January 21–28, 1999

six pick

Ray Kurzweil

In these days of invasive surveillance cameras, aging nuclear power plants and Y2K disaster scenarios, few people are as enthusiastic about modern technology as Ray Kurzweil. He's the well-decorated inventor of things such as reading machines and voice recognition programs that benefit blind and otherwise challenged people, and a visionary who's got his eye on the future solutions to humanity's age-old problems. He says we're entering "The Age of Spiritual Machines," and some of what he predicts is undeniably wonderful—like robotic devices that allow paraplegics to walk. But he also sees the 21st century as a time when neural implants improve human intelligence as we begin to merge with our technology and head toward what he's calling our "post-biological future."

-Patrick Rapa

Tue., Jan. 26, 8 p.m., $8, Free Library of Philadelphia, 19th and Vine Sts., 215-569-9700.