The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI

by Ray Kurzweil

Our natural immune system, which includes T cells that can intelligently destroy hostile microorganisms, is very effective for many types of pathogens—so much so that we would not live long without it. However, it evolved in an era when food and resources were very limited and most humans had short life spans. If early humans reproduced when young and then died in their twenties, evolution had no reason to favor mutations that could have strengthened the immune system against threats that mainly appear later in life, like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases (often caused by misfolded proteins called prions). Likewise, because many viruses come from livestock, our evolutionary ancestors who existed before animal domestication did not evolve strong defenses against them.[288] Nanorobots not only will be programmed to destroy all types of pathogens but will be able to treat metabolic diseases. Except for the heart and the brain, our major internal organs put substances into the bloodstream or remove them, and many diseases result from their malfunction. For example, type 1 diabetes is caused by failure of the pancreatic islet cells to produce insulin.[289] Medical nanorobots will monitor the blood supply and increase or decrease various substances, including hormones, nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and toxins, thus augmenting or even replacing the function of the organs. Using these technologies, by the end of the 2030s we will largely be able to overcome diseases and t...