Jaron Lanier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jaron Lanier
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Lanier in 2010
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Jaron Zepel Lanier
May 3, 1960 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | New Mexico State University |
| Occupation | Computer scientist, composer, visual artist, author |
| Employer | Atari Advanced Network and Services VPL Research Internet2 Silicon Graphics Columbia University New York University San Francisco State University Dartmouth College University of Pennsylvania University of California, Berkeley Microsoft University of Southern California |
| Known for | Co-founder of Virtual reality |
Jaron Lanier (born May 3, 1960) is an American computer scientist, artist, writer, and composer. He is often called one of the fathers of virtual reality. Virtual reality (VR) is a way to experience a computer-generated world that feels real.
In 1985, Jaron Lanier and Thomas G. Zimmerman started a company called VPL Research. This company was the first to sell VR goggles and special wired gloves. These tools let people interact with virtual worlds. Later, Lanier worked on advanced internet projects like Internet2. He also worked at big tech companies like Microsoft Research.
Besides his work in technology, Lanier is a talented musician. He writes classical music and collects many rare musical instruments. He even has an album called Instruments of Change (1994) that features unique Asian instruments.
Lanier is also known for his ideas and writings about technology and society. He has been named one of the most influential thinkers by magazines like Foreign Policy and TIME.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Jaron Zepel Lanier was born in New York City. He grew up in Mesilla, New Mexico. His parents were Jewish. His mother had survived a Nazi concentration camp. His father's family came from Ukraine to escape violence.
When Jaron was nine, his mother died in a car accident. For a while, he and his father lived in tents. Then, they spent seven years building a special dome-shaped house that Jaron helped design.
At just 13 years old, Jaron convinced New Mexico State University to let him join. He took advanced classes there. He even got a special grant to study math, which led him to learn computer programming. He also went to art school in New York for a short time.
Working with Virtual Reality
Jaron Lanier started his career making video games. One game he made, Moon Dust, led him to a job at Atari Inc.. At Atari, he met Thomas Zimmerman, who invented the wired glove. This glove allowed users to interact with computers in a new way.
After Atari split into two companies, Lanier had time to work on his own ideas. He and Zimmerman then started VPL Research. This company focused on making virtual reality technology available to everyone. They sold the first VR goggles and wired gloves. The company did well for a while but later faced problems. In 1999, Sun Microsystems bought VPL's patents related to virtual reality.
From 1997 to 2001, Lanier was a chief scientist for a group that worked on Internet2. This was a super-fast internet network for research. He led a project called the 'National Tele-immersion Initiative'. This project created the first prototypes of tele-immersion in 2000. Tele-immersion makes it feel like people far away are in the same room with you.
Personal Life
Jaron Lanier is married to Lena, and they have one daughter.
His Ideas and Books
Jaron Lanier has written several books and essays about technology and how it affects people.
Computers and Humans
In an essay called "One-Half a Manifesto" (2000), Lanier talked about how humans are different from computers. He believes that people are not just biological computers. He also thinks it's unlikely that computers will fully replace humans soon. He points out that while computer power grows fast, software often doesn't keep up.
How Octopuses Communicate
Lanier has also thought about "post-symbolic communication." In a 2006 article, he wrote about cephalopods, like octopuses and squid. These animals can change their skin color and texture, and even their body shapes. Lanier sees this as a direct way they express their thoughts to each other.
Online Group Wisdom
In 2006, Lanier wrote about the idea of "collective wisdom" online. He looked at websites like Wikipedia. He worried that if we only trust what a large group of anonymous people create, we might lose important details. He felt it could make information seem too perfect or hide the real authors' unique ideas.
He believes that getting information from a single person or a few dedicated experts is often better. He says, "You have to have a chance to sense personality in order for language to have its full meaning." This means he thinks personal touch is important for understanding.
Are You a Gadget?
In his 2010 book, You Are Not a Gadget, Lanier criticized some parts of the internet, especially Web 2.0. He argued that focusing too much on collective online efforts can make new ideas less valuable. He worried that it might glorify the group more than the individual.
He also suggested that some online systems, like certain open-source projects, might not create truly new things. He pointed out that the open-source movement didn't create the iPhone. He also said that the way some online services are free can make it harder for artists and creators to earn money. This can lead to wealth being concentrated in the hands of a few "lords of the clouds" who control the big data centers.
Who Owns Your Future?
In his 2013 book, Who Owns the Future?, Lanier discussed how the internet economy might be unfair to many people. He explained that companies, which he calls "Siren Servers," get a lot of valuable information from users for free. These companies then become very rich because they control all this data.
For example, he mentioned that Kodak once employed 140,000 people. But by 2012, it went bankrupt, while free photo-sharing sites like Instagram, with only a few employees, became huge. He suggests a system where people are paid small amounts for the original content they share online.
Virtual Reality's New Dawn
His 2017 book, Dawn of the New Everything, is about his life and virtual reality. He talks about how VR can inspire people more than other technologies. He says that VR can help people focus on reality itself. For example, after using VR, people might see real flowers as if for the first time.
Lanier highlights many uses for VR beyond games. It helps war veterans with PTSD, doctors perform surgeries, and even helps design new vehicles. He shares many definitions of VR, showing its different uses and possibilities.
Is There Really A.I.?
In 2023, Lanier shared his thoughts on Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in The New Yorker. He believes that A.I. is not as intelligent as its name or popular culture might suggest. He concludes that "People are the answer to the problems of bits."
His Thoughts on the Internet
In 1998, Lanier said that the internet shows us a true picture of humanity: "The Internet has created the most precise mirror of people as a whole that we've yet had... It is the real us, available for direct inspection for the first time. Our collective window shades are now open. We see the mundanity, the avarice, the ugliness, the perversity, the loneliness, the love, the inspiration, the serendipity, and the tenderness that manifest in humanity. Seen in proportion, we can breathe a sigh of relief. We are basically OK."
Views on Wikipedia
Jaron Lanier has said that Wikipedia is run by "super-nice people." However, he also believes that having only one main encyclopedia, like Wikipedia, is "weird." He remembers a time when there were different encyclopedias, like Encyclopedia Britannica and Encyclopedia Americana, which offered different points of view. He thinks having different perspectives is important.
Music Career
Jaron Lanier has been involved in contemporary classical music since the late 1970s. He plays the piano and is an expert in many non-Western musical instruments, especially wind and string instruments from Asia. He has one of the world's largest collections of rare instruments that are still played.
He has performed with many famous artists from different music styles. He also writes music for orchestras and smaller groups. His works include a ballet called "Earthquake!" and a symphony called Symphony for Amelia.
In 1994, he released his classical music album Instruments of Change. This album explores Asian music traditions using Western ideas. Lanier's music with Asian instruments can also be heard in the film Three Seasons (1999). He has also used virtual reality in his musical performances with his band, Chromatophoria. They have toured around the world, even performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Awards and Recognition
Jaron Lanier has received many awards for his work:
- Jill Watson Festival Across the Arts Wats:on? Award in 2001
- Finalist for the first Edge of Computation Award in 2005
- Honorary doctorate from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2006
- IEEE Virtual Reality Career Award in 2009
- Named one of Time magazine's Time 100 (most influential thinkers) in 2010
- Honorary doctorate from Franklin and Marshall College in 2012
- Awarded the Goldsmith Book Prize for best trade book in 2014
- Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 2014
Works
Western classical music
- Instruments of Change (1994)
Video games
- Alien Garden (Atari 800, 1982)
- Moondust (C64, 1983)
Books
- Information Is an Alienated Experience (2006)
- You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto (2010)
- Who Owns the Future? (2013)
- Dawn of the New Everything: Encounters with Reality and Virtual Reality (2017)
- Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now (2018)
See also
In Spanish: Jaron Lanier para niños
