss. Some observers refer to this merger as creating a new "species." But the whole idea of a 
species is a biological concept, and what we are doing is transcending biology. The transformation underlying the 
Singularity is not just another in a long line of steps in biological evolution. We are upending biological evolution 
altogether. 
Bill Gates:
 I agree with you 99 percent. What I like about your ideas is that they are grounded in science, but your 
optimism is almost a religious faith. I'm optimistic also. 
R
AY
:
 
Yes, well, we need a new religion. A principal role of religion has been to rationalize death, since up until just 
now there was little else constructive we could do about it. 
B
ILL
:
 What would the principles of the new religion be? 
R
AY
:
 
We'd want to keep two principles: one from traditional religion and one from secular arts and sciences—from 
traditional religion, the respect for human consciousness. 
B
ILL
:
 Ah yes, the Golden Rule. 
R
AY
:
 
Right, our morality and legal system are based on respect for the consciousness of others. If I hurt another 
person, that's considered immoral, and probably illegal, because I have caused suffering to another conscious 
person. If I destroy property, it's generally okay if it's my property, and the primary reason it's immoral and 
illegal if it's someone else's property is because I have caused suffering not to the property but to the person 
owning it. 
B
ILL
:
 And the secular principle? 
R
AY
:
 
From the arts and sciences, it is the importance of knowledge. Knowledge goes beyond information. It's 
information that has meaning for conscious entities: music, art, literature, science, technology. These are the 
qualities that will expand from the trends I'm talking about. 
B
ILL
:
 We need to get away from the ornate and strange stories in contemporary religions and concentrate on some 
simple messages. We need a charismatic leader for this new religion. 
R
AY
:
 
A charismatic leader is part of the old model. That's something we want to get away from. 
B
ILL
:
 Okay, a charismatic computer, then. 
R
AY
:
 
How about a charismatic operating system? 
B
ILL
:
 Ha, we've already got that. So is there a God in this religion? 
R
AY
:
 
Not yet, but there will be. Once we saturate the matter and energy in the universe with intelligence, it will "wake 
up," be conscious, and sublimely intelligent. That's about as close to God as I can imagine. 

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ILL
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