The 1978 recipient of the Grace Murray Hopper Award, 1999 recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, a Lemelson-MIT prize winner and inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Ray Kurzweil is held in the highest regard in the tech sector. Kurzweil's first gift to the world of technology was the image scanner, before he unleashed optical character recognition (OCR) on the world, allowing us to transform images into text. He invented the first print to speech reading machine for blind people and a synthesizer that could recreate the sound of a grand piano. And that is just half of Kurzweil's incredible story and contribution to the planet.
Kurzweil successfully predicted the World Wide Web's emergence and that a chess champion could be beaten by a computer, and while it is easy to brush this off in hindsight, his years' of experience working at the forefront of the tech industry make him one of the most sought-after futurists in the world. Some of his more recent predictions include that machines will outsmart humans by 2055, fossil fuels will be a thing of the past by 2026 and in several decades humans will have the power to live indefinitely. Whether you believe in the timeframes or even the content of his speeches, Kurzweil is undisputedly the best at what he does.
His predictions come from in-depth research into the fields in which he works and the possibilities that will come with the progression of artificial intelligence and technology. Such is Kurzweil's pioneering work, that he has been recognised by three US presidents and was named by PBS as one of 16 "revolutionaries who made America". Strong praise has been bestowed on Kurzweil who was also listed by Inc. Magazine as eighth in the "most fascinating" entrepreneurs in the US; in the same article they named him "Edison's rightful heir". Having spoken at industry leading conferences such as SXSW, Demo and even the prestigious TEDx, Kurzweil is a thought leader offering dynamic insight into the worlds of science and technology.
With interests in artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology and life extension technologies, there are few futurism speakers as well placed to offer a glimpse of our future as him.
Books
The Age Of Intelligent Machines
The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life: How to Reduce Fat in Your Diet and Eliminate Virtually All Risk of Heart Disease
The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough To Live Forever
The Singularity Is Near
Transcend: Nine Steps To Living Well Forever
How To Create A Mind: The Secret Of Human Thoughts Revealed
How to hire Ray Kurzweil
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Ray Kurzweil for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
When at corporate events, Ray is known to cover the following topics:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Disruption
- Nanotechnology & Robotics
- Biotechnology & Computer Science
- Futurism & Philosophy
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Everything with Ray went perfect and we were very, very happy. It was a delight meeting Ray, his keynote was as outstanding as we had expected. It was followed by a stimulating discussion and I hope that we were able to accommodate Ray according to his wishes as well." - Merck
"His speech was great, a trove of fascinating content. We wanted someone who would educate the audience about what's ahead, think strategically about the future and inspire them to be innovative. He nailed it. We are deeply appreciative." - Northwestern Mutual
"Ray came in and really inspired our employees. His presentation was extremely well received, and many people in the audience expressed their gratitude for being in the presence of one of their true heroes. My inbox has been filled with thanks and expressions of how their perspective on their jobs has really changed. I don't think we could have asked for much more than that!" - Dolby
