About This Episode

Earlier this year, Neil deGrasse Tyson interviewed noted futurist and inventor, Ray Kurzweil, as part of the 92nd Street Y “7 Days of Genius” series. Now you can listen to that interview without having to travel back in time to the upper east side of New York City. But travel you will, into the future, thanks to a man the Wall Street Journal called a “restless genius.” Discover why Ray predicts that computers will reach the level of human intelligence by 2029, and what that really means. Explore the development of the human neocortex 2 million years ago, with its 300 million modules that enabled humanity to invent language, physics, art and music. And find out why, in the future, we may expand our neocortex again via nano-robots that will connect our brains seamlessly to the cloud, enabling a new leap forward in human intelligence. You’ll learn about the revolutions in biotechnology and nanotechnology that will eventually enable us to live longer, lose weight easier, and fight off pathogens like HIV and diseases like cancer. Neil and Ray also discuss immortality and the strain it would put on the planet’s resources like energy and water, Edward Snowden and concerns about the loss of privacy vs. the desire for security, the benefits of biotechnology vs. concerns about bioterrorism, and fictional depictions of dystopian artificial intelligence run amok.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: A Conversation with Ray Kurzweil