Raymond Kurzweil

An inventor of computer—related technologies, Raymond Kurzweil notes that robots have often been portrayed as mechanical creatures prone to turning on their creators. In reality, they are sophisticated helpers. From the 1970s through the 1990s, robots have evolved from machines with limited arm and grasping movements to automated beings that can do such things as shear sheep, disarm mines in the Persian Gulf, and work in operating rooms and in the dangerous zones of nuclear power plants. They can read and play music and help the paralyzed care for themselves. In March 2000, Kurzweil received the National Medal of Technology-the nation's highest technology honor. He predicts that the tireless, strong, fast, and precise robot will become an increasingly familiar figure in homes and businesses.