World Problems Solved by NASA/Google ‘Singularity University’?
Ray Kurzweil answered questions at the NASA Ames Research Center for the first day of Singularity University, in an “intimate conversation” where he argued the existing IT tools for disruptive change could address the problems of humanity. (Example: using nanotechnology to harness solar power or build housing in the third world.) Backed by Google and NASA, the university ultimately had 1400 students applying for just 40 spots.
Founder Peter Diamandis explained their “benign conspiracy”, saying they were chosen because they were 1) smart, 2) leaders, and 3) interested in solving big issues. Kurzweil agreed, saying “What we’re trying to create here is a new community that will sustain itself after it’s separated
physically.” Also speaking: the president of the International Space University, saying “it’s these teams that make the world a better place, so that we can leave our cradle.”
And Kurzweil noted the wisdom of crowds harnesses inate emotional wisdom, saying the same decentralized communication that helped speed the break up of the Soviet Union is at work today in both China and Iran.
“There are 100 million blogs in China…half the farmers in China have devices they can take out of their pocket to communicate with everybody else in the world and access all of human knowledge.”
