Microsoft Word Kurzweil, Ray The Singularity Is Near doc

A New Way of Eating.
Sex has largely been separated from its biological function. For the most part, we engage in 
sexual activity for intimate communication and sensual pleasure, not reproduction. Conversely, we have devised 
multiple methods for creating babies without physical sex, albeit most reproduction does still derive from the sex act. 
This disentanglement of sex from its biological function is not condoned by all sectors of society, but it has been 
readily, even eagerly, adopted by the mainstream in the developed world. 
So why don't we provide the same extrication of purpose from biology for another activity that also provides both 
social intimacy and sensual pleasure—namely, eating? The original biological purpose of consuming food was to 
provide the bloodstream with nutrients, which were then delivered to each of our trillions of cells. These nutrients 
include caloric (energy-bearing) substances such as glucose (mainly from carbohydrates), proteins, fats, and a myriad 
of trace molecules, such as vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that provide building blocks and enzymes for 
diverse metabolic processes. 
Like any other major human biological system, digestion is astonishing in its intricacy, enabling our bodies to 
extract the complex resources needed to survive, despite sharply varying conditions, while at the same time filtering 
out a multiplicity of toxins. Our knowledge of the complex pathways underlying digestion is rapidly expanding, 
although there is still a great deal we do not fully understand. 
But we do know that our digestive processes, in particular, are optimized for a period in our evolutionary 
development that is dramatically dissimilar to the one in which we now find ourselves. For most of our history we 
faced a high likelihood that the next foraging or hunting season (and for a brief, relatively recent period, the next 
planting season) might be catastrophically lean. It made sense, therefore, for our bodies to hold on to every possible 
calorie we consumed. Today that biological strategy is counterproductive and has become the outdated metabolic 

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programming that underlies our contemporary epidemic of obesity and fuels pathological processes of degenerative 
disease, such as coronary artery disease and Type II diabetes. 
Consider the reasons that the designs of our digestive and other bodily systems are far from optimal for current 
conditions. Until recently (on an evolutionary timescale) it was not in the interest of the species for old people like 
myself (I was born in 1948) to use up the limited resources of the clan. Evolution favored a short lifespan—life 
expectancy was thirty-seven years as recently as two centuries ago—to allow restricted reserves to be devoted to the 
young, those caring for them, and those strong enough to perform intense physical work. As discussed earlier, the so-
called grandma hypothesis (which suggests that a small number of "wise" elderly members of the tribe were beneficial 
to the human species) does not appreciably challenge the observation that there was no strong selective pressure for 
genes that significantly extended human longevity. 
We now live in an era of great material abundance, at least in technologically advanced nations. Most work 
requires mental effort rather than physical exertion. A century ago 30 percent of the U.S. workforce was employed on 
farms, with another 30 percent in factories. Both of these figures are now under 3 percent. Many of today's job 
categories, ranging from flight controller to Web designer, simply didn't exist a century ago. Circa 2004 we have the 
opportunity to continue to contribute to our civilization's exponentially growing knowledge base—which is, 
incidentally, a unique attribute of our species—well past our child-rearing days. (As a baby boomer myself, that is 
certainly my view.) 
Our species has already augmented our natural lifespan through our technology: drugs, supplements, replacement 
parts for virtually all bodily systems, and many other interventions. We have devices to replace our hips, knees, 
shoulders, elbows, wrists, jaws, teeth, skin, arteries, veins, heart valves, arms, legs, feet, fingers, and toes, and systems 
to replace more complex organs (for example, our hearts) are beginning to be introduced. As we learn the operating 
principles of the human body and brain, we will soon be in a position to design vastly superior systems that will last 
longer and perform better, without susceptibility to breakdown, disease, and aging. 
One example of a conceptual design for such a system, called Primo Posthuman, was created by artist and cultural 
catalyst Natasha Vita-More.
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Her design is intended to optimize mobility, flexibility, and superlongevity. It envisions 
features such as a metabrain for global-net connection with a prosthetic neocortex of AI interwoven with nanobots, 
solar-protected smart skin that has biosensors for tone and texture changeability, and high-acuity senses. 
Although version 2.0 of the human body is an ongoing grand project that will ultimately result in the radical 
upgrading of all our physical and mental systems, we will implement it one small, benign step at a time. Based on our 
current knowledge, we can describe the means for accomplishing each aspect of this vision.