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The Age of Spiritual Machines
- When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
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Publisher's summary
The inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era, an international authority on artificial intelligence, and bestselling author of The Singularity is Nearer now offers a framework for envisioning the twenty-first century in The Age of Spiritual Machines—an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live.
Kurzweil's prophetic blueprint for the future takes us through the advances that inexorably result in computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain by the year 2020 (with human-level capabilities not far behind); in relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers; and in information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways. Optimistic and challenging, thought-provoking and engaging, The Age of Spiritual Machines is the ultimate guide on our road into the next century.
Critic reviews
"Kurzweil’s broad outlook and fresh approach make his optimism hard to resist."—Kirkus Reviews
"This is a book for computer enthusiasts, science fiction writers in search of cutting-edge themes and anyone who wonders where human technology is going next."—The New York Times
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- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The critic and essayist Meghan O'Gieblyn was born into an evangelical family, attended the famed Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for a time before she had a crisis of belief, and still lives in the Midwest, aka "Flyover Country". She writes of her "existential dizziness, a sense that the rest of the world is moving while you remain still", and that rich sense of ambivalence and internal division inform the 15 superbly thoughtful and ironic essays in this collection.
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More than just essays an explanation of Trump
- By Penny Diggs on 07-28-19
By: Meghan O'Gieblyn
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Abundance
- The Future Is Better Than You Think
- By: Steven Kotler, Peter H. Diamandis
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler document how progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, digital manufacturing synthetic biology, and other exponentially growing technologies will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than we have in the previous 200 years.
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Perhaps multiply his time estimates by 10
- By Rick on 11-06-21
By: Steven Kotler, and others
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Life 3.0
- Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- By: Max Tegmark
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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How will artificial intelligence affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society, and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology - and there's nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who's helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.
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Irritating
- By Thomas Cotter on 10-25-17
By: Max Tegmark
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Superintelligence
- Paths, Dangers, Strategies
- By: Nick Bostrom
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life. The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful - possibly beyond our control.
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Colossus: The Forbin Project is coming
- By Gary on 09-12-14
By: Nick Bostrom
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Our Final Invention
- Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
- By: James Barrat
- Narrated by: Gary Dana
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Artificial Intelligence helps choose what books you buy, what movies you see, and even who you date. It puts the "smart" in your smartphone and soon it will drive your car. It makes most of the trades on Wall Street, and controls vital energy, water, and transportation infrastructure. But Artificial Intelligence can also threaten our existence. In as little as a decade, AI could match and then surpass human intelligence. Corporations and government agencies are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail - human-level intelligence.
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Kind of chilling
- By Keegan on 04-11-15
By: James Barrat
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Human Compatible
- Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control
- By: Stuart Russell
- Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its outcome all too predictable. In this groundbreaking audiobook, distinguished AI researcher Stuart Russell argues that this scenario can be avoided, but only if we rethink AI from the ground up. Russell begins by exploring the idea of intelligence in humans and in machines.
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Good General Introduction to AI Topic
- By Catherine Puma on 03-26-20
By: Stuart Russell
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The Coming Wave
- Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma
- By: Mustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar - contributor
- Narrated by: Mustafa Suleyman
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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We are approaching a critical threshold in the history of our species. Soon you will live surrounded by AIs. They will organize your life, operate your business, and run core government services. You will live in a world of DNA printers and quantum computers, engineered pathogens and autonomous weapons, robot assistants and abundant energy. None of us are prepared. As co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind, Mustafa Suleyman has been at the center of this revolution. The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies.
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Click bait
- By Buyer on 09-11-23
By: Mustafa Suleyman, and others
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Bold
- How to Go Big, Make Bank, and Better the World
- By: Peter H. Diamandis, Steven Kotler
- Narrated by: Steven Kotler
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Bold is a radical, how-to guide for using exponential technologies, moonshot thinking, and crowd-powered tools to create extraordinary wealth while also positively impacting the lives of billions.
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The Best Book for Exponential Entrepreneurs
- By Sean on 02-17-15
By: Peter H. Diamandis, and others
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Radical Abundance
- How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization
- By: K. Eric Drexler
- Narrated by: Tim Pabon
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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K. Eric Drexler is the founding father of nanotechnology - the science of engineering on a molecular level. In Radical Abundance, he shows how rapid scientific progress is about to change our world. Thanks to atomically precise manufacturing, we will soon have the power to produce radically more of what people want, and at a lower cost. The result will shake the very foundations of our economy and environment.
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Drexler Rehashes the Past
- By David on 10-19-13
By: K. Eric Drexler
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Possible Minds
- Twenty-Five Ways of Looking at AI
- By: John Brockman - editor
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney, Will Damron, Jason Culp, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The fruit of the long history of John Brockman's profound engagement with the most important scientific minds who have been thinking about AI - from Alison Gopnik and David Deutsch to Frank Wilczek and Stephen Wolfram - Possible Minds is an ideal introduction to the landscape of crucial issues AI presents. The collision between opposing perspectives is salutary and exhilarating; some of these figures are deeply concerned with the threat of AI, including the existential one, while others have a very different view.
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The worst book purchase I’ve made in a long while
- By Y. Zhao on 06-07-19
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The Future of the Mind
- The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind
- By: Michio Kaku
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time in history, the secrets of the living brain are being revealed by a battery of high-tech brain scans devised by physicists. Now what was once solely the province of science fiction has become a startling reality. Recording memories, telepathy, videotaping our dreams, mind control, avatars, and telekinesis are not only possible; they already exist.
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More breadth than depth
- By Gary on 03-20-14
By: Michio Kaku
What listeners say about The Age of Spiritual Machines
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- Sam
- 04-20-16
interesting read but very short
I was definitely surprised when it ended abruptly.
The descriptions of neutral networks and evolutionarily algorithms were clear and educational.
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3 people found this helpful
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- M. Manning
- 09-14-18
Excellent work!
I absolutely love this book! A must read for anyone interested in understanding ourselves, quantum computing, the Future and all of mankind!
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- ThatGuyWithTheFace
- 10-10-19
Love this Audiobook
Sad to see the book end. Amazing book, amazing and well spoken reader for the audiobook version.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Justin
- 07-31-20
Outdated but still fascinating.
This is a good short read if you want to know where we are going.
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- Zachary
- 06-18-18
Somewhat dated, but an important read on AI
Since it was written in 1997, it comes across as somewhat dated at parts. However it's still thoughtful, insightful, and well researched. Almost a prerequisite for anybody that wishes to learn more about transhumanism.
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- Kaelen
- 03-27-17
Eye opening
I will forever have a different outlook on life. Buying his other books right now.
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- baalvar
- 03-31-23
Incredible
A short but great audiobook. The reader sounded like one of those lifelike voice generators, which got a bit much at times. But the content is absolutely worth overcoming that.
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- Ben Sisson
- 11-13-16
Outdated, but a good read nonetheless.
Would you listen to The Age of Spiritual Machines again? Why?
Ray Kurzweil makes predictions that are interesting to listen to and compare to the present reality, so this could be entertaining to listen to in 20 years again.
Any additional comments?
For those in the field of artificial intelligence, this book does not really bring in much exciting until the last half hour. For those not in the field, I am not sure how intelligible this book is. Attempts to write in both a technical and a poetic way, and though it succeeds sometimes, he fails just as often. When this book came out, it would have been fantastic. If you want to learn about how people in the past think the future would be, just read "Neuromancer".
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- Johann Cohen
- 09-18-16
Personal Favorite
Would you consider the audio edition of The Age of Spiritual Machines to be better than the print version?
Both versions are amazing! Kurzweil hits the nail on the head.
What about Alan Sklar’s performance did you like?
He was awesome to listen to! I had to adapt, but once I listened to the audiobook, I was looking for similar titles with the same narrator.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I read it in 2015. I knew going into the material that Ray Kurzweil was making outlandish predictions with the utmost accuracy. While reading (about halfway through), I was really intrigued. His other titles are also very good. If you haven't had the opportunity, check out the title, "How to Create a Mind" By Ray Kurzweil.
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- Matt Gerchow
- 06-02-17
Not the same as the book
The overall book is great, but the narrator left out the man and woman dialogue at each check-in along the time line. That was my favorite part of this book when I read it 19 years ago.
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