’What will people do in the year 2050, given the enormous intellectual power computers are likely to have?’: The man Google calls the spiritual father of AI asked big questions in 1991 — 35 years later, we’re still wrestling with the answers

Ray Kurzweil.

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Back when artificial intelligence was still poorly understood outside research labs, Ray Kurzweil was already frustrated with how narrowly it was being discussed. In a 1991 interview with Computerworld, he pushed back forcefully against claims that AI had failed to live up to its promise.