What Happens To Your Data When You Die?

The race to "cure death" has gripped Silicon Valley. In 2012, Google hired Ray Kurzweil, the'futurist' inventor best known for popularizing the idea of the "technological singularity," a hypothetical'super-intelligence' that will one day vastly outstrip the capacities of human beings. As Google's Director of Engineering, Kurzweil's job is to turn the fantasies of science fiction into consumer products -- and Google has invested billions in hopes that Kurzweil's dreams could one day become reality. One notable project, called "Calico," was announced the year after Kurzweil joined Google: a secretive biotech firm researching age-related diseases and developing anti-aging technology. Soon, Kurzweil promises, age and disease will disappear altogether, giving way to "software-based humans" with holographically projected bodies.