Technological Singularity - Essay Example

Futuristic writings from the genre of science fiction actually paved the vista to comprehend the predicament the human race might need to face in the race of development and technological advancement. One such futuristic writer is Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil wrote a book in 2005, entitled ‘The Singularity is Near’ where he recorded his thoughts regarding the pros and cons of the future technology. In 2009, the American filmmaker Barry Ptolemy made a documentary entitled Transcendent Man based on the thoughts and life of the futurist author Ray Kurzweil where the concept of technological singularity is made the loci.

Moreover, the life and his vision are discussed at length, and Ray is followed by Ptolemy around the world. Thesis Statement This essay intends to discuss the concepts of technological singularity envisaged by the futurist writer Ray Kurzweil as portrayed by the documentary Transcendent Man along with a vivid discussion on the way the philosophy of the technological advancement and glitch is being portrayed in the film. . m was released across the United States in February, 2011, the viewers were well aware of the fact that this 83 minutes running documentary not only captivates scientific melodrama but also has a strong philosophical discourse which can provide a good food for thought at any time to any thoughtful soul.

Kurzweil was noted by Ptolemy not only for his futuristic bent of mind but also for the unique theory which he propounded entitled, ‘Technological Singularity’. Technological Singularity is a concept that overlaps itself within the field of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics together. Kurweil predicted that somewhere in future in the 21st century a threatening creation to the entire human race shall appear in the shape and face of a human-machine civilization. The documentary shows Ptolemy following Kurzweil around the world throwing light on the concepts of the inventor and the futuristic author.

Kurzweil refuses the concept of physical death and does not claim it to be the inevitable one. He pronounced an innovative law entitled ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’. This law exposes a point where the technological advancement will be able to merge into the genetics of human race resulting into a singularity and production of human machine through which biological death of the humans can be transcended. A concept which the world has seen in the fictional film long before the release , of the Transcendent Man bearing the title, Bicentennial Man directed by Chris Columbus and starring Robin Williams.

The film might portray a robot or a human machine turning into a man as acknowledged by the President of World Congress in the future year of 2205 but the film ends with the death of Andrew, the very moment his humanity is accepted and his marriage with Portia, a human