A Modern Tower of Babel?

The concepts that Ray Kurzweil discusses in his book The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology are mind-bending to put it mildly. But one can't help but agree with his premises that life as we know it will be unrecognizable a mere ten years from now. His benchmark is a $1000 laptop computer. In 2010 it will have the capacity of a human brain. A few years later it will have the capacity of all human knowledge that has existed throughout history.

His description of existing nanobots that can cure diabetes in rats is fascinating. These are nano-engineered devices about the size of a red blood cell that can release insulin in a controlled fashion that have already been tested in animals. Star Trek is upon us!

This presentation is a good synopsis of his shtick, and I have to admit I am quite convinced. Our present rate of increase in knowledge is exponential and in a few short years we will see the stuff of science fiction becoming reality. What does this mean for life on planet earth?

Comments are welcome...