内容简介
RayKurzweil,calleda"restlessgenius"byTheWallStreetJournal,isresponsibleforsomeofthemostcompellingtechnologyofourera.ThebrainsbehindtheKurzweilReadingMachine(whichhelpsStevieWonderreadhismail),theKurzweilsynthesizer,andthevoice-recognitionprogramthatappearsonWindows98,heisalsoaformidablethinkerwhoadecadeagopredictedtheemergenceoftheWorldWideWebandthatacomputerwouldbeattheworldchesschampion.Finally,someonewiththeauthoritytospeakaboutthefuturealsohasthecourageandimaginationtodoso.TheAgeofSpiritualMachinesisnolistofpredictionsbutaframeworkforenvisioningthe21stcenturyinwhichoneadvanceorinventionleadsinexorablytoanother.Afterestablishingthattechnologyisgrowingexponentially,Kurzweilforecaststhatcomputerswillexceedthememorycapacityandcomputingspeedofthehumanbrainby2020,withtheotherattributesofhumanintelligencenotfarbehind.Bythattimeparaplegicswillbeabletowalkbyusingacombinationofnervestimulationandroboticdevices.Youwillbeabletochoosethepersonalityofyourautomatedcomputerassistant,whowillconductbusinessonyourbehalfwithotherautomatedpersonalities.Amerenineyearslater,youwillbeabletoenhanceyourintelligencewithneuralimplants.Theupshotisthathumanidentitywillbecalledintoquestionasneverbefore,asabillionyearsofevolutionaresupersededinamerehundredbymachinetechnologythatweourselveshavecreated.Wewillbecomecyborgs,butwhatwillcomputersbecome?
作者简介
WilliamGibsonWilliamGibson'sfeatofimagination,embodiedbytheseminal"cyberpunk"novelNeuromancerandsubsequentsci-fitechnotitles,wasinpresagingtheInformationAgeandcoiningsomeofitslanguageevenasheremainedatechnologicallaggardwhoeschewedcomputers.BiographySciencefictionowesanenormousdebttoWilliamGibson,thecyberpunkpioneerwhorevolutionizedthegenrewithhisstartlingstoriesoftough,alienatedlonersadriftinaworldofsinisterhightechnology.GibsonwasborninConway,SouthCarolina,andspentmuchofhisyouthinVirginiawithhiswidowedmother.Hegrewupshyandbookish,discoveringsciencefictionandtheliteratureofthebeatsataprecociouslyearlyage.Whenhewas15,hewassentawaytoprivateschoolinArizona,butheleftwithoutgraduatingwhenhismotherdiedsuddenly.HefledtoCanadatoavoidthedraftandimmersedhimselfin'60scounterculture.Hemarried,movedtoBritishColumbia,andenrolledincollege,graduatingin1977withadegreeinEnglish.Aroundthistimehebegantowriteinearnest,combininghislifelongloveofsciencefictionandhisnewfoundpassionforthepunkmusicevolvinginNewYorkandLondon.Intheearly1980s,GibsonmetwriterandpunkmusicianJohnShirleyandsci-fiauthorsLewisShinerandBruceSterling.AllthreewereblownawaybythepowerandoriginalityofGibson'sstories,andtogetherthefourmenwentontoforgearadicalnewliterarymovementcalledcyberpunk.In1984,Gibson'sgroundbreakingfirstnovel,Neuromancer,waspublished.Daringandrevolutionary,itenvisionedsuchtechno-marvelsasAI,virtualreality,geneticengineering,andmultinationalcapitalismyearsbeforetheybecamerealities.Althoughitwasnotanimmediatesensation,Neuromancerstruckachordwithhardcoresci-fifanswhoturneditintoaword-of-mouthhit.ThenitwontheHugo,Nebula,andPhilipK.DickAwards(theTripleCrownofScienceFiction),catapultingGibsonintosuperstardomovernight.Evenifhehadneverwrittenanotherword,Gibson'simpactwouldbeclearlyseenintheworksofsuchcutting-edgecontemporaryauthorsasNealStephenson,PatCadigan,andPaulDiFilippo.But,asitis,Neuromancerwasjustthebeginning--thefirstbookinaninspiredtrilogythathascometobeconsideredabenchmarkinthehistoryofthegenre;andsincethen,Gibsonhasgoneontocreateevenmorevisionarysciencefiction,includingTheDifferenceEngine,asteampunkclassicco-authoredwithBruceSterling,andsuchimaginativepost-9/11cyberthrillersasPatternRecognitionandSpookCountry.AlsoKnownAs:WilliamFordGibson(fullname)Hometown:Vancouver,BritishColumbia,CanadaDateofBirth:三月17,1948PlaceofBirth:Conway,SouthCarolinaEducation:B.A.,UniversityofBritishColumbia,1977
