The Turing test and other assessments can reveal much about what it means to be human in a general way, but the technologies of the Singularity also compel us to ask what it means to be a particular human. Where does Ray Kurzweil fit into all this? Now, you may not care all that much about Ray Kurzweil; you care about yourself, so you can pose the same question about your own identity. But for me, why is Ray Kurzweil the center of my experience? Why am I this particular person? Why wasn’t I born in 1903 or 2003? Why am I a male or even a human? There is no scientific reason why this has to be
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