The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI

by Ray Kurzweil

But a key issue remains: What happens between now and then? In a personal dialogue I had with Daniel Kahneman, he concurred with my view that information technology has been growing and will continue to grow exponentially in price-performance and capacity and that this will ultimately encompass physical products such as clothing and food. He also agreed that we are headed toward an era of abundance that will meet our physical needs and that the primary struggle will then be to satisfy higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy. However, he envisioned a protracted period of conflict, and even violence, between now and then. He pointed out that there will invariably be winners and losers as automation continues its impact. A driver losing his job is not going to be satisfied by the promise of humanity moving up the hierarchy of life, because he as an individual may not, in fact, be able to make that transition.