The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

  spindle cells and, 191–194, 192

  emotions, 300, 310, 315–316, 319, 341, 475

  encryption codes, 121, 354, 412, 419

  encryption trapdoor, 413, 422

  encyclopedias, 54, 363

  endangered species, preservation of, 222

  endocrine (hormonal) system, 163, 257, 325, 475

  artificial, 243, 306–307

  bandwidth of, 200, 443

  circulatory system and, 442, 443

  endostatin, 218

  endothelial cells, 163, 165, 210, 216

  energy, 32, 33, 243–250, 339, 407

  black holes and, 7, 363, 503n

  cell aging and, 209, 552n

  cellular, 219–220, 583n

  centralized, 420, 421

  computational limits and, 72, 113, 128–134, 129, 136, 300, 349–351, 427–428, 432, 434–435, 533n

  cost of, 96, 243, 246, 249–250

  as digital vs. analog, 14

  distributed, 421

  Dyson Sphere and, 350

  efficiencies in the use of, 243, 244, 248–249, 566n

  fossil fuels as source of, see coal; oil, oil industry

  information’s relationship with, 86, 87, 243, 457, 522n

  lock-in and, 429, 430, 457

  for nanotechnology, 230, 238, 244, 245, 352

  nanotechnology-based, 133, 243–250, 340, 395, 397, 430, 434, 457

  nonbiological intelligence’s saturating of, 15, 21, 29, 45, 364, 375, 389, 511n

  patterns of, 325, 383, 385, 431, 474

  potential, 133

  recycling of, 249

  renewable, 243, 244, 251, 372, 395, 421, 434, 457

  for smart-dust systems, 334

  solar, see solar energy

  spintronics and, 118

  storage of, 246, 247, 248, 421, 434, 457

  total metabolic output of, 249

  transmission of, 246–247

  transportation of, 246, 247, 340

  utilization of, 244–246

  wind, 243, 244, 334

  worldwide requirements for, 243–244

  wormholes and, 355, 356

  Energy Department, U.S., 247, 567n

  Enger, John, 524n

  engineered negligible senescence, 213

  Engines of Creation (Drexler), 111, 139, 228

  enhancers, 551n

  ENIAC, 56

  Enough (McKibben), 410

  entertainment, 259, 288, 339–340

  entropy, 39–40, 130, 134, 510n, 520n

  entropy rate, 508n

  “Entscheidungsproblem,” see decision (halting) problem

  environment:

  cleaning up of, 241, 249, 251, 372, 397, 410

  complexity of, 449, 475

  computing distributed in, 105, 136, 312

  diversity and, 45–46

  energy and, 243, 246, 249

  entropy and, 130

  exponential growth and, 44, 128, 433

  factory farming and, 224

  gene expression and, 551n

  nanotechnology and, 229, 230, 250–253, 259

  survival and, 39

  virtual-reality, 105, 312, 314, 337, 340, 341

  voxel (three-dimensional pixel) maps of, 285

  environmentalists, 391, 395, 414–415

  enzymes, 147, 207, 208, 217, 218, 238, 301, 306, 482, 550n

  digestive, 168

  DNA computing and, 117, 530n

  as molecular machines, 231–232

  nanotechnology and, 238–239, 247

  see also specific enzymes

  epigenetic information, 16, 147

  epilepsy, 188, 216

  epithelium, 165

  Epoch One, 14–15, 15

  Epoch Two, 15, 16, 47

  Epoch Three, 15, 16, 47

  Epoch Four, 15, 16–20, 17–20, 47

  Epoch Five, 14, 15, 20–21, 40, 47, 205, 367

  Epoch Six, 14, 15, 21, 32, 367, 390

  equity markets, see stock, stock market

  equivalence principle, 136–138, 536n

  esophagus, upper, 307

  ethanol, 247

  ethical issues:

  biotechnology and, 221–22, 223, 224, 553n

  consciousness and, 379

  defensive technologies and, 416

  genetic engineering and, 402

  nanotechnology and, 229, 418, 423

  SETI and, 348

  xenografts and, 418, 598n

  “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence” (Bostrom), 260

  “Ethics for Intelligent Machines” (Bostrom), 369

  ETI, see extraterrestrial intelligence; SETI eukaryotic evolution, 17, 18, 450, 583n

  Eumenes II, 54

  Europe:

  bubonic plague in, 398, 402

  GMOs in, 471

  European Commission, 414

  Evans, Thomas, 569n, 570n

  event horizon, 7, 29, 486–487

  gravity in, 23, 363, 486, 503n

  Everett, Hugh, 500n–501n

  evolution:

  complexity increases and, 36–39, 44, 45, 47, 389, 476, 507n

  farsighted, 47–50

  indirection and, 14, 15, 16, 30, 40–41, 92, 94

  of language, 190

  law of accelerating returns and, see accelerating returns, law of

  as learning paradigm, 152

  as open system, 40, 41, 42

  order and, 14, 15, 20, 36–45, 47, 509n

  patterns and, 14–21, 389

  positive feedback in, 40, 41

  as runaway phenomenon, 32

  self-replicating nanotechnology and, 418

  six epochs of, 14–21, 15, 17–20

  of universes, 360, 361

  see also biological evolution; technology evolution

  evolutionary (genetic) algorithms, 38–39, 42, 91–93, 270–272, 405, 455, 480–481

  in AI applications, 280, 281, 284, 288

  basic schema for, 575n–576n

  defined, 539n

  evaluation function for, 272

  neural nets combined with, 271, 278–279

  order in, 38–39

  pattern recognition and, 92, 152, 271, 461

  Evolution of Complexity by Means of Natural Selection (Bonner), 509n

  existential risks, 400–408, 422, 495n–496n

  exomuscle, 332

  experience beamers, 316, 379

  expert systems, 266–267, 280, 282–283

  exponential growth, 425, 486

  of brain reverse engineering, 73, 144, 196–198

  of brain scanning, 25, 161, 197, 407

  of communications, 35, 76–77, 77, 102, 112, 245–246, 470

  of complexity, 20, 358

  of computing, 25, 56–73, 57–65, 67, 69–71, 75, 75, 102, 112, 127, 128, 135, 276, 292, 432, 434, 436, 470, 498n, 514n

  criticism from Malthus and, 427–428, 433–434

  in DNA sequencing, 74, 74, 470, 514n

  double, 12, 25, 27, 28, 41–42, 56, 506n

  of education, 108, 108, 525n

  GNR and, 73, 227, 245–246

  of information technologies, 3, 9, 25, 35, 72, 84, 85, 109, 245–246, 265, 377, 385, 429, 433–435, 457, 469, 470, 491–496, 504n

  “knee of the curve” and, 9, 10, 97, 154

  of knowledge, 9, 73, 105, 302, 396

  limits of, 128, 433–434

  linear growth vs., 8, 10–14, 10, 97–98, 108, 109, 137

  Moore’s Law and, see Moore’s Law nearly vertical phase of, 24

  of nonbiological intelligence, 257, 300, 316, 377, 407

  of order, 20, 45

  paradigms and, 42–46, 43, 44, 263–264

  in productivity, 98–101, 98, 99, 101

  of quantum computing, 121

  rabbits in Australia and, 128, 433

  see also accelerating returns, law of “Exponential Growth of Computing” chart, 70, 70, 125, 135

  extinction, 222, 409, 511n, 588n

  extracellular aggregates, 220

 
extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), 372, 406

  search for, see SETI

  eyeglasses, 105, 312, 472

  eyes, 130, 186–187, 187, 482

  facial animation, 294–295

  factoring large numbers, 121, 354, 530n

  factory farming, 224, 379

  famine, 406

  Fandel, D., 512n

  Fantastic Voyage (Kurzweil and Grossman), 210, 217, 323

  Fantastic-Voyage.net, 490

  Faraday, Michael, 326

  Fast ForWord, 175

  fat cells, 12, 219, 303

  fat insulin receptor (FIR) gene, 12, 303

  FATKAT (Financial Accelerating Transactions by Kurzweil Adaptive Technologies), 569n

  fats, dietary, 301

  Fay, R., 545n

  FBI, 392, 413, 421

  FDA, see Food and Drug Administration fear, 241, 541n

  Feder, Barnaby J., 564n

  Federal Reserve Board, 97

  feedforward sequence, 154, 170, 186, 574n

  Feigenbaum, Edward A., 295–296, 582n

  Feigenbaum test (FT), 295–296

  Feinstein Amendment, 594n

  Feldham, Jim, 591n

  Felsenfeld, Gary, 549n

  femtotechnology, 138–139, 351

  Fenniri, Hicham, 528n

  Feringa, Ben, 234

  Fermi, Enrico, 348

  Fermi Paradox, 348, 357–359

  ferromagnetic metallic alloys, 119

  fetuses, cloning of, 221

  Feynman, Richard P., 86, 226, 227, 228, 320, 558n

  Feynman Gate, 534n

  fiber cells:

  climbing, 180, 180, 181

  mossy, 179, 180, 182, 545n

  fiber optics, 76, 346

  field-emission displays (FEDs), 253

  fimbriae, 236

  finance, 413, 449

  AI systems in, 283, 284, 287, 294

  see also stock, stock market

  fine-structure constant, see alpha

  fingers, 174

  see also thumbs

  Finkel, Leif H., 162, 164, 530n, 541n

  Finn, O. J., 554n

  firewalls, 256, 257

  firmware, 444

  First Union Home Equity Bank, 284

  Fitch, Tecumseh, 190

  flash memory, 54, 113, 115, 116

  Fleischman, Martin, 567n

  Florence, University of, 288

  flu, 398, 402

  flying machines, 457–458

  FocalPoint, 282–283

  Focus, 309, 586n

  Fodor, Jerry A., 387, 594n

  Fogg, D. K., 552n

  foglets, 28, 29, 33, 310, 325, 506n

  Foiles, P., 555n

  Foley, E. T., 562n

  food, food supply, 301, 339

  cloning of, 224

  in digestive tract, 386

  genetically modified, 406, 414–415, 471

  nanotechnology and, 251

  spybots and, 406

  food additives, 215

  Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 12, 195, 217, 282, 412, 416, 585n

  foreign languages, translation of, 288, 292, 313, 337

  Foresight Institute, 558n, 584n

  guidelines of, 229, 395, 411, 418–419, 598n

  forgetting, 176–177, 543n

  Forró, László, 526n

  Fortran, 89

  forward internal models, 179

  fossil fuels, see coal; oil, oil industry

  Founds, H., 555n

  Fountain, Henry, 536n

  four-dimensional network, 520n

  Fourier transforms, 438

  Foveon, 533n

  Fox, Armando, 284

  fractals, 89, 522n

  brain and, 46–47, 68, 446–449

  defined, 68, 447

  Francis of Assisi, Saint, 382

  Franklin, Benjamin, 382–383

  Franks, Tommy, 334

  Frantz, Gene, 533n

  fraud, detection of, 269, 276, 283, 284

  Fredkin, Edward, 86, 87, 127, 518n–519n, 533n, 534n

  reversible computing and, 130, 131–132

  Freeman, Walter J., 538n

  free will, 382, 521n–522n

  Freitas, Robert, Jr., 133, 230, 238, 403, 506n, 535n, 536n, 537n, 541n, 548n, 557n–560n, 561n, 562n, 563n, 566n, 568n, 584n, 585n, 587n, 591n, 595n, 596n, 597n, 600n

  on biological age, 253

  brain scanning and, 164–166

  on brain-uploading system, 548n–549n

  on energy, 249, 566n

  on life expectancy, 323

  on nanobot problems, 399, 400, 411–412, 425

  nanomedicine and, 254, 255, 305–306, 584n

  robotic probes advocated by, 591n

  sentience quotient of, 536n

  vasculoid design of, 306

  Fremouw, Thane, 545n

  French, Robert M., 569n

  Freud, Sigmund, 176

  “Freud, Sigmund,” 202, 203, 317–318, 381, 458, 475

  Friedman, Scott, 547n

  Frisch, Max, 341

  Friston, K. J., 143, 537n, 543n

  Fromherz, Peter, 586n, 587n

  Frontier Medical Institute, 550n

  frontoinsular cortex, 193

  fructose, 248

  fuel cells, 133, 230, 238, 244, 246, 247–248, 334, 340, 397

  energy storage in, 247, 421, 434, 457

  Fuerth, Leon, 470, 471–472

  Fujishima, Akira, 567n

  Fulford, Benjamin, 526n

  functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI), 150, 156, 158, 160–161, 175, 176, 193

  fundamentalism, 498n

  environmentalist, 414–415

  GNR impact and, 338, 340–341

  humanist, 415, 471

  religious, 414

  Fuster, J. M., 542n

  future, 3–4, 5, 7, 299

  misunderstanding of, 10–14, 240–241

  prediction of, 432

  Future Combat System (FCS), 331–333

  FutureGen, 244

  Future of Life conference (2003), 11–12, 499n

  Future Route, 284

  Gabriel, Richard, 569n

  Gabrieli, John, 175, 176–177

  Gage, Fred H., 177, 544n

  galaxies, 357, 390

  Hubble distance and, 354

  Milky Way, 342–348, 590n

  stars vs., 281

  Gall, W. E., 532n, 538n

  Gallant, J., 547n

  Gallaway, J., 595n

  gallium arsenide, 119, 138, 251

  game-playing programs:

  for chess, 274–278, 441, 459

  recursive search and, 272–273, 577n–580n

  Gan, Wen-Biao, 172

  Ganer, Alan G., 599n

  ganglion cells, 187

  Grdner, James, 359, 361–362, 366, 592n, 602n

  Gardner, Timothy, 221

  Garfinkel, S. L., 555n

  Gargini, Paolo, 112, 526n

  Gartner, John, 567n, 582n

  gas:

  curved surfaces and, 265

  energy from, 243, 244, 247, 250, 252, 420

  prediction of properties of, 168, 432

  gates, 111

  logic, see logic gates

  “Gates, Bill,” 374–376

  Gell-Mann, Murray, 37, 38, 508n

  gender, change in, 318–319

  gene chips (microarrays), 214–215, 552n

  gene expression, 16, 147, 213–216, 283, 551n–553n, 556n, 557n

  nanobots and, 232–233

  peptides and, 213, 223, 232

  RNA interference and, 12, 214, 256, 323, 417, 422, 551n

  suppression of, 219, 323, 422

  General Dynamics, 235

  General Electric, 271

  General Problem Solver (GPS) program, 264, 273, 569n

  general relativity theory, 341, 355, 378, 500n, 503n, 520n

  genes, genetics, 16, 27, 107, 168, 282, 482–483

  of chimpanzees vs. humans, 5, 505n

  defective, 214, 553n
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  as disposition, 225

  fat insulin receptor (FIR), 12, 303

  mutations and, see mutations

  protection of, 42

  regulatory sequences of, 551n

  revolution in, 73, 84, 205–227, 299–300, 549n–557n; see also biotechnology

  in sexual reproduction, 46

  “suicide,” 219

  gene splicing, 418, 423, 482

  gene therapy, 215–217, 219, 220, 256, 323, 553n

  genetic algorithms (GAs), see evolutionary (genetic) algorithms

  genetically modified organisms (GMOs), 406, 414–415, 471

  genetic disorders, 553n

  genetic engineering, 28, 301

  environmentalist campaign against, 391

  viruses and, 206, 393, 398, 402–403

  genetic errors, cloning and, 221, 556n

  genetic modification, 116–117, 171

  genetic profiling, uses of, 214–215

  genome, human, 13, 145, 225, 600n

  aging and, 221

  brain and, 89, 147, 180, 428–429, 440, 443–444, 523n

  compression of, 89, 147, 206–207, 443, 448, 449, 482, 508n, 516n–517n, 523n, 538n

  DNA sequencing and, 73–74, 73, 74, 85, 514n

  fractal designs and, 46, 47

  information content of, 46, 47, 206–207, 516n–517n, 522n

  proteins and, 42, 225, 510n, 517n

  reverse engineering of, 517n

  genome, virus, 553n

  genomics, 323

  geothermal technologies, 243, 244, 246

  Gerberding, Julie, 514n

  Gerla, Mario, 589n

  Germany, Germans, 2, 138, 188, 195, 308, 536n

  Gianaro, Catherine, 506n

  Gilbert, S.F., 551n

  Gilder, George, 370, 394, 497n

  Giorelli, Giulio, 369

  giraffe, brain of, 4, 169

  Gisin, Nicolas, 353–354

  Glenn, Jerome C., 565n

  glial cells, 195

  Glickstein, M., 544n, 545n

  glucose, 124, 230, 232, 399, 530n

  blood-brain barrier and, 163, 165

  in fuel cells, 230, 238, 248, 306

  nanomedicine and, 238, 243, 307

  as nutrient, 301

  glycogen, 305

  GMOs, see genetically modified organisms

  GNR (Genetics, Nanotechnology, Robotics) age, 205–298, 407, 549n–583n

  defensive technologies for, see defensive technologies for GNR age

  economic growth from, 98, 230–231, 396–397, 406, 410

  existential risks of, 406–407, 422

  exponential growth and, 73, 227, 245–246

  impact of, see impacts, GNR

  information and, 84, 206–207, 210, 231, 245–246, 261

  intertwined benefits and dangers of, of, 396–400

  Joy’s concerns about, 391, 394–395

  peril vs. promise of, 391–426, 427, 594n–599n

  relinquishment of, 12, 395, 406, 407–408, 410–416, 423

  synergy and, 73

  wealth creation from, 13, 107, 338, 396–397, 410

  see also biotechnology; nanotechnology; robots, robotics; strong AI

  goats, transgenic, 222

  God, 15, 360, 375, 389–390, 474, 476, 477