mailbagletterA bright future without aging, disability, and disease.

A dialogue with Ray Kurzweil.
March 30, 2021

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— contents —

~ letter
~ resources
~ reference
~ reading


— letter —

Dear Tyler,

Thanks for writing. We don’t often get to hear directly from somebody who’s dealing personally with autism. It’s quite a mysterious disability that seems to give some individuals amazing talents, but also can be a difficult struggle. In your own life, autism has given you a positive + interesting point-of-view.

I’m looking forward to the near future — we’ll know more about the brain, exploring it with powerful tools that can uncover its secrets. With a better understanding of the amazing human mind, we’ll be able to see how brain-based disabilities arise. Ultimately that means we’ll have cures, treatments, and prevention. One area of growing concern is traumatic brain injury and congenital brain damage. For example, concussion is a big focus in the public arena and scientifically debated — what is a safe limit to head trauma? This affects sports, transportation, maternity, recreation, and workplace safety.

You have a compelling perspective of how autism affects your abilities — you describe some heightened senses like focus. Plus cognitive abilities like problem solving, curiosity, and motivation — for example. And also how difficult it makes everyday activities like socializing. Obviously you’re the perfect candidate to track the progress of Neuralink — the company by entrepreneur + innovator Elon Musk. They’re trying to make sensors that can probe the brain’s anatomical tissue, to see precisely how it functions. And in real-time, eventually.

You mentioned one day you’d like to study your own brain using Neuralink. That actually seems realistic. The joint fields of science research + tech development are making huge strides. Before we know it, breakthroughs will arise that we’re not expecting. That’s how progress develops: slowly at first, and then a quickening occurs, and then a fast expansion. Suddenly we have doors opening to whole new realms of knowledge and capability.

Many disabilities like blindness, deafness, learning difficulties — can be overcome in large part by devices in the field called assistive technology. This tech can repair, replace, or support lost senses + cognitive abilities. But one day soon — like we see now with robotic prosthetics — tech will augment the human body. Eventually making handicaps + disabilities obsolete.

— Ray Kurzweil


— letter —

Dear Ray,

I’m 20 years old and I’m interested in life extension. Death is a great loss of life and human knowledge. We should all work together to improve and expand ourselves as much as possible. Someday soon we’ll be able to upload our brains — and live forever even after our bodies decline. We’ll be able reverse aging. Even with all the problems in the world, this is an awesome time to be alive.

One of my all-time favorite reads is your book the Singularity Is Near — because it talks about the amazing changes coming to humanity and the coming singularity. Life will be completely different — like never before. We need to increase our own cognitive capabilities — because software AI will become more intelligent than us.

The book predicts that AI will surpass us by year 2029. I’m preparing for this time by bettering myself + learning. I want to merge my consciousness with the cloud. I’m excited about projects like Neuralink from Elon Musk. I want to volunteer for research + experiments using Neuralink. Using that kind of tech we’ll be able to cure many cognitive disorders including autism.

I’m autistic and it’s been both a curse and a blessing. I’m talented in some areas — and in some ways I struggle. For example, I’m not social like other people. But I believe my autism has given me tenacity, and more focus compared to most people. I want to have a positive impact on the planet, as much I can. I don’t give-up as easily as many people I’ve met. Despite my issues with autism, I’m deeply into being a master of my own mind and I’m really driven to achieve.

Being autistic helps me look into things with a lot of curiosity. I look forward to growing my connections and making new friends. I love tech — I’m positive about a future with more knowledge and abundance. We should all come together to build a better tomorrow.

I love all your work — the assistive technology for the blind + disabled, electronic music keyboards, and books. You’re a lifetime advocate for ending aging, disability, and disease. It’s an exciting journey ahead. We’ll see a lot less suffering.

Tyler


resources


For longevity.

1. |

group: SENS Research Foundation
tag line: re-imagine aging
web: home ~ channel

— about —

SENS Research Foundation works to develop, promote, and ensure widespread access to therapies that cure + prevent aging. We’re changing the way the world treats aging, and inspiring the next generation of bio-medical scientists.


For autism.

1. |

group: Autism Speaks
tag line: Enhancing lives today and accelerating a spectrum of solutions for tomorrow.
web: home ~ channel

2. |

group: the National Autistic Society
tag line: We’re here to transform lives, change attitudes, and create a society that works for autistic people.
web: home ~ channel


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reference


1. |

name: Elon Musk
bio: A pioneering entrepreneur who co-founded + leads many high-tech companies.
read | bio

 

company: Tesla
about: Electric cars, giant batteries, and solar. Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
web: home ~ channel

company: SpaceX
about: Designing, manufacturing, and launching the world’s most advanced rockets + spacecraft.
web: home ~ channel

company: Neuralink
about: Developing ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans + computers.
web: home ~ channel

company: the Boring co.
about: Constructing safe, fast-to-dig, and low-cost transportation, utility, and freight tunnels.
web: home ~ channel

company: PayPal
about: The world’s leading web payment system.
web: home ~ channel

company: Zip2
about: One of the first web maps services.
web: home


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watching


group: Neuralink
tag line: Breakthrough technology for the brain.
web: home ~ channel

1. |

featurette title: progress update
about: The latest from the forefront of neural engineering.
watch | featurette
2. |

featurette title: Neuralink launch event
about: Neuralink is developing high-bandwidth brain-machine interfaces.
watch | featurette
3. |

featurette title: introducing Neuralink
about: An intro to Neuralink, with special thanks to the nano-fabrication lab at the Univ. of California. | link
watch | featurette

 


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reading


 

publication: Spectrum
tag line: Informing you about major trends + developments in tech, engineering, and science.
web: home ~ channel

blog: the Human OS
tag line: A blog on bio engineering, wearable sensors, big data analytics, implanted devices, personalized medicine.
web: blog

 

presented by

group: IEEE
tag line: The world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of tech.
web: home ~ channel

 

1. |

story title: Elon Musk announces Neuralink advance toward syncing our brains with AI
read | story

Elon Musk’s company Neuralink demonstrates fully implantable chip in pigs.

 

2. |

story title: How do neural implants work?
read | story

— summary —

Neural implants are used for deep brain stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, and mind-controlled prostheses.

 

presented by

group: IEEE
tag line: The world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology.
web: home ~ channel


— notes —

AI = artificial intelligence
OS = operating system

IEEE = Institute of Electrical + Electronics Engineers
SENS = Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence