Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier (born 1960) is an American musician and virtual reality developer. He claims to have popularized the term "Virtual Reality" (VR) in the early 1980s http://www.jaronlanier.com/general.html. At that time, he founded VPL Research, the first company to sell VR products.

Early life and education

Lanier was born in New York City, but raised in Mesilla, New Mexico. On May 18 2006, Lanier received a Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Career

Lanier has appeared in several documentaries, including the 1992 Danish television documentary Computerbilleder - udfordring til virkeligheden, the 1995 documentary Synthetic Pleasures, and the 2004 television documentary Rage Against the Machines. Lanier was credited as one of the miscellaneous crew for the 2002 film Minority Report. Lanier stated that his role was to help make up the gadgets and scenarios.

In mid-1997, Lanier was a founder member of the National Tele-Immersion Initiative, an effort devoted to utilizing computer technology to give people who are separated by great distances the illusion that they are physically together. Lanier is a member of the Global Business Network.

In 1994, Lanier released the classical music album Instruments of Change. Lanier has written the book Information is an Alienated Expense, which is due to be published in August 2006. Lanier is currently working on the book Technology and the Future of the Human Soul.

Lanier taught at several computer science departments of universities around the US, including Columbia, Dartmouth, and Yale.

Philosophical and technological ideas

In addition to his thoughts on virtual reality and teleimmersion, Lanier has criticized certain aspects of artificial intelligence on the one hand, and the nuanced ramifications of unbridled extropianism on the other.

Some of Lanier's speculation involves what he dubbed "post-symbolic communication." An example is found in the April 2006 issue of Discover, in his column on cephalopods (i.e., the various species of octopus, squid, and related molluscs). Many cephalopods are able to morph their bodies, including changing the pigmentation and texture of their skin, as well as forming complex shape imitations with their limbs. Lanier sees this behavior, especially as exchanged between two octopuses, as a direct behavioral expression of thought.

In Edge magazine in May 2006, Lanier criticized the sometimes-claimed omniscience of collective wisdom (including expressions such as Wikipedia), describing it as "digital maoism". This critique is further explored in an interview with him at the Philosopher's Zone where he is critical of the denatured effect which "removes the scent of people".

Works

Classical music:

Instruments of Change (1994)

Video Games:

Moondust -- C64, Atari 2600

Sources

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Early life and education

Career

Philosophical and technological ideas

Works

Sources

Further reading