I read The Age of Spiritual Machines quite a while back and it was obvious at the time that Kurzweil’s predictions were pretty far fetched, but they were also very far reaching, thought provoking, and sparked much internal (and external) debate within me. I am not someone who takes much part in tech communities outside of this one so I don’t know what circles you are referring to. But yeah: Kurzweil makes some predictions that don’t come true. It’s been a long time, and it is quite possible that I’m misremembering, or viewing through rose tinted glasses, so please take my follow up question at face value: So what? What’s the harm? If one thing stuck with me from that book, it is that deep gut-level social understanding of the tech we create lags far behind the creation of the tech itself. In a world of personalization algorithms and addiction under the guise of engagement, isn’t that lesson more relevant than ever?

Edit: I’m reading some of the criticisms of Kurzweil’s claims in the article. It is clear that he was wrong about growth rates in many areas and about life expectancy growing unbounded. Perhaps my skepticism kept me from taking these claims at face value at any point. Perhaps it is dangerous for someone to be making these claims to the public. I am not sure.