[AWoodside]

I've read a lot of Kurzweil stuff and find him to be very convincing, certainly one of the most compelling futurist/transhumanists alive today. One thing he never addresses adequately in my opinion, however, is social barriers that may prevent progress. It's clear that there are groups with power that are against progress in this way. Just look at the hurdles stem cell/cloning research has to overcome. It's possible that progress will be severely retarded by things like war/legislation/religious groups bombing research labs etc. I tend to agree with him that unimpeded progress might result in a 'singularity' within 50 years... but I'm not sure how optimistic to be about the potential social barriers.