Explore Topics:
AIBiotechnologyRoboticsComputingFutureScienceSpaceEnergyTech

Is Kurzweil’s New Movie a Dud or a Must-See?

Aaron Saenz
Apr 25, 2010
singularity-is-near-movie

Share

singularity-is-near-movie

The battle lines are already being drawn around Ray Kurzweil's new documentary. The Singularity is Near, based on the book of the same name, discusses the future of accelerating technology while presenting a fictional narrative about an artificial intelligence based on Kurzweil himself. We were very sad to miss the movie's Sonoma Film Festival debut on April 16th, but there are two reputable reviews of the premier and the panel discussion that followed. Sonoma News was less than flattering of Kurzweil's film, calling it narcissistic and self-congratulatory, comparing it unfavorably to a documentary about Wavy Gravy the clown. H+ Magazine, a futurist site of some renown, praised the film as a "total blast to sit through." Maybe there's little surprise that a singularity-friendly site enjoyed the movie while a traditional media source was turned off by it. Yet if the documentary is supposed to proselytize, as so much of Kurzweil's work seems aimed at doing, shouldn't we worry more about what the traditional movie reviewers think?

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

I've read The Singularity is Near, I've watched a lot of Kurzweil's presentations, and I keep track of his predictions. While I understand why, financially, I should be the documentary's target audience, philosophically it doesn't make much sense - I'm already interested in the Singularity. That's why it's disappointing to see Sonoma News prefer the loving tribute to Wavy Gravy rather than a serious film about the future. Admittedly anybody might have lost to the "clown" because he is a a truly phenomenal social commentator, but c'mon, we're talking about new forms of (artificial) life here! Will the film be unappealing to an average viewer? We probably won't know for certain until the final cut makes it to theaters. In the meantime, I would love for anyone who attended the Sonoma Film Festival premier to tell us what they thought of the movie in the comments below. Is this a film to bring the Singularity to the masses or is it a total dud? Or is it just a nice romp for those of us who are already fascinated by the concept? Let me know.

[image credit: Sonoma News]
[source: Sonoma News, HPlus Magazine]

Related Articles

New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery

New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery

Shyam Balaji
A tangled network of the brain's neurons and their connecting dendrites

Each of the Brain’s Neurons Is Like Multiple Computers Running in Parallel

Shelly Fan
A colorful digital design on a black background.

This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through April 19)

SingularityHub Staff
New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery
Space

New Form of Dark Matter Could Solve Decades-Old Milky Way Mystery

Shyam Balaji
A tangled network of the brain's neurons and their connecting dendrites
Science

Each of the Brain’s Neurons Is Like Multiple Computers Running in Parallel

Shelly Fan
A colorful digital design on a black background.

This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through April 19)

SingularityHub Staff

What we’re reading

Be Part of the Future

Sign up to receive top stories about groundbreaking technologies and visionary thinkers from SingularityHub.

100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time.

SingularityHub chronicles the technological frontier with coverage of the breakthroughs, players, and issues shaping the future.

Follow Us On Social

About

  • About Hub
  • About Singularity

Get in Touch

  • Contact Us
  • Pitch Us
  • Brand Partnerships

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2025 Singularity