The Singularity Is Near

The singularity, a coming point when human and machine intelligence merge, is the prediction at the center of inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil's book, which builds on his earlier books about intelligent and spiritual machines. Kurzweil's law of accelerating returns holds that computing, genetics, nanotechnology, robotics and artificial intelligence improve exponentially, with each paradigm, such as vacuum tubes giving way to transistors, tracing an S curve before the next takes over. He describes evolution as moving through six epochs, from physics and chemistry to a final stage in which the universe wakes up, and sets 2045 as the date of the singularity. A sequel, The Singularity Is Nearer, followed in 2024.

Antonio Eram, founder of NETOPIA mobilPay, put it among the titles he suggests to young people who want to follow his path.