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Essays on Infinite Lifespans
Raymond Kurzweil
its own movement, the engineering issues of the extreme pres-
sures required for centralized pumping can be eliminated. As
we perfect the means of transferring nanobots to and from the
blood supply, we can also continuously replace the nanobots
comprising our blood supply.
With the respirocytes providing greatly extended access to
oxygenation, we will be in a position to eliminate the lungs by
using nanobots to provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
One might point out that we take pleasure in breathing (even
more so than elimination!). As with all of these redesigns, we
will certainly go through intermediate stages where these tech-
nologies augment our natural systems, so we can have the best
of both worlds. Eventually, however, there will be no reason
to continue with the complications of actual breathing and
the requirement of having breathable air everywhere we go.
If we really find breathing that pleasurable, we will develop
virtual ways of having this sensual experience.
We also wont need the various organs that produce chemi-
cals, hormones, and enzymes that flow into the blood and other
metabolic pathways. We already create bio-identical versions
of many of these substances, and we will have the means to
routinely create all biochemically relevant substances within a
couple of decades. These substances (to the extent that we still
need them) will be delivered via nanobots, controlled by intel-
ligent biofeedback systems to maintain and balance required
levels, just as our natural systems do today (for example, the
control of insulin levels by the pancreatic Islet cells). Since we
are eliminating most of our biological organs, many of these
substances may no longer be needed, and will be replaced by
other resources that are required by the nanorobotic systems.
It is important to emphasize that this redesign process will
not be accomplished in a single design cycle. Each organ
and each idea will have its own progression, intermediate
designs, and stages of implementation. Nonetheless, we are