The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI

by Ray Kurzweil

One of the most important transitions arising from the exponential progress of the 2020s is in energy, because energy powers everything else. Solar photovoltaics are already cheaper than fossil fuels in many cases, with costs rapidly declining. But we need advances in materials science to achieve further improvements in cost-efficiency. AI-assisted breakthroughs in nanotechnology will increase cell efficiency by enabling photovoltaic cells to capture energy from more of the electromagnetic spectrum. Exciting developments are underway in this area. Putting tiny structures called nanotubes and nanowires inside solar cells can steadily improve their ability to absorb photons, transport electrons, and generate electric currents.[218] Likewise, placing nanocrystals (including quantum dots) inside cells can increase the amount of electricity generated per photon of sunlight absorbed.[219] Another nanomaterial called black silicon has a surface composed of a vast number of atomic-scale needles smaller than the wavelength of light.[220] This nearly eliminates reflections from a cell, ensuring that more of the incoming photons create electricity. Princeton researchers have developed an alternative method of maximizing electricity by using a nanoscale mesh of gold atoms just 30 billionths of a meter thick to trap photons and increase efficiency.[221] Meanwhile, a project at MIT has created photovoltaic cells from sheets of graphene, a special form of carbon that is only one atom thi...