Q+A: Director of "Transcendent Man," a Documentary on the Singularity
Posted by Alex_Pasternack on Tuesday, Feb 22, 2011
The Singularity is near, but nearer are two documentaries about it. Ray Kurzweil, the inventor and godfather of biological transcendence, has made his own; another one, about Kurzweil’s life, “Transcendent Man,” premiered at Sundance. Jason Silva, the Current TV host, speaks to mind-melds with Barry Ptolemy, the director of “Transcendent Man,” about the promise of having films piped into your brain, and why people just don’t get it.
People have always been frightened of new technologies. We had a Luddite movement that came about in the late 19th century that thought that technology was going to rob them of their livelihood. Technology is always a double-edged sword. But if you were to go out on the street, and ask anybody walking down the sidewalk about technology – if you were to ask the village idiot about technology – they would say it helps us.
See our documentary about Kurzweil and the singularity – or, for another perspective, our piece on the people who are allergic to electricity.
“Transcendent Man” trailer:
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