The Singularity Is Near

I've been reading about an historic event in human history which will occur early later in this century. It's called the Singularity Event. It was coined by Vernor Vinge several decades ago, and popularized by Ray Kurzweil. It predicts that the exponential growth of technology will soon give rise to intelligent machines, which will inevitably springboard hyper-intelligence, and the convergence (or the ability to converge) man and machine. But the potential for improving the human form (intelligence, sensory capability and literally every measurable characteristic of humanity) is so far-reaching that we have no way to conceive the possible outcomes.

One of the most daring assumptions is that it will, one way or another, put an end of humanity as we know it. This could be dire, or it could be the best thing that could possibly happen.

When will this event occur? According to Kurzweil, approximately 2035.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this Singularity will be a good thing.
Hopefully I'll still be around to witness this.
And, perhaps take part in it.

References:
Superhuman Imagination
Ray Kurzweil: The Instapundit Interview
Testimony of Ray Kurzweil on the Societal Implications of Nanotechnology
The Law of Accelerating Returns
TED Talks: Ray Kurzweil on how technology will transform us