The Singularity Is Nearer

The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI is a 2024 non-fiction book by futurist Ray Kurzweil. It is the sequel to his 2005 bestseller book The Singularity Is Near. The book was released on June 25, 2024. He reiterates two key dates from his previous book, which predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) would reach human intelligence by 2029 and merge with humans by 2045, an event he calls "The Singularity."

Content
In an interview with societyforscience and ScienceNews, Kurzweil said that the book will contain a chapter "that shows ...how dramatically every aspect of human life has improved over the decades and over the centuries".

Kurzweil only mentions OpenAI twice, suggesting he sees it as a blip in the larger story of human history.

He explained, "Some people find this frightening. But [The Singularity] is going to be beautiful and will expand our consciousness in ways we can barely imagine, like a person who is deaf hearing the most exquisite symphony for the first time."

Development
The book was initially scheduled to be released in 2021, but was delayed until 2022, and then 2024.