Conversations with History: Institute
of International Studies, UC Berkeley
This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations
with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the
public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.
Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry
Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest today
is Jaron Lanier, who is a computer scientist, a composer, a visual artist,
and an author.
- Background ... rural upbringing
... bohemian parents ... non-formal schooling ... music, love, and physics
- Technology ... virtual reality
... expectations ... post-symbolic communication ... tele-immersion ...
understanding human senses ... instrumentation for understanding perception
... visual telecommunication
- Futuristic Visions ... humanity
and robots ... cultural responsibility of the technologist ... enhanced
communication and creativity ... Moore's law and the limits of software
... complex pattern of progress
- Philosophical Reflections ... independence
from tech dogma ... cybernetic totalism ... embedded influence of technology
architects ... example: Microsoft Word ... equality of access ... conduits
to imagination ... circle of empathy
- Music ... post-symbolic communication
... historical leader of technology ... collecting insturments to play
... the khaen ... antecedent to computers ... beauty of music ...
music must seduce technology
- Ideas and the Physical World ...
openness of American ideal ... cinema, jazz, and programming ... optimist
... creative incrementalist ... advice to students ... international
perspective ... confronting fundamental ideas
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