Dear readers,

I enjoyed speaking on the future of technology at the Nobel Prize gatherings in Gothenburg, Sweden. Every year, the Nobel Prize picks a theme of interest to the world on the state of sciences in different arenas. This year’s theme was the future of intelligence, with a focus on different technologies that are changing our ability to see and understand large sets of information and create computer systems that might reach human level thinking — I believe that progress is accelerating.

I enjoyed giving the keynote and participating in panel discussions with interesting colleagues during the day long event called Nobel Week Dialog, which takes place the week of the Nobel Prize awards. The day is open to the public and hosts top scientific thinkers presenting on the future of innovation and knowledge. I also attended the gala and awards ceremony — a spectacular display of the power of ideas and research helping the world to progress and solve serious challenges.

— Ray Kurzweil

Topics from panels and my keynote:

Will artificial intelligence exceed human intelligence

Is that actually possible

Are fears of super-intelligent systems justified

Does our developing relationship with technology change our brains

How well do we understand the basis of human intelligence

What are the economic consequences of increasingly intelligent systems

What role will creativity have in the future

Who will benefit and who will lose out

What is the link between technology, education and inequality

What will humans do when robots take over even more of our roles

How can society best prepare for the changes ahead

What should we learn in the future

How will learning change in the decades ahead

Nobel Prize awards ceremony | video

video | no.1

group: Nobel Prize

event: Nobel Week Dialog

session: keynote

year: 2015

topic: the future of intelligence

speaker: Ray Kurzweil

about | Nobel Week Dialog is a free day long event and part of the official Nobel Week program, taking place the week of the annual Nobel Prizes. The event stimulates discussion on a science and technology theme by bringing together Nobel laureates, the world’s leading scientists and experts, key opinion leaders, policy makers and the public. By bridging science and society, it’s an opportunity to excite imagination and inspire thinking.

Ray Kurzweil is a futurist, inventor, best selling author and now a Director of Engineering at Google in the computer science area of machine learning. Kurzweil spoke at the Nobel Week Dialog on December 9, 2015 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He gave a keynote and participated in panels with colleagues in the sciences.

Ray Kurzweil believes that we will enhance our natural biological intelligence through artificial intelligence in the future. Kurzweil explores logarithmic advances in computing power and information technologies and uses the history of their trajectories to project when and how artificial intelligence may enhance our daily lives.

video | no. 2

group: Nobel Prize

event: Nobel Week Dialog

year: 2015

session: panel

topic: the future of intelligence

panelist: Ray Kurzweil + friends

panel conversation | Should science and society welcome singularity, the hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence?

panelists:

Ray Kurzweil — futurist author • Google: a Director of Engineering

Max Tegmark, PhD — cosmology • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Stuart Russell, PhD — computer science • Univ. of California

Harry Shum, PhD — computer science • Microsoft: Executive Vice President of Technology + Research

moderator:

Margaret Boden, PhD — cognitive science • Univ. of Sussex

intro:

Lars Heikensten — economics • Nobel Foundation: Exec. Director

Nobel Prize | Nobel Week Dialog 2015: The Future of Intelligence

video of Ray Kurzweil’s panel discussion from the day long event

panel conversation | How do you see the enormous potential of the future of knowledge?

panelists:

Ray Kurzweil — futurist • Google, Director of Engineering

Joel Mokyr — a • a

David Autor — a • a

Randy Shekman — a a

moderator:

Helga Nowotny — a • a

Nobel Prize | Nobel Week Dialog 2015 • the Future of Intelligence

Video of highlights from the day long event.

highlights: exploring perspectives on intelligence

about from Nobel Prize | Highlights video from Nobel Week Dialog day 2015. Audience members, panelists and attending Nobel laureates talk about what they enjoyed most at the day long event.

The day brought together a select group of the world’s leading scientists, policy makers and thinkers who — together with the audience — explored scientific and cultural perspectives on intelligence. Nobel Week Dialog aims to cross the traditional boundaries between science and society with a day of in-depth discussions.

Nobel Prize | Nobel Week Dialog is a day long special event during the annual week of the Nobel Prize.

During the annual Nobel Prize Week, held each December, the current year’s Nobel Prize laureates participate in a whirlwind of events and activities leading up to December 10, when they receive their Nobel Prizes and attend the Nobel Banquet. Since 2012, the roster of activities has expanded to include a new event, the Nobel Week Dialog, a day of lectures and panel discussions on December 9.

The goal of the event is to bring together a select group of the world’s leading thinkers for a series of thought provoking sessions and working groups on a topical science theme. With this event the Nobel Institutions aim to deepen the dialog between the scientific community and society on issues connected with the Nobel Prize and of importance for the world.

Nobel Prize | This year’s Nobel Week Dialog on the future of intelligence.

Experience stimulating discussions at the highest level together with Nobel laureates, the world’s leading scientists, experts, key opinion leaders, policy makers and the general public online and at the event. By bridging science and society, it’s an opportunity to stimulate thinking, excite imagination and inspire greatness.

Nobel Week Dialog is a free, full day event part of the official Nobel Week program. The event aims to generate dialog on a topical, science theme. This is the fourth Nobel Week Dialog, the 2014 event on the topic of aging took place in Stockholm, Sweden.

Now it’s focusing on the future of intelligence. Join us in Gothenburg, Sweden and on digital platforms. Nobel Week Dialog is organized by Nobel Media.

on the web | essentials

On the Nobel Prize events.

Nobel Prize | main

Nobel Prize | YouTube channel

Nobel Prize | educational activities for young explorers

Nobel Prize Awards | banquet + gala program • 2015

Nobel Prize Awards | award ceremony program • 2015

Nobel Museum | main

Nobel Museum | YouTube channel

Nobel Center | main

Nobel Center | YouTube videos

Nobel Prize: Nobel Week Dialog | main

Nobel Prize: Nobel Week Dialog | YouTube channel

Nobel Prize: Nobel Week Dialog | program

Nobel Prize: Nobel Week Dialog | panelists

innovation at Nobel Week Dialog

the Beam tele-presence robot from Blue Ocean Robotics at the day long event

Blue Ocean Robotics telepresence at Nobel Prize events

Blue Ocean Robotics | main

Blue Ocean Robotics | YouTube channel

Blue Ocean Robotics | telepresence robots: main

Blue Ocean Robotics | telepresence robots: Beam Smart Presence System

Blue Ocean Robotics | Nobel Week Dialog from a Beam’s perspective

Nobel Prize |

Nobel Week Dialog program

brochure of the complete day long event

Ray Kurzweil talks and panel discussions are viewable in the video broadcast recordings of the day long event.

morning sessions

• 10:00 am | welcome — Lars Heikensten

• 10:10 am | keynote — The future of intelligence * watch

presenter • Ray Kurzweil

• 10:30 am | talk — Redefining intelligence?

presenter • Carl Wieman

• 10:40 am | panel — What is intelligence?

panelists • Barbara Grosz, Helga Nowotny, Edvard Moser, Margaret Boden

moderator • Goran K. Hansson

• 11:00 am | panel — Are policy makers smart enough?

panelists • Mikael Damberg, Lisa Lindstrom

moderator • Mattias Fyrenius

• 11:20 – 11:50 am | break

• 11:50 am | talk — The future of expertise? * watch

presenter • Guru Banavar

• 12:05 pm | interview — Is the digital age changing us?

presenters • Sherry Turkle, Adam Smith

• 12:15 pm | panel — Should we fear or welcome the singularity? * watch

panelists • Ray Kurzweil, Stuart Russell, Harry Shum, Max Tegmark

moderator • Margaret Boden

• 12:35 pm | panel — How will artificial intelligence change the world?

panelists • Michael Levitt, Cynthia Breazeal, Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Joel Mokyr

moderator • Leila Janah

• 1:00 – 2:00 pm | lunch

afternoon sessions

track 1

• 2:00 pm | panel — The future of human + computer interaction?

panelists • Barbara Grosz, Cynthia Breazeal, Sherry Turkle, Guru Banavar

moderator • Stuart Russell

• 3:00 pm | panel — The future development of artificial intelligence?

panelists • Barbara Grosz, Michael Levitt, Stuart Russell, Harry Shum

moderator • Max Tegmark

track 2

• 2:00 pm | panel — The future of knowledge?

panelists • Randy Schekman, Ray Kurzweil, Joel Mokyr, David Autor

moderator • Helga Nowotny

• 3:00 pm | panel — The future of learning?

panelists • Lars Borjesson, Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Pam Fredman, Carl Wieman, Brad Samargya

moderator • Helga Nowotny

track 3

• 2:00 pm | panel — The future of artificial perception, what can computers learn from humans?

panelists • Edvard Moser, Margaret Boden, May Britt Moser, Danica Kragic

moderator • Adam Smith

• 3:00 pm | panel — The future of work?

panelists • Robert J. Shiller, Joel Mokyr, David Autor, Leila Janah

moderator • Laura Sprechmann

• 3:45 – 4:15 pm | break

evening sessions

• 4:15 pm | panel — Intelligence in the light of art + science?

panelists • Olafur Eliasson, May Britt Moser

moderator • Max Tegmark

• 4:30 pm | panel — The future of creativity?

panelists • May Britt Moser, Edvard Moser, Randy Schekman, Michael Levitt, Robert J. Shiller, Carl Wieman

moderator • Adam Smith

• 5:00 pm | close

Nobel Prize | Nobel Week Dialog program

presenters from the day long event

panelists | participating Nobel laureates

May Britt Moser — Physiology or Medicine 2014

Edvard Moser — Physiology or Medicine 2014

Michael Levitt — Chemistry 2013

Randy Schekman — Physiology or Medicine 2013

Robert Shiller — Economic Sciences 2013

Carl Wieman — Physics 2001

featured presenters | world leading experts + inspiring thought leaders

Ray Kurzweil — futurist and a Director of Engineering at Google

Barbara Grosz — natural sciences, Harvard University

Max Tegmark — cosmologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Olafur Eliasson — renowned visual artist

Nobel Prize — Nobel Week Dialog | all presenters

Nobel Prize + BBC | Nobel Minds television show

laureates from 2015 round table discussion

Nobel Prize + BBC | The Nobel Minds television broadcast for the Nobel Prizes 2015. The 2015 Nobel laureates met at Grunewald Hall in the Stockholm Concert Hall in Stockholm, Sweden on December 11, 2015 for the annual round table discussion and TV program Nobel Minds.

The Nobel laureates in literature, economics, chemistry, medicine and physics discussed the discoveries for which they’ve been honored, how these can be applied in a practical way, and the role of science in today’s society. The show was hosted by Zeinab Badawi of the BBC.*

* BBC is the British Broadcasting Company

PBS | History, present and future of the Nobel Prizes

an episode of the PBS Digital Studios video series It’s ok to be smart

PBS Digital Studios | I’m Joe Hanson, PhD host of the PBS Digital Studios* video series and accompanying blog It’s ok to be smart.

This channel is all about science, the amazing universe we live in, and how science connects to every part of our life. In this episode, the history, present and future of the Nobel Prizes.

notes | on topic

background on PBS

PBS | main

PBS | YouTube channel

PBS Digital Studios | main

PBS Digital Studios | It’s ok to be smart

PBS Digital Studios | YouTube channel: main

PBS Digital Studios | YouTube channel: It’s ok to be smart

* PBS is the Public Broadcasting Service