‘The Singularity is Near’ by Ray Kurzweil Essay

The author envisages a future where major biological processes in the human body will be replaced by non-biological processes in the form of continuous adoption of nanotechnology and other forms of cutting-edge technology. Indeed, this particular author seems to suggest that our overreliance on technology will lead us into a future where all our endeavors will be intricately linked to technology.

For instance, the author argues that recent developments in the field of nanotechnology are bound to come with ‘nanobots’ that will be used to reduce our dependency on normal human blood, as well as our overreliance on vital organs such as the digestive system(Kurzweil 302).

It can be suggested that the author’s viewpoints are positive in as far as the stated changes in the human body are bound to create a superhuman being, who will be free from all the problems and health conditions facing mankind. Consequently, the future will be exciting in terms of the capacity by nanotechnology-dependent humans to circumvent life-threatening maladies and be able to perform outstandingly in terms of cognitive thought processes and intelligence.

However, the future is still uncertain as such technology may generate a scenario where humans will be acting like machines, hence denying them of any human feelings and reasoning (Kurzweil 309). If this is allowed to continue, human beings of 2062 will not only have the capacity to alter their physical manifestations to become other people but also select different bodies at the same time for different people.

The quote selected suggests that “…one of the biggest flaws in the common conception of the future is that the future is something that happens to us, not something we create” (Kurzweil 299). This quote is relevant, in my view, as it assists readers to acknowledge how the author has used language to create the future and to make them experience the future as created.

This statement is compelling as it occasions a paradigm shift in how we evaluate the future – from something that we cannot control something we can create. However, it can be suggested that the statement lacks in accuracy, in large part because some major events that happen into the future are not created by humans. I am indeed skeptical that human beings, with their nanotechnology capabilities, can create a devastating earthquake that will occur in 2020.

The author’s argument and persuasiveness of writing can only be termed as high-level, particularly due to the use of other people’s works and recent research findings in the broad topic of nanotechnology to support his arguments. However, I am not convinced about the possibility of humans acting like machines; on the contrary, I am convinced that machines can act like humans because solid evidence has been adduced to that fact in terms of robots.

However, the author uses progressing research in institutions of higher learning to demonstrate that his thoughts can become a reality. Indeed, the author uses deductive logic or reasoning to convince the reader that if something has already happened, another thing is bound to happen based on the facts adduced to by experts from that field.

His tone is deep and comprehensive, leaving the reader with an overbearing urge to complete reading the section, in large part due to the way he presents the already known facts and links them to the thoughts in his mind. His tone is that of an authoritative source due to the numerous citations made in the section about the possibilities of human beings who will act like machines; however, common sense demonstrates this to be impossible.

The author has effectively used “appeals to emotion” in the construction of the superhuman being of the future, employing a lot of quotes and citations from leading researchers to instill objectivity and validity into his works. This works well as it submerges the readers into a world of the unknown and the untested, and makes them believe that the assertions are indeed possible.

Works Cited

Kurzweil, Ray. The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. New York, NY: The Viking Press, 2005. Print.