Tags for this video have been changed from 'memristor, integrated circuit, Ray Kurzweil, nano, technology, future, incredible, tech' to 'memristor, integrated circuit, Stan William, nano, technology, future, incredible, tech' - edited by MycroftHomlz

The film includes interviews by top experts and thinkers on the subject worldwide, including Marvin Minsky, Terence McKenna, Hans Moravec, Bruce Sterling, Robert Anton Wilson, Richard Seed, Margareth Wertheim, Kirkpatrick Sale, Ralph C. Merkle, Mark Pesce, Ray Kurzweil, Rabbi Youssouf Kazen, Rael and many others.

Part 1: Transhuman
Part 1 gives an overview of recent technological developments (biogenetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, implants, nanotechnology,…) and prognoses made by leading scientists about the impact of these developments in the near future.

Part 2: Preparing for the Singularity
In this part advocates and opponents of a transhuman future are weighed against each other; prognoses are done when we can expect the transhuman revolution and how people are preparing for it already now.

Part 3: The Metaphysics of Technology
This part covers the metaphysical consequences of the new technological revolution. On the one hand scientist start to use metaphysical concepts to describe the impact of their research, on the other hand, a surprisingly large number of scientific projects is inspired by religious aspirations and more and more theologians from any religious or spiritual belief are getting interested in these aspirations of new technology, making the discussion inextricable complex.

Lol. So that's why Ray Kurzweil's books have Hello Kitty on the book covers.

In reply to this comment by choggie:
this kind of thing happens as you get closer to the singularity.....thank you Horlich and Jaimie, for reminding us all....

Of, course I'm just being silly.
But seriously, for Michio Kaku, and Ray Kurzweil, two individuals for whom my respect for each independently approaches a kind of singularity in and of itself, to begin to come togther ideologically... That's like some kind of Epic Level Geek Porn right there.

This is taken from The Singularity Summit symposium hosted by Stanford University, where a good number of speakers about this topic gave keynote addresses. My goal was to have them all posted in the same place, in order for people to easily find them, and I was in the process of doing just that, but due to the queue, Sunkid got to this one first. Here's the rest of the info I already had prepared to go along with this.

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Eliezer Yudkowsky - The Human Importance of the Intelligence Explosion (Full Title)

The Singularity Summit symposium hosted by Stanford University was a series keynote addresses given with the purpose of addressing the very real implications that the Singularity may hold in the near future in an academic setting, and (without being too melodramatic on my part) to question what the very fate of the human species may be in the 21st century.

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Here are the rest of the keynote videos that go along with this, in the order that they were given at the event.

Ray Kurzweil - The Singularity: A Hard or Soft Takeoff?
http://www.videosift.com/video/Ray-Kurzweil-The-Singularity-A-Hard-or-Soft-Takeoff

Douglas R. Hofstadter - Trying to Muse Rationally about the Singularity Scenario
http://www.videosift.com/video/Douglas-Hofstadter-Musing-Rationally-about-the-Singularity

Nick Bostrom - Artificial Intelligence and Existential Risks
http://www.videosift.com/video/Nick-Bostrom-Artificial-Intelligence-and-Existential-Risks

Sebastian Thrun - Toward Human-Level Intelligence in Autonomous Cars
http://www.videosift.com/video/Sebastian-Thrun-Human-Level-Intelligent-in-Autonomous-Cars

Cory Doctorow - Singularity or Dark Age?
http://www.videosift.com/video/Cory-Doctorow-Singularity-or-Dark-Age

K. Eric Drexler - Productive Nanosystems: Toward a Super-Exponential Threshold in Physical Technology
http://www.videosift.com/video/Eric-Drexler-Productive-Nanosystems

Max More - Cognitive and Emotional Singularities: Will Superintelligence come with Superwisdom?
http://www.videosift.com/video/Max-More-Will-Superintelligence-come-with-Superwisdom

Christine L. Peterson - Bringing Humanity and the Biosphere through the Singularity
http://www.videosift.com/video/Christine-Peterson-Humanity-Biosphere-the-Singularity

John Smart - Searching for the Big Picture: Systems Theories of Accelerating Change
http://www.videosift.com/video/John-Smart-Systems-Theories-of-Accelerating-Change

Eliezer Yudkowsky - The Human Importance of the Intelligence Explosion
http://www.videosift.com/video/Eliezer-Yudkowsky-The-Intelligence-Explosion-and-Humanity

Bill McKibben - Being Good Enough
http://www.videosift.com/video/Bill-McKibben-Being-Good-Enough

Ray Kurzweil - Stanford Singularity Summit: Closing Thoughts
http://www.videosift.com/video/Ray-Kurzweil-Stanford-Singularity-Summit-Closing-Thoughts

This is great. I agree with his sentiment- the need for more debate with futurists and singularitatians. Funnily enough, I actually send Hofstadter an email in 2004 and he sent me a copy of the chapter that he had written for a book to be published by the oxford university press. It's great that he is still thinking and speaking about this topic, and basically saying what I expected him to say: "Calm down! You guys need to have more critical minds looking at this"

He asked me not to share his response, as the book was at that time yet to be published, but my question to him was thus:

Greetings Professor Hofstadter,

I'm a fan of yours, and not currently an AI researcher, for some reason that is outside the scope of this email.

I read GEB:EGB compulsively in highschool and have since bought 6 copies and given them to many friends. I've also read Metamagical Themas many times, and your magnificent Le Tombeau De Marot. Several years ago, I discovered a crackpot who claims to be a fan of yours by the name of Eliezer Yudkowsky, spouting off at great length about the forthcoming Singularity. The subject has captivated my imagination, despite its trappings of fanatacism, and I've luckily discovered slightly less crackpot adherents since that time. In particular I find Ray Kurzweil and Hans Morevac convincing.

I am very interested to know what your thoughts are on the singularity, and if you think that predictions of an asymptotic ascension of technology in our near future are realistic.

I suppose I shouldn't assume that you are familiar with all of this 'crazy-talk' so here are a few links:
http://yudkowsky.net/singularity.html
http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0134.html?printable=1

If you have any comments, or better, if you have written any articles concerning this subject, I'd very much like to read them.

You should check out Ray Kurzweil's and Eric Dexler's keynotes as well if you liked this one, they were my favorites of the whole event.