The Singularity Is Near

Ray Kurzweil (1948) is a futurist and computer scientist. Kurzweil’s parents emigrated from Austria to escape the Holocaust. In The Singularity Is Near, Kurzweil describes how his parents pushed him to have a liberal education that challenged him to think openly about the world and the people around him. Since his parents took him to a Unitarian church, Kurzweil was exposed to multiple religions. As a child, he became interested in the patterns he found among various religions. Kurzweil’s career is marked by a dedication to finding patterns, understanding how they develop, and thinking about the implications those patterns have for human life.

In 1970, Kurzweil obtained a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While an undergraduate at MIT, Kurzweil developed a computer program that matched students with potential colleges. Kurzweil sold the program for $100,000 and started his own computer company after college. Kurzweil’s company was responsible for major technological advancements, including the omni-font optical character recognition, text-to-speech synthesis, and flatbed scanning.

After selling his company to Xerox, Kurzweil participated in many other technological ventures. He developed music synthesizers that could produce the sound of real instruments and speech recognition systems. His company Kurzweil Education Systems, founded in 1996, focused on developing technologies for individuals with disabilities.