Kurzweil at Google

[RAMA]

Digital Trends has an assessment of the implications.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ray-kurzweil-brings-his-singular-focus-to-google/

The not so obvious returns, aside from products:

http://www.zdnet.com/google-hires-kurzweil-a-look-at-the-returns-7000008844/

The way I see it, this is still part of the "self-fulfilling" prophecy(at the risk of using theistic terms). AI advancement and potential Singularity are being created on a wide front, likely impossible to stop, BUT without a directed, self-aware focus it may not come as fast as is possible. Google, its CEO's, former employees, and related visionaries are at the forefront of creating technologies needed, once thought impossible or unlikely, the fact we have or will have the technology soon is reflected in the fact they are going to put their money where there mouth is.

Kurzweil’s work at Google will likely intersect strongly with Google’s X Lab, currently overseen by co-founder Sergei Brin. X Lab is basically a secret skunkworks facility that’s reportedly working on everything from a space elevator to technology aimed at making a wide range of everyday devices fully accessible (and interactive with) the Internet. (X Lab spawned Google’s driverless cars and wearable goggles.) Kurzweil has only said he’ll be working on “new projects involving machine learning and language processing;” that seems to tie in very neatly with X lab work reportedly underway on neural networks capable of learning, understanding speech, and analyzing audio, video, and other media.

These are technologies predicted by Kurzweil, and by a certain timeline, it seems appropriate he can influence their continued development.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

He didn't "predict" those technologies any more than I did. Everything you listed has been on the table since at least the mid-'90s, and in some cases, much earlier.

I'll go a step further: predicting things is easy. Making them happen is hard. So, I will be curious to see what comes out of Kurzweil's work here. Google does a lot of interesting stuff, and they are at the bleeding edge of data analytics and processing.

 

[RAMA]

He didn't "predict" those technologies any more than I did. Everything you listed has been on the table since at least the mid-'90s, and in some cases, much earlier.

I'll go a step further: predicting things is easy. Making them happen is hard. So, I will be curious to see what comes out of Kurzweil's work here. Google does a lot of interesting stuff, and they are at the bleeding edge of data analytics and processing.

Actually, its certain many technologies were predicted so to speak in sci fi many decades before, the point is Kurweil built up a connected series of technology predictions and actually has come close to predicting when they will come to pass(most are not so bold..mainly because they didn't have Kurzweil's math to back them up), and how they fit into our future, and has been far more accurate than Arthur C Clarke, or Heinlein or most technological futurists. In fact, in the case of some of these technologies, there has been vehement argument that they won't happen("wearable computers, goggles, etc are one of these: "people will never wear these!!"), or surely not before much further in the future, well they were wrong.

 

[RAMA]

And Google/Kurzweil has competitors:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/billion-euro-brain-simulation-and-graphene-projects-win-european-funds

Yup, he sure is crazy...

 

[Kemaiku]

Don't you have anything better to do than threadshit?

 

[gturner]

I predicted touch screen contact lens displays, just in the hope that someone will make them and then all the tweens will sit around poking themselves in the eye all day.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Kurzweil’s work at Google will likely intersect strongly with Google’s X Lab, currently overseen by co-founder Sergei Brin. X Lab is basically a secret skunkworks facility that’s reportedly working on everything from a space elevator to technology aimed at making a wide range of everyday devices fully accessible (and interactive with) the Internet. (X Lab spawned Google’s driverless cars and wearable goggles.) Kurzweil has only said he’ll be working on “new projects involving machine learning and language processing;” that seems to tie in very neatly with X lab work reportedly underway on neural networks capable of learning, understanding speech, and analyzing audio, video, and other media.

These are technologies predicted by Kurzweil, and by a certain timeline, it seems appropriate he can influence their continued development.

Considering Kurzweil is a much better inventor than he is a futurist -- and considering the majority of his predictions have failed to come true -- I'd bet on his ability to INVENT those technologies before his ability to predict their development... or, for that matter, their practicality.

 

[RAMA]

Don't you have anything better to do than threadshit?

Should I have started a new thread? Oh my bad. Ty for your continued useless and uninformed input.