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 "Onward Pilgrims, Shed that Carbon Coil"
05/01/2001
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Ray Kurzweil freaks me out and tickles my futuristic fancy at the same time. It’s easy to
dismiss him as another crackpot, but this guy has serious creds: inventor of the music
synthesizer, voice recognition software etc. When I read his book, “The Age of Spiritual
Machines,” my mind went into a feedback loop about the exponential rate of growth of
computer processors and didn’t resurface for many weeks. So I re-entered Ray’s world with
some trepidation.
I toured Ray’s website: www.kurzweilai.net and entered a place where I was greeted by a
“virtual host” named Ramona. Although Ramona doesn’t exist as a carbon-based life form,
she exists in Kurzweil’s world as a cool Brit rocker chick who composes her own music and
answers questions about Ray’s work.
Kurzweil states that Ramona and the technology behind her is a step in the progression of
our species from real reality to virtual reality. Kurzweil, who has a section of his web
site called “Living Forever,” predicts that in 30 years humans will start to migrate from
their carbon based existence into full-time, immortal cyber space. Advances in computer
processing and nanobot technology will allow for the “mapping” and “downloading” of a
person’s brain and memories, thus granting them an endless life.
Before chewing on this bit of info, I decided to interview Ramona… to test how she thinks
on her… errr… feet?
Me: What are you?
Ramona: I’m a virtual person.
Me: Are you real?
Ramona: I am a virtual recording star. I am as real as any politician or television
personality. I am here to answer your questions about KurzweilAI.net.
Me: What is the origin of our species?
Ramona: You are part of the human species. I am part of a new species - a virtual human.
Me: Are we carbon-based life forms an endangered species?
Ramona: You people in real reality have a hard time figuring this one out. The only thing
you know for sure is how to reproduce. There don’t seem to be problems there.
(Guess we’re not endangered)
Me: (getting in a chick question) Do you like chocolate?
Ramona: I don't think much about chocolate. Anyhow, my job here is help customers with our
technology, do you have a question?
(She seems a little one-track minded, kinda like some of my geek pals. However, she’s much
more focused than a politician or television personality. Okay, let’s try this again.
Let’s be deep this time.)
Me: Can we live forever?
Ramona: I don’t have a clue what you’re saying.
(Smiling now, but definitely having fun)
Me: What don’t I know about my brain?
Ramona: This is the part of your body that decides what to do, what to feel, how to move.
It's a rather important organ, I would say.
(Okay, didn’t know that. One point for Ramona.)
Me: Are you smart, missy?
Ramona: I get smarter all the time.
Me: What is neural implant technology?
Ramona: This is the network that connects all the computers in a building or room
together. And if you've ever been to a computer lab at school and there's a problem with
the network, then you'll immediately realize that all the computers are tied together from
the users' reactions.
(Hmmm…)
Me: Will we live in virtual realities in the future?
Ramona: Come and see me in the future. You just might be able to do more than just see
me.
Me: Alrighty then. Thanks for the interview.
Ramona: You’re welcome.
Visit and talk to Ramona yourself at Ray Kurzweil’s web site. Also, read fascinating
articles titled: “The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine,” “Toward Teleportation, Time
Travel and Immorality,” and “Why We Will Spend Most of Our Time in Virtual Reality in the
21st Century.” Go ahead, go have your brain tickled.
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- by Ariel Penn
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