A futurist discusses the coming merger of human biology and our technologies, exponential advancements in life genomics and life expectancy, and more efficient use of resources and energy.

Topics include:
• augmented neurological computers and memory
• devices that let blind people read text in any environment
• genomics increasing life expectancy by more than a year, every year
• nanotechnology that can assist and replace white blood cells
• transportation and replication of our biological memories
• artificial intelligence
• solar energy advancements and the coming switch once fossil fuel costs exceed it

Science Friday excerpt: Futurist Ray Kurzweil explains the idea of the "singularity" — what happens when technology advances so much that it's impossible to predict what happens next. Will artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and biotechnology be able to completely reshape what it means to be human?

Puppet Master: It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system. So, man is an individual only because of his intangible memory... and memory cannot be defined, but it defines mankind. The advent of computers, and the subsequent accumulation of incalculable data has given rise to a new system of memory and thought parallel to your own. Humanity has underestimated the consequences of computerization.