The Age of Spiritual Machines

By: Ray Kurzweil

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Bold futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of The Singularity Is Near, offers a framework for envisioning the future of machine intelligence—“a book for anyone who wonders where human technology is going next” (The New York Times Book Review).

“Kurzweil offers a thought-provoking analysis of human and artificial intelligence and a unique look at a future in which the capabilities of the computer and the species that invented it grow ever closer.”—BILL GATES

Imagine a world where the difference between man and machine blurs, where the line between humanity and technology fades, and where the soul and the silicon chip unite. This is not science fiction. This is the twenty-first century according to Ray Kurzweil, the “restless genius” (The Wall Street Journal), “ultimate thinking machine” (Forbes), and inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era. In his inspired hands, life in the new millennium no longer seems daunting. Instead, it promises to be an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live.

More than just a list of predictions, Kurzweil’s prophetic blueprint for the future guides us through the inexorable advances that will result in:
• Computers exceeding the memory capacity and computational ability of the human brain (with human-level capabilities not far behind)
• Relationships with automated personalities who will be our teachers, companions, and lovers
• Information fed straight into our brains along direct neural pathways

Eventually, the distinction between humans and computers will have become sufficiently blurred that when the machines claim to be conscious, we will believe them.©Ray Kurzweil, 1998; ©1998 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“The Age of Spiritual Machines will blow your mind. Kurzweil lays out a scenario that might seem like science fiction if it weren’t coming from a proven entrepreneur.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“From the arrowhead to the jackhammer, toolmakers like Kurzweil have changed the world we live in. . . . This is a book for anyone who likes to think about where current trends are taking us.”—Christian Science Monitor

“Tantalizing—sometimes terrifying. . . . a welcome challenge to beliefs we hold dear.”—Boston Globe

“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

Love this Audiobook

Sad to see the book end. Amazing book, amazing and well spoken reader for the audiobook version.

Outdated but still fascinating.

This is a good short read if you want to know where we are going.

Interesting Theories

Would you listen to The Age of Spiritual Machines again? Why?

This is one book worth multiple listens due to the theories laid out by Ray Kurzweil. There are many barriers to achieving the path he foresees for the human race and the path may meander. However, I can see the potential and each of the steps provide a set of ethics to chew over.

A good read, could have been more technical

I enjoyed hearing his ideas, it was amusing hearing his predictions now that we have reached them. No, we still don't have flying cars, but quite a lot of other things were spot-on.
I had hoped it would have been a little more technical, discussing algorithms and neural networks etc, but it was a good listen none the less.

The Age of Spiritual Machines Review

"The Age of Spiritual Machines (December 16, 1999)" by Ray Kurzweil offered insightful thoughts, opinions, predictions, and precautions concerning artificial intelligence's historical development to its present-day and future influence that encompasses our most sanguine to banal moments of our lives; ranging from the most intimate, private portions of our lives to our general interactions in society. Many of Kurzweil's hypotheses, theories, and predictions he wrote about AI in 1999 are presently being debated or have been realized. I am looking forward to listening to "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (December 10, 2019)" and "The Singularity Is Near: When We Merge with Computers (June 18, 2024)."