91导航

Each year, 91导航 hosts signature events that honor our alumni and provide opportunities to learn from their experiences and insights. At one event, we heard from听inventor, author and futurist, Ray Kurzweil (STS 1965, ISEF 1965), who shared his insights on AI, technology and his latest book, 鈥�.鈥�听

, Publisher of opened the conversation by asking Ray when he first knew he wanted to be an inventor. Ray traces those pivotal moments back to the influence of his great-grandmother.听听

鈥淚n 1868, my great-grandmother started a school that allowed women to go from kindergarten through the 14th grade,鈥� Ray said. 鈥淭his was very significant because if you were lucky enough to get an education at all in 19th-century Europe, it would only be through the ninth grade.鈥� 听Ray said his great-grandmother鈥檚 daughter鈥攈is听grandmother鈥攚as one of the first women to earn a doctorate in chemistry. She took over the school and ran it for 70 years between 1868 and 1938鈥攖he beginning of World War II.听听

鈥淲hen I was about six years old, she showed me a typewriter,鈥� Ray said. 鈥淚 was very interested in manuals and here was a device you could put a blank piece of paper in and make it look like it came from a book.鈥� His grandmother鈥檚 introduction to the听typewriter snowballed, and Ray鈥檚 interest in inventing took off. He said he collected parts from broken bicycles and radios and was studying how they were put together.听听

鈥淚f I could just figure out how to put them together, I could solve any problem. I could make people live longer and help them overcome disease.鈥澨�听

Ray invented the first charged-coupled device (CCD) flatbed scanner, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, and the first music synthesizer capable of recreating a grand piano and other orchestral instruments.听听听

Later,听Michael asked Ray how futurism relates to being an inventor.听听

Ray noted that this was about imagining how the world could change and what might be possible in the future. For an inventor, it means looking ahead, not just at what people need now, but at what they might need five or ten years from now. Presenting the chart below, Ray talked about exponential thinking and how it has impacted mankind.听听

The chart traced 85 years of computer history, showing how past听advancements connect to AI鈥檚听 future impact on society.听Ray described his predictions for AI as conservative, expecting that by 2030, AI will be able to process all of human knowledge.听鈥淐omputers are language models that can handle everything human beings know,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can ask it anything; no human being can do that, and we鈥檙e coming up with things we didn鈥檛 know before.鈥澨�听

Ray then emphasized that AI is not 鈥渁rtificial鈥� but is real intelligence. It is knowledge we can apply directly to our thinking, just as we quickly get answers from our phones. Ray pointed out the rise in social media influencers, which didn鈥檛 even exist two decades ago, as evidence that AI will create new opportunities and possibilities. That people will become smarter.听听

Addressing questions about AI鈥檚 risks, including the so-called 鈥淧(doom).鈥� Ray argued that history shows technological progress expands opportunity for humanity rather than diminishes it.听 听

鈥淭his concern started 200 years ago,鈥� Ray said. 鈥淭wenty years ago, people thought that employment would only be enjoyed by a few people, but employment has gone up and we鈥檙e doing things you couldn鈥檛 even imagine 20 years ago.鈥澨�听

To watch and learn more about alum Ray Kurzweil, you can find the video and profile here.听听