Microsoft Word Kurzweil, Ray The Singularity Is Near doc

 
As far as I'm concerned, who I am is pretty straightforward—it's basically this brain and body, which at 
least this month is in pretty good shape, thank you. 
R
AY
:
 
Are you including the food in your digestive tract, in its various stages of decomposition along the way? 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Okay, you can exclude that. Some of it will become me, but it hasn't been enrolled yet in the "part of 
Molly" club. 
R
AY
:
 
Well, 90 percent of the cells in your body don't have your DNA. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Is that so? Just whose DNA is it, then? 
R
AY
:
 
Biological humans have about ten trillion cells with their own DNA, but there are about one hundred trillion 
microorganisms in the digestive tract, basically bacteria. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Doesn't sound very appealing. Are they entirely necessary? 

---

R
AY
:
 
They're actually part of the society of cells that makes Molly alive and thriving. You couldn't survive without 
healthy gut bacteria. Assuming your intestinal flora are in good balance, they're necessary for your well-being. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Okay, but I wouldn't count them as me. There are lots of things that my well-being depends on. Like my 
house and my car, but I still don't count them as part of me. 
R
AY
:
 
Very well, it's reasonable to leave out the entire contents of the GI tract, bacteria and all. That's actually how the 
body sees it. Even though it's physically inside the body, the body considers the tract to be external and 
carefully screens what it absorbs into the bloodstream. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
As I think more about who I am, I kind of like Jaron Lanier's "circle of empathy." 
R
AY
:
 
Tell me more. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Basically, the circle of reality that I consider to be "me" is not clear-cut. It's not simply my body. I have 
limited identification with, say, my toes and, after our last discussion, even less with the contents of my large 
intestine. 
R
AY
:
 
That's reasonable, and even with regard to our brains we are aware of only a tiny portion of what goes on in 
there. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
It's true that there are parts of my brain that seem to be somebody else, or at least somewhere else. 
Often, thoughts and dreams that intrude on my awareness seem to have come from some foreign place. They're 
obviously coming from my brain, but it doesn't seem that way. 
R
AY
:
 
Conversely, loved ones who are physically separate may be so close as to seem to be part of ourselves. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
The boundary of myself is seeming less and less clear. 
R
AY
:
 
Well, just wait until we're predominantly nonbiological. Then we'll be able to merge our thoughts and thinking at 
will, so finding boundaries will be even more difficult. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
That actually sounds kind of appealing. You know, some Buddhist philosophies emphasize the extent to 
which there is inherently no boundary at all between us. 
R
AY
:
 
Sounds like they're talking about the Singularity.