From High Priest to Heretic

Here is a fascinating interview with Jaron Lanier, web-insider who is now doing the Winston Smith thing.

I was particularly impressed by this paragraph:

Lanier has another problem with the techno-utopians, though. It's not just that they've crashed the economy, but that they've made a joke out of spirituality by creating, and worshiping, "the Singularity"--the "Nerd Rapture," as it's been called. The belief that increasing computer speed and processing power will shortly result in machines acquiring "artificial intelligence," consciousness, and that we will be able to upload digital versions of ourselves into the machines and achieve immortality. Some say as early as 2020, others as late as 2045. One of its chief proponents, Ray Kurzweil, was on NPR recently talking about his plans to begin resurrecting his now dead father digitally.

It seems my recent prediction about the celebrity multi-campus chaps setting themselves up for an eternity of ministry via an endless digital loop of virtual reality and sermonic reruns might not have been an exaggeration.  2045 by the latest, apparently.   And interesting that Lanier thinks this idea in general makes 'a joke out of spirituality.'   I suspect he speaks more truth than even he realises.