WAMU 88.5 : The Diane Rehm Show

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Ray Kurzweil: "How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed" (Rebroadcast)

Inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil has long predicted humans will one day be able to transcend the limitations of their biology. In a new book, Kurzweil explains why that day is coming sooner than we might think. He argues that the expansion of the brain's neocortex was the last biological evolution man needed to make. That's because it is inevitably leading to "truly intelligent machines," which Kurzweil calls the last invention that humanity needs to make. Join Diane and Ray Kurzweil for a discussion on prospects for attaining immortality through technology.

Photo Gallery: Computer Simulations Of The Nervous System

Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from "How to Create a Mind." Copyright © Ray Kurzweil, 2012.

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In this 2005 TED talk, inventor, entrepreneur and visionary Ray Kurzweil explains in abundant, grounded detail why, by the 2020s, we will have reverse-engineered the human brain and nanobots will be operating your consciousness.

Read An Excerpt

Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from "How to Create a Mind." Copyright © Ray Kurzweil, 2012.

NPR

Meet London's Master Architects In Jell-0

London duo Sam Bompas and Harry Parr have made names for themselves with their wild, experimental food installations. From pineapple islands and banana vapors to re-creations of famous architectural monuments, their work playfully pushes the boundary of how we experience food.
NPR

Meet London's Master Architects In Jell-0

London duo Sam Bompas and Harry Parr have made names for themselves with their wild, experimental food installations. From pineapple islands and banana vapors to re-creations of famous architectural monuments, their work playfully pushes the boundary of how we experience food.
NPR

Stunned By Military Sex Scandals, Advocates Demand Changes

As the nation prepares to mark Memorial Day, outrage has been building on Capitol Hill and beyond over the military's failure to repair a system that has placed service members in more danger of sexual assault than of battlefield injury.
NPR

Google Reportedly Faces FTC Antitrust Probe Over Display Ads

The Federal Trade Commission is in the early stages of opening an antitrust probe into how Google runs its online display advertising business, according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing sources who want to remain anonymous because the FTC has not announced the probe.

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