Transcendent Man

For the 1953 science fiction novel, see The Transcendent Man.

Transcendent Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Barry Ptolemy
Produced by	Barry Ptolemy Felicia Ptolemy
Starring	Ray Kurzweil
Cinematography	Shawn Dufraine
Edited by	Meg Decker Doobie White
Music by	Philip Glass
Production companies	Ptolemaic Productions Therapy Studios
Distributed by	Docurama
Country	United States
Language	English

Transcendent Man is a 2009 documentary film by American filmmaker Barry Ptolemy about inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil and his predictions about the future of technology in his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near. In the film, Ptolemy follows Kurzweil around the world as he discusses his thoughts on the technological singularity, a proposed advancement that will occur sometime in the 21st century when progress in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics will result in the creation of a human-machine civilization.

William Morris Endeavor distributed the film partnership with Ptolemaic Productions and Therapy Studios, using an original model involving a nationwide screening tour of the film (featuring Q&A sessions with Ptolemy and Kurzweil), as well as separate digital and DVD releases. The film was also released on iTunes and On-Demand on March 1st, 2011, and on DVD on May 24th, 2011.

Synopsis

Raymond Kurzweil, noted inventor and futurist, is a man who refuses to accept the inevitability of physical death. He proposes that the Law of Accelerating Returns—the exponential increase in the growth of information technology—will result in a "singularity", a point where humanity and machines will merge, allowing one to transcend biological mortality: advances in genetics will provide the knowledge to reprogram biology, eliminate disease and stop the aging process; nanotechnology will keep humans healthy from the inside using robotic red blood cells and provide a human-computer interface within the brain; robotics, or artificial intelligence, will make superhuman intelligence possible, including the ability to backup the mind.

Against this optimistic backdrop of human and machine evolution, concerns about Kurzweil's predictions are raised by technology experts, philosophers, and commentators. Physician William B. Hurlbut warns of tragedy and views Kurzweil's claims as lacking a more moderate approach necessitated by biological science. AI engineer Ben Goertzel champions the transhumanist vision, but acknowledges the possibility of a dystopian outcome. AI researcher Hugo de Garis warns of a coming "Artilect War", where god-like artificial intellects and those who want to build them, will fight against those who don't. Kevin Warwick, professor of Cybernetics at University of Reading, advocates the benefits of the singularity, but suggests the Terminator scenario could also occur. Dean Kamen observes that advances in technology have finally made immortality a reasonable goal.

Cast

• Tom Abate, Technology Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle.
• Hugo De Garis, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematical Physics, Xiamen University.
• Peter Diamandis, Chairman, X Prize Foundation.
• Neil Gershenfeld, Director, Center for Bits and Atoms, MIT.
• Ben Goertzel, Artificial Intelligence Engineer.
• William Hurlbut, Consulting Professor in the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University.
• Kevin Kelly, Co-founder, Wired.
• Aaron Kleiner
• Hannah Kurzweil, mother of Ray Kurzweil
• Ray Kurzweil
• Sonya R. Kurzweil, wife of Ray Kurzweil
• Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet, founder of 3Com, and one of first students at DEC.
• Chuck Missler, Technologist/Koinonia Institute
• Colin Powell, retired four-star general in the United States Army.
• Steve Rabinowitz, college friend from MIT.
• Philip Rosedale, creator of Second Life
• William Shatner
• Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, University of Reading.
• Stevie Wonder

Music

American composer Philip Glass scored the original soundtrack for the film. In addition to the Transcendent Man score, other music from Glass's collection was included in the soundtrack.

• "A Brief History of Time"
• "Koyaanisqatsi"
• "Kyoko's House" (from Mishima)
• "Religion" (from Naqoyqatsi)
• ""Satyagraha Act III" (Conclusion)
• "Symphony No. 3"
• "The Thin Blue Line"
• "Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra"

Release

The Transcendent Man tour visited five major cities in the U.S., as well as London. These screenings featured question and answer sessions with director Barry Ptolemy and Ray Kurzweil following the film, as well as V.I.P. receptions.

Ptolemaic Productions and Therapy Studios have pursued an alternative distribution strategy for Transcendent Man, going through the Global and Music departments of agency William Morris Endeavor to partner with iTunes and Media-on-Demand for a March 1st, 2011 digital release and with New Media for a May 24th, 2011 DVD release. Mrketing made use of social media and emerging technologies like QR codes to appeal to a tech-savvy audience.

Ray Kurzweil being interviewed by Barry Ptolemy on the set of Transcendent Man.

Reception

The film debuted for the first public screening at the Time-Life Building in New York City on February 3rd, 2011. The same week TIME magazine ran the Singularity cover story by Lev Grossman with coverage about Kurzweil's ideas and the concepts citing Transcendent Man. Both Kurzweil and Ptolemy toured with the film appearing on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg News and The Charlie Rose Show. Additionally, Kurzweil went on to discuss the film on The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Criticism

One common criticism of Kurzweil's final prediction is that he does not consider that new technologies are never universally and immediately adopted due to the laws of economics. Start-up costs and economies of scale mean that initially transhumanist technology would be prohibitively expensive for most people. This would cause the wealthy, first adopters of brain enhancing technology to be transcendental above the less fortunate. One response to this criticism uses the technology of the automobile as an example. Even though a rich person might drive an expensive Rolls-Royce, cheaper alternatives are available that perform the same task. In other words, no matter how much two cars differ in price, their function is virtually identical. One important element of Kurzweil's singularity, is that the cost will come down to virtually nothing.

Kurzweil readily defends AI as being controllable against malicious behavior, which he accepts is a definite threat. He never, on the other hand, confronts the obvious dangers of AI fusing with the first humans.

External links

• Official website
• Transcendent Man at IMDb