SXSWORLD

has awakened much of the tech world to the implications of bad or uninformed government. People everywhere want change, but the institutions of government at the local, state and federal levels are often not set up to manage the fl ow and processing of new informa- tion or to create action in a timely manner. Th ough intransigence and frustration seem to pervade the American political environment, Pahlka says that this is not necessarily the politi- cians' fault, but rather a product of the government machinery. "It's something that needs levers and inputs far deeper than just voting for a candidate," says Pahlka. "In the '80s, '90s and the 2000s, people wanted govern- ment to look more like businesses. Now people say to us, 'So you want the government to work like an Internet startup?' And we say, 'We want it to look like the Internet itself.' Anybody can participate, and you can work in a per- mission-free way to create the world you want to live in." We will need a more responsive, forward-thinking government if the world envisioned by philosopher, inventor and National Medal of Technology recipient Ray Kurzweil comes to pass. Kurzweil proposes a time in the next 50 years, called "Th e Singularity," when "the non-bio- logical portion of our intelligence will be trillions of trillions of times more powerful than unaided human intelligence." "It's very easy to create, but it's even easier to consume. I worry about people consuming and consuming and not learning the joy of creating." – Amber Case between physical and virtual reality," Kurzweil writes in Th e Singularity Is Near. Th is, it would seem, is the next step in the evolution of our species. It is a mutation not of physical abilities, though the ability to live as long as one chooses is certainly a physical ability, but in mental and computational capacity. In this event, what Like Case, Kurzweil recognizes that human life is inextricably entwined with our technological achievements, but he is less con- cerned with the present than with a diff erent kind of superhuman on the horizon, one that can live for "as long as he chooses." "[Th ere will] be no distinction between human and machine or Th e sentiment of that statement encapsulates the progressive thinking of not only SXSW Interactive's other panelists, but the spirit of the entire event, which provides an annual examination of the progress we are making, and a celebration of the unending drive to understand and improve the world around us. ■ remains essentially human, Kurzweil writes, is that our species "seeks to extend its physical and mental reach beyond cur- rent limitations." Amber Case, Jennifer Pahlka and Ray Kurzweil will be the kynote speakers at SXSW Interactive on Sunday, March 11; Monday, March 12; and Tuesday, March 13, respectively. Check sxsw.com/interactive for more details. If we loved you any more, we'd have to get a room. (Luckily, we've got a few of those.) 1200 Alta Loma Road, West Hollywood, CA310.657.1333 SUNSETMARQUIS.COM SXSW ORLD / FEBRUAR Y 2012 19

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