The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

  class 4 automata and, 89, 90, 520n, 521n

  deterministic processes and, 89

  of neural net, 269

  of neurons and brain, 149, 151, 152, 153, 440, 443–444

  quantum, 353–354, 363, 474–475, 481, 521n, 522n

  Rao, R., 547n

  Rao, Tata N., 567n

  Rappaport, N. J., 512n

  Ratner, Mark A., 115, 528n

  rats, 188, 255

  Rauch, Jonathan, 524n

  Ray, Thomas, 429, 442–444, 446, 456, 600n, 601n

  RayandTerry.com, 490

  Ray Kurzweil’s Cybernetic Poet, 273, 580n

  Raymond, J. L., 545n

  reading, 175, 337, 589n

  real-estate industry, 105

  reality:

  analog vs. digital nature of, 519n

  mental models of, 198

  see also physical reality; virtual reality

  reasoning, 120, 143, 285

  recessions, 99, 106

  high-tech (2000–2003), 97, 524n

  records, recording industry, 53, 327, 339

  recursion, 190

  recursive search, 272–273, 279

  algorithmic description of, 273, 576n–580n

  red-blood cells, mechanical, see respirocytes

  Rediscovery of Mind, The (Searle), 459–460

  reductants, 252

  “Reduction in Watts per MIPS” chart, 128–129, 129

  Reed-Sternberg cell, 552n

  Rees, Martin, 361, 500n, 597n

  Regan, Chris, 235

  regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), 161

  regulation, 430–431, 470–473

  medical, 373, 412–413, 416–417, 423

  Reil, Torsten, 288, 582n

  Reilly, B.D., 554n

  “Relative State Formulation of Quantum Mechanics” (Everett), 500n–501n

  relativity theory:

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

  special, 341, 354, 520n

  relays, 67, 67, 127–128, 434

  religion:

  author’s upbringing in, 1, 2

  death as viewed by, 368, 372, 374

  fundamentalism and, 414

  Singularity compared with, 370, 374

  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Center for Gigascale Integration at, 113

  repetition, mechanical, 26

  repression, of memory, 176–177, 544n

  reproduction:

  of bacteria, 248

  of cells, 218

  in vitro fertilization and, 340

  nonsexual, 46

  sex separated from, 301, 367

  sexual, see sexual reproduction

  research, 279, 407

  computer, budgets for, 25, 42, 259

  Internet, 392–393, 594n

  paradigm shifts and, 45

  stem-cell, 222, 431, 471

  respirocytes (mechanical red-blood cells), 28, 227, 305, 306, 506n

  effectiveness of, 254, 558n

  retina, 166, 187, 530n

  feedforward sequence and, 154, 170

  image processing in, 123, 187–188

  implants of, 185, 308, 585n

  of toad, 154

  virtual reality and, 312, 472

  retirement, 98

  Rettig, Duane, 569n

  Reuter, A., 560n

  reverse engineering, 127, 146, 213, 323

  of blood, 305–306

  of computers, 157–158

  of human brain, see brain reverse engineering

  of primate visual system, 574n

  of products, 231

  reversible computing, 130–135, 244–245, 350, 428, 534n

  Reynolds, Glenn, 598n

  Rhea, John, 589n

  rhesus macaques, humans compared with, 505n

  Rhodoferax ferrireducens bacterium, 248

  ribosomes, 16, 147, 198, 207–210, 213

  design of, 483

  nanotechnology and, 232–235, 238–239, 412

  Rich, Elaine, 265, 266

  Richards, Jay W., 593n

  Richards, Mark A., 438, 439, 600n

  rich-poor divide, 95, 430, 469–470

  Riesenhuber, Maximilian, 186

  Riley, James, 588n

  Rilke, Rainer Maria, 299

  Rizzolatti, Giacomo, 190 548n

  RNA, 47, 216, 441

  gene expression and, 16, 213

  messenger (mRNA), 207, 208, 214, 412, 552n

  nanotechnology and, 232

  transfer (tRNA), 207, 208, 233

  RNA interference (RNAi), 12, 214, 256, 323, 417, 422, 552n

  Roach, John, 591n

  roads, biological evolution and, 440

  Robitaille, P-M. L., 540n

  Robot (Moravec), 24

  robotic telescopes, 281

  robots, robotics, 24, 122

  disabled assisted by, 189, 195

  household, 292

  kinematic constructor, 228, 229, 558n

  manufacturing and, 276, 285–286

  military, 189, 280, 285, 331–332, 333

  at molecular level, see nanobots

  monkeys’ control of, 194–195

  nanotechnology and, 228–233, 246

  as probes, 352, 591n

  revolution in, 73, 84, 205, 206, 259–300, 570n–583n; see also strong AI

  search-and-rescue, 286

  vision systems for, 123, 187–188, 285–286, 529n

  rock:

  complexity of, 37, 508n–509n

  computation in, 131, 137, 362

  information in, 37, 137, 508n–509n, 536n

  Rodgers, Peter, 592n

  rogue nations, 423

  Roninson, I. B., 554n

  Rosamond, J., 552n

  Roscheisen, Martin, 250

  Rosen, Nathan, 355, 592n

  Rosenblatt, Frank, 156, 539n

  Rosetta Disk, 588n

  Roska, Boton, 187, 547n

  rotaxane, 115

  Roth, U., 575n

  Rothblatt, Martine, 379, 418, 593n, 598n

  Roush, Wade, 580n

  Rowling, J. K., 4–5

  Roy, C. S., 540n

  Rubel, E. W., 542n

  Rueckes, Thomas, 114

  Rukeyser, Muriel, 5

  rule 110, 87–89, 88, 522n, 523n

  Rupley, Sebastian, 533n

  Russell, Bertrand, 264, 321, 453, 514n, 600n

  Russia, ICBM arsenal of, 401

  Sabatini, B. L., 541n

  Sagan, Carl, 18, 35, 346, 355, 501n, 590n

  Sahlins, Marshall, 387

  “Sailing to Byzantium” (Yeats), 301

  Saini, Subhash, 562n, 563n

  St. Louis University, 247–248

  Sakamoto, K. M., 552n

  Salinas, E., 539n

  Samonds, Jason M., 541n

  Sandberg, Anders, 134, 144, 350–351, 356, 535n

  Sandhana, Lakshmi, 589n

  Sandia National Laboratories, 304

  Sandvik, Haavard Bunes, 592n

  sanitation, 409

  San Jose AI conference (2004), 286

  Santa Fe Institute, 509n

  SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus, 74, 398, 402–403, 423, 514n

  satellites, 413

  Space Solar Power, 250

  Space Technology 5, 281

  spy, 281

  Sato, Hisahiko, 517n

  Sato, K.-I., 516n

  Sato, M., 553n

  Savoy, R. L., 539n

  scaffolds, nanoscale, 242

  Scalaidhe, S. P., 543n

  Scalise, George M., 525n

  scanning-probe microscope (SPM), 237, 240

  ScanSoft (formerly Kurzweil Computer Products), 570n

  Schafer, Ron, 588n

  Schaller, R. D., 566n

  Scheibel, Thomas, 529n

  Schewe, Phillip F., 586n

  Schmidt, Bob, 283

  Schneider, Frank, 550n

  Schoenauer, T., 575n

  Schopenhauer, Arthur, 7

  Schönenberger, Christian, 526
/>
  Schopf, J. W., 502n

  Schwartz, Jeffrey M., 542n

  Schwarzschild, Kurt, 503n

  science, 335, 372, 373, 375, 498n

  AI applications in, 283

  human grasp of, 261

  inflated self-significance corrected by, 487

  objectivity and, 378, 380

  simplicity as driving force in, 39

  technology’s enabling of advances in, 143

  see also specific sciences

  Science, 114, 117, 176, 215, 505n

  science fiction, 271–272, 569n

  Scientific American, 51, 101, 236–238, 254

  scientific models, right level for, 167–168

  scientist’s pessimism, 12

  Scripps Research Institute, 235–236, 556n

  S-curves:

  energy and, 244

  in paradigm life cycle, 43–44, 43, 44, 67, 72

  of technology as expressed in its life cycle, 51–56

  transportation and, 457

  search-and-retrieve methods, 328

  search engines, 100, 150, 286–287, 336, 436

  Searle, John R., 394, 458–469, 474, 475, 477, 601n

  second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, 163

  Securities Observation, News Analysis, and Regulation (SONAR) system, 284

  security issues:

  defensive technologies and, 417

  law enforcement organizations and, 413, 421, 424

  spybots and, 406–407

  “Seed AI,” 569n

  Seegrid, 285

  Seeing Machines, 285

  Seeman, Nadrian C., 235, 236, 560n

  Seitz, C. L., 535n

  Select computer program, 2–3, 497n

  self-assembly, 121, 227

  in nanotube circuits, 112–113, 115–116, 528n

  self-organizing system(s), 89, 225, 265, 435, 459–462

  algorithms, 146, 439–440, 481, 538n; see also evolutionary (genetic) algorithms

  biopolymers, 252–253

  brain as, 25–26, 148, 152, 153, 293, 371, 440, 443–444, 446, 456, 460, 483, 501 n, 523n

  communication networks as, 125, 533n

  connectionism and, 155–156

  design and, 479–483

  knowledge and, 126

  mesh networks, 125, 280, 533n

  military’s use of, 332–333

  nonlinearity as requirement for, 155

  see also Markov models; neural nets

  self-replicating nanotechnology, 230, 235–236, 346, 352

  broadcast architecture and, 232, 235, 400, 409, 412, 419

  Foresight guidelines for, 229, 395, 411, 418–419, 598n

  immune system and, 400, 411–412, 417

  need for, 352, 400, 411–412, 425–426

  probes and, 352, 412

  safety concerns about, 11, 206, 229, 232, 237, 256, 395, 398–400, 403, 409, 411–412, 425–426

  von Neumann’s model of, 228

  weapons and, 334

  self-replication:

  of computer viruses, see software viruses

  of computing resources, 116–117, 139

  of DNA, 16, 47, 116, 117, 118, 207–208, 235, 529n

  GNR defense and, 423–424

  immune system and, 417

  intelligent destiny of the cosmos and, 346, 352, 356

  power of patterns vs., 388

  Selkoe, D. J., 555n

  Sematech, 57

  semiconductors, semiconductor industry, 119, 153, 253

  deflation in, 102

  feature-size reduction in, 57–61, 57–60, 113, 434

  growth in, 65, 102

  International Technology Roadmap for, 57, 112, 126, 292

  nanotubes as, 114

  quantum effects in, 429

  spintronics and, 119

  see also silicon; silicon chips; transistors

  Sendoh, M., 584n

  sensorimotor skills, formation of, 178–179

  sensory data:

  brain’s processing of, 120

  in Epoch Three, 16

  virtual reality and, 319

  sensory disabilities, 144

  sensory signals, nanobots’ monitoring of, 165–166

  sentience quotient (SQ), 536n

  September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 280, 397

  serial endosymbiosis theory, 583n

  Serre, Thomas, 547n

  Chinese Room analogy of, 430, 458–466

  serum monitoring, 423

  SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), 342–353

  biological vs. nonbiological intelligence and, 350, 352, 358

  computational limits and, 349–351

  Drake equation and, 342, 344–349, 590n

  Fermi Paradox and, 348, 357–359

  scope of, 342–343, 343

  Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, see SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus

  sex, sexual activity:

  contraception and, 321

  desire and, 193

  pleasure and, 301, 307, 315, 319

  reproduction separated from, 301, 367

  virtual, 318–319

  sexual reproduction, 46, 92, 207, 301, 402, 441

  genetic algorithms and, 270n, 539n

  Shachtman, Noah, 588n

  Shah, P. K., 553n

  Shakespeare, William, 126, 196

  shale oil, 244

  Shane, Scott, 597n

  Shannon, Claude, 507n–508n

  Shapiro, Ehud, 118

  Shaw, Gary A., 438, 439, 600n

  Shaw, George Bernard, 96

  Shaw, J. C., 264, 273, 569n

  Shay, Mary-Ellen, 557n

  Shenderova, O. A., 563n

  Shepherd, Gordon M., 184, 545n

  Sherman, William, 236, 560n

  Sherrington, Sir Charles S., 458, 540n

  Shi, Yuhui, 589n

  Shoham, S., 586n

  Shostak, Seth, 346, 358, 422, 590n

  Si, K., 543n

  signal-processing techniques, 279, 438–439, 445

  silicon, 442

  in BioMEMS, 583n

  in photovoltaic cells, 249

  silicon chips, 113, 119, 122

  number of, 351, 591n

  number of components on, 41–42, 111–112, 351, 526n

  three-dimensional, 113

  silicon intelligence, 376

  silicon lithography, 113

  Silk, J., 502n

  Silva, R. A., 560n

  SIMD (single instruction multiple data) architecture, 118, 119–120, 229

  Simmel, F. C., 560n

  Simon, Herbert A., 264, 273, 569n–570n

  Simon, S. M., 586n

  Simone (movie), 315

  simplicity:

  brain design and, 446–449

  Einstein’s views on, 39, 519n

  equivalence principle and, 136–138, 536n

  of neurons, 143–144

  Simpson, Michael, 236

  Sims 2 game, 341

  simulations:

  brain, see brain simulations

  existential risks and, 404–405

  Singer, Maxine, 418

  Singer, W., 176, 543n

  Singularitarian, 369–390, 593n–594n

  alienation and loneliness of, 370–371

  meaning of being, 371–373

  understanding and, 370

  use of term, 7, 370, 498n

  Singularitarian Principles, The (Yudkowsky), 498n

  Singularity:

  concept of, 5, 7–9, 498n

  consciousness and, 374–382, 384–385

  countdown to, 17, 17, 18, 18

  death and, 326

  as economic imperative, 96–110, 524n–526n

  Epoch Five and, 14, 15, 20–21, 205

  Epoch Six and, 14, 15, 21

  GNR age and, 205, 206

  goal of, 364

  history of use of word, 22–24, 485–487

  identity and, 382–387

  meaningful statements about the nature of life
after, 29–33

  passivity and, 374

  powering of, 243–250

  principles involved in, 25–29

  religion compared with, 370, 374

  time frame for, 123, 135–136, 226

  as transcendence, 373, 375, 387–390

  von Neumann’s views on, 10

  Singularity.com, 489

  Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI), 598n–599n

  Sinnott, Susan B., 563n

  Skaletsky, Helen, 549n

  Skarda, Christine A., 538n

  skeleton, 307

  skepticism, 12–13, 263

  skills:

  backing up of, 323

  downloading of, 300

  formation of, 178–179, 194, 202, 260–261, 309

  human longevity and, 329

  skin, 242, 307

  skin cells, 213, 214, 223

  transdifferentiation and, 223, 471, 557n

  Sky & Telescope, 342–343, 343

  Slack, Jonathan M. W., 557n

  Smalley, Richard E., 234, 236–241, 246, 254, 432, 559n, 560n, 561n, 564n

  smallpox, 398, 402

  Smart, John, 24, 35, 358, 370, 504n, 507n, 592n

  Smart-Airport Operations Center (SAOC), 284

  smart dust, 334

  Smith, Huston, 387, 594n

  Smith, K. R., 553n

  Smith, Quentin, 500n–501n

  Smith, Tony, 565n

  Smolin, Lee, 360, 361, 362, 364, 592n

  Smoller, Joel, 504n

  snails, consciousness of, 466, 467

  Snider, S., 586n

  snowflakes, 93

  Snyder, Allan, 161

  Snyder, Lawrence H., 179

  Sobel, Dava, 590n

  soccer, software for, 288

  social institutions, conservatism of, 472–473

  Social Security, 97–98

  software, 5, 100, 259

  AI systems’ monitoring of, 284

  algorithms, 428, 438–442

  auditory, 148

  for chess, 274–278, 274, 441, 459

  complexity of, 428, 437–438

  as composing universe, 86

  consumer power and, 104

  criticism from, 428, 435–442

  deflation and, 102–103

  development of, 97, 107, 437, 534n

  for dyslexic students, 175, 337, 589n

  genetic algorithms and, 271

  genome compared with, 206–207

  hardware vs., 102, 428, 435, 438, 439, 445

  human intelligence modeled by, 25, 126, 127; see also brain reverse engineering

  irreversible, 130

  longevity of, 325–330

  military uses of, 279–280

  for molecular manufacturing, 231

  price-performance of, 103, 436, 438

  productivity of, 428, 437

  responsiveness of, 436

  self-organization in, 151

  for space exploration, 280–281

  for speech recognition, 5, 103, 146, 153, 184, 268, 436, 438, 529n, 570n

  sports, 288

  stability of, 435–436

  for strong AI, 261–262

  of universal computer, 91, 523n

  viability of, 325

  software viruses, 241, 255–256, 333, 423

  biological viruses compared with, 413–414, 416