It wasn’t until Ray Kurzweil’s 2005 book, The Singularity Is Near, however, that the public started becoming more interested in the theory. In his book, Kurzweil predicts the technological singularity is very much on the horizon and will occur by 2045.

In this new world, Kurzweil believes there will be no clear distinction between human and machine or real reality and virtual reality. In practical terms, his prediction will mean the end of human aging and illness, pollution, world hunger and poverty. In 2012, Kurzwell joined Google as director of engineering, where he will work on machine learning and language processing.

The Singularity refers to a theoretical moment in the near future when computers will become smarter than humans. With technology rapidly advancing and becoming more sophisticated by the day, futurists argue a tipping point is nearing. More specifically, it’s the point when computer intelligence exceeds that of human intelligence and when the human brain can no longer predict the future because this new form of super-computer intelligence will be beyond its capacity to understand. […]