The Age of Spiritual Machines:
When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
by Ray Kurzweil
REVIEWED BY MIKE TREDER, 1-8-02
Of all the books written in recent years concerning the soon-to-be-felt effects of rapidly advancing technology, Ray Kurzweil’s is the best. He combines a confident grasp of technical and scientific complexities with the unusual ability to express far-reaching ideas in a way that is not only understandable but compelling. Kurzweil is a noted inventor, a wealthy entrepreneur, a genius, and a fine author. It’s too bad he hasn’t published more books (this is only his third), but apparently he has his hands full running high-tech companies, participating in think tanks, and contributing to his fabulous online chronicle of technological advancement (at
www.kurzweilai.net).The Age of Spiritual Machines serves as a sweeping review of the historical development of intelligence and computation, as a grand introduction to the fields of nanotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, and as a mind-blowing summary of where we are headed in the next thirty years. Kurzweil’s scientific credentials are impeccable and lend credence to his often startling extrapolations. For the non-technical reader, the book is very engaging and highly readable. For the more serious student, it includes a comprehensive series of notes and an exhaustive bibliography. On all counts, I give it my highest recommendation.