Microsoft Word Kurzweil, Ray The Singularity Is Near doc

removing toxins, correcting DNA errors, and reversing other sources of aging. We will then have to contend 
with new dangers that it introduces, just as the Internet introduced the danger of software viruses. These new 
pitfalls will include the potential for self-replicating nanotechnology getting out of control, as well as the 
integrity of the software controlling these powerful, distributed nanobots. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Did you say reverse aging? 
R
AY
:
 
I see you're already picking up on a key benefit. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
So how are the nanobots going to do that? 
R
AY
:
 
We'll actually accomplish most of that with biotechnology, methods such as RNA interference for turning off 
destructive genes, gene therapy for changing your genetic code, therapeutic cloning for regenerating your cells 
and tissues, smart drugs to reprogram your metabolic pathways, and many other emerging techniques. But 
whatever biotechnology doesn't get around to accomplishing, we'll have the means to do with nanotechnology. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Such as? 
R
AY
:
 
Nanobots will be able to travel through the bloodstream, then go in and around our cells and perform various 
services, such as removing toxins, sweeping out debris, correcting DNA errors, repairing and restoring cell 
membranes, reversing atherosclerosis, modifying the levels of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other 
metabolic chemicals, and a myriad of other tasks. For each aging process, we can describe a means for 
nanobots to reverse the process, down to the level of individual cells, cell components, and molecules. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
So I'll stay young indefinitely? 
R
AY
:
 
That's the idea. 

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M
OLLY 
2004:
 
When did you say I could get these? 
R
AY
:
 
I thought you were worried about nanobot firewalls. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Yeah, well, I've got time to worry about that. So what was that time frame again? 
R
AY
:
 
About twenty to twenty-five years. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
I'm twenty-five now, so I'll age to about forty-five and then stay there? 
R
AY
:
 
No, that's not exactly the idea. You can slow down aging to a crawl right now by adopting the knowledge we 
already have. Within ten to twenty years, the biotechnology revolution will provide far more powerful means to 
stop and in many cases reverse each disease and aging process. And it's not like nothing is going to happen in 
the meantime. Each year, we'll have more powerful techniques, and the process will accelerate. Then 
nanotechnology will finish the job. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Yes, of course, it's hard for you to get out a sentence without using the word "accelerate." So what 
biological age am I going to get to? 
R
AY
:
 
I think you'll settle somewhere in your thirties and stay there for a while. 
M
OLLY 
2004:
 
Thirties sounds pretty good. I think a slightly more mature age than twenty-five is a good idea anyway. 
But what do you mean "for a while"? 
R
AY
:
 
Stopping and reversing aging is only the beginning. Using nanobots for health and longevity is just the early