Editing Technological singularity (section)

== Relation to immortality and aging ==
[[K. Eric Drexler|Eric Drexler]], one of the founders of [[nanotechnology]], theorized in 1986 the possibility of cell repair devices, including ones operating within cells and using as yet hypothetical [[biological machine]]s.<ref name="drexler1986"/> According to [[Richard Feynman]], it was his former graduate student and collaborator [[Albert Hibbs]] who originally suggested to him (circa 1959) the idea of a ''medical'' use for Feynman's theoretical micromachines. Hibbs suggested that certain repair machines might one day be reduced in size to the point that it would, in theory, be possible to (as Feynman put it) "[[Molecular machine#Biological|swallow the doctor]]". The idea was incorporated into Feynman's 1959 essay ''[[There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom]].''<ref name="feynman1959">{{cite web|url = http://www.its.caltech.edu/~feynman/plenty.html|title = There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom|first = Richard P.|last = Feynman |author-link = Richard Feynman|date = December 1959|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100211190050/http://www.its.caltech.edu/~feynman/plenty.html|archive-date = 2010-02-11}}</ref>

Moravec predicted in 1988 the possibility of "uploading" human mind into a human-like robot, achieving quasi-immortality by extreme longevity via transfer of the human mind between successive new robots as the old ones wear out; beyond that, he predicts later exponential acceleration of subjective experience of time leading to a subjective sense of immortality.<ref name="moravec1988" />

Kurzweil suggested in 2005 that medical advances would allow people to protect their bodies from the effects of aging, making the [[Life extension|life expectancy limitless]]. Kurzweil argues that the technological advances in medicine would allow us to continuously repair and replace defective components in our bodies, prolonging life to an undetermined age.<ref name="kurzweil2005-215"/> Kurzweil further buttresses his argument by discussing current bio-engineering advances. Kurzweil suggests [[somatic gene therapy]]; after synthetic viruses with specific genetic information, the next step would be to apply this technology to gene therapy, replacing human DNA with synthesized genes.<ref>''The Singularity Is Near'', p.&nbsp;216.</ref>

Beyond merely extending the operational life of the physical body, [[Jaron Lanier]] argues for a form of immortality called "Digital Ascension" that involves "people dying in the flesh and being uploaded into a computer and remaining conscious."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lanier |first=Jaron |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307269645 |title=You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0307269645 |location=New York, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307269645/page/26 26] |author-link=Jaron Lanier |url-access=registration}}</ref>