Kurzweil addresses "the end of biology" at IdeaFestival

Filed in archive Events on October 17, 2006

"We have now for the first time the ability to reprogram biology," Ray Kurzweil said in his talk last week on "The End of Biology" at Lousville, Kentucky's IdeaFestival. "We're talking about not just designer babies, but designer baby boomers," he continued, alluding to our growing ability to enhance our bodies and minds.

He described, for example, how pea-sized computer brain implants can already replace much of the functionality lost to Parkinson's disease in some cases. And always one for predictions, he ventured that computers as we know them today will vanish by 2010 as retinal displays online 24/7 take over.

I asked Kurzweil what he thought was the biggest obstacle to his vision of the future. He replied that nanotechnology, genetics and robotics have downsides and that there will be setbacks along the road to their development. Specifically, he said, anyone can now conduct fairly sophisticated genetic engineering in a college lab, and it's only a matter of time until someone uses the power of one or more of these technologies to harm others.

What's needed, he continued, is to guard dangerous information (like the genetic code of the 1918 influenza virus posted on the internet earlier this year-a move Kurzweil protested vigorously), and to prepare defenses against the inevitable setbacks.

Kurzweil's talk was part of the ambitious and successful IdeaFestival, which will be hosted in Louisville again next September. I'm looking forward to it already. (Photo: Geoff Oliver Bugbee/IdeaFestival)