By Mark O’Neill

Doctor Ray Kurzweil is no ordinary predictor of the future. He doesn’t just make up random predictions and cross his fingers, hoping they come true. He has actually made some predictions that have been mostly spot-on.

For example, back in the 1980’s, he predicted the rapid growth of the internet in the 1990’s and a computer chess champion by 1998 (it was actually 1997 with Deep Blue so he was one year off). He also predicted a handheld device for blind people by 2008. Last Thursday night at the World Science Festival, he produced it (I tried searching for it and it may be this but I am not sure).

But now he has made three new predictions that I have found fascinating and I wonder if they will come true :

• Within 10 years, there will be a drug that lets you eat whatever you want without gaining weight.
• Within 20 years all our energy will come from clean sources.
• And the best one of all – “Are you depressed by the prospect of dying? Well, if you can hang on another 15 years, your life expectancy will keep rising every year faster than you’re aging. And then, before the century is even half over, you can be around for the Singularity, that revolutionary transition when humans and/or machines start evolving into immortal beings with ever-improving software”.

What do you think? Do the predictions sound credible to you?

Doctor Kurzweil – visionary or dreamer? You decide.

Via New York Times