Negroponte makes computers more human<\/p>\n
By Dean Carignan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): When will we begin to speak to our computers
\ninstead of typing on them? When will they help us make decisions
\n-- or perhaps make decisions of their own? These are the
\nquestions that occupy the mind of Nicholas Negroponte.<\/p>\n
For over 10 years Negroponte has explored the intricate
\nrelationship between computers and people (the human-computer
\ninterface, as he dubs it) through his post as director of the
\nMedia Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n
As one of America's leading research institutes, the Media Lab
\nis dedicated to probing the boundaries of the human-computer
\ninterface and seeking ways for man and machine to cooperate more
\neffectively.<\/p>\n
This seemingly arcane research is more than idle speculation.
\nMajor corporations worldwide scramble to get a glimpse of the
\nLab's -- and Negroponte's -- insights. The lab, which celebrated
\nits 10th anniversary last year, now commands a yearly budget of
\nsome US$25 million, most of it contributed by admiring corporate
\nsponsors. Negroponte himself travels some 300,000 miles a year,
\nbeing wined and dined by CEOs and other decision-makers who want
\nto hear his advice.<\/p>\n
So why all the fuss over how computers and people get along?
\nThe answers is summarized in Negroponte's pithy expression
\n\"Computer's aren't just about computing any more. They're about
\nliving.\" Negroponte explored this concept in his 1994 bestseller
\nBeing Digital, which examines the expanding role of computers in
\nhuman society. To be \"digital\", the book explains, means to
\nincorporate computer technology into one's life whenever and
\nwherever possible. In the future, Negroponte argues, being
\ndigital will be as essential to personal professional success as,
\nsay, being literate is today.<\/p>\n
This growing influence of computers in our lives is driven by
\ntwo trends. The first is the declining price and rising capacity
\nof computer microchips. Microchips generally double in computing
\npower every 18 months, while their cost drops by half during the
\nsame period. The lowering price has already allowed chips to
\nappear in a range of non-computers items, from toasters to
\nautomobiles. As these chips become more powerful, they will
\ninvest even the most everyday items with a certain level of
\nintelligence. Refrigerators, for example, will notice we're out
\nof milk and will e-mail the corner grocer to send more. Radios
\nwill learn our listening tastes and recommend specific programs
\nand stations.<\/p>\n
The second trend is the extraordinary impact of computers on
\nhuman communication. Traditionally, Negroponte explains,
\ncommunications could be divided into three distinct realms: the
\nInformation World consisting of books, newspaper, and magazines;
\nthe Entertainment World of films, television and video; and the
\nInteractive World; the domain of computers.<\/p>\n
Each of these realms enjoyed a unique strength lacked by the
\nothers. The printed materials of the Information World, for
\nexample, offered immense depth of knowledge. The Entertainment
\nWorld enjoyed tremendous audio-visual richness -- the ability to
\nexcite and captivate. And the Interactive world of computers
\nallows the viewer to control, modify and interact with the
\ninformation being viewed (e.g. spreadsheets, data bases, etc.)<\/p>\n
These three realms are presently converging into a single,
\nincreasingly commonplace appliance: the multimedia PC Computer.
\nThanks to the wealth of data available on the Internet and on CD-
\nROMs, a multimedia PC now has access to the depth of information
\nonce found only in printed documents. At the same time, the
\nincreased display capacity of PC's is allowing them to offer the
\naudio-visual richness of the Entertainment World. High-end PC's
\nnow run video and audio at almost the same quality as television
\nsets and video recorders.<\/p>\n
Finally, the interactivity of computers leaves the user in
\ncontrol of the information he viewing. He can view it whenever he
\nwants; save the relevant bits on his hard disk, and discard the
\nrest.<\/p>\n
An excellent example of this multimedia convergence is the
\ngrowing use of CD-ROMs in the corporate world. While company
\nspokesmen used to travel miles to meetings, toting bags of
\ncompany reports and reels of corporate video, many are now opting
\nto send out a single CD-ROM. The CD-ROM can hold 10 years of
\nannual reports, over an hour of video, and an audio recording of
\nwhat the spokesman would have said had he been present.<\/p>\n
It is this striking commercial value of multimedia -- only now
\nbeing glimpsed -- that keeps the corporate dollars flowing into
\nthe Media Lab's coffers. Indeed, such strengths have already
\nbuilt multimedia into a billion dollar a year industry, with no
\nslowdown in sight. Negroponte even envisions a day -- quite soon
\n-- when the multimedia PC will challenge such central elements of
\nhuman society as the television set. Why, he asks, should
\nfamilies cut their dinner short and rush to the living room to
\ncatch an 8 p.m. program? Much better to have a PC -- equipped
\nwith a high-resolution, wide-screen monitor -- download your
\nfavorite programs from the Internet and play them back at your
\nconvenience. Video, after all, already cruises the circuits of
\nthe Internet. And those wide-screen monitors top the list of
\npriorities at many R & D labs.<\/p>\n
But what of the dangers posed by the growing role of
\ncomputers? Will not computer technology take people's jobs? And
\nas people communicate more by e-mail and less in person, will not
\nthe connection between human beings suffer. Nonsense, Negroponte
\nresponds. Computers can never fill those tasks that are most
\nuniquely human. They are not -- and never will be -- creative;
\nthey will never invent a new product, conceive a company logo, or
\nwrite a poem. They can, of course, help tremendously in bringing
\nany of those inspirations to fruition -- engineering the new
\nproduct, digitally designing the logo, publishing the poem. But
\nthey cannot replicate the uniquely human imagination that gives
\nrise to each process.<\/p>\n
Being digital, Negroponte is quick to point out, does not
\nmean using computers always and everywhere. Rather this term
\nrefers to using the machines where they truly advantage human
\ncapability, where they are a complement and not a competitor to
\nflesh-and-blood people.<\/p>\n
If anything, computers make us more human by handling mundane
\ntasks and letting us focus on more challenging, stimulating
\nendeavors -- just as word processors, by making the typing of a
\nletter easier, allow us to concentrate more on the message.<\/p>\n
And the Internet? Aren't all those E-mail and chat rooms
\nsupplanting human company? The response is that Internet
\ntechnology allows people to communicate regardless of geographic
\nor political separation. Thanks to the Internet, two philosophy
\nprofessors in, say, Russia and Venezuela can discuss daily the
\nintricacies of Hegel's writing. Is something lost in the lack of
\nphysical presence? Yes. Is something more valuable gained in the
\ndigital linking up of people who would otherwise never have met?
\nAlmost certainly.<\/p>\n
Today, Negroponte will lead a seminar in Jakarta called Being
\nDigital in Asia. The title itself is a bit ironic. \"Being
\ndigital\" is not about being in Asia or any other region. It is
\nabout being human, and the unavoidable consequence of being
\nhuman, dealing with computers. Thanks to Negroponte's writings
\nwe now have a better glimpse into the exciting future that people
\nand computers will share.<\/p>\n
The writer works for International Communications Associates, a
\nMultimedia communications firm based in Jakarta.<\/p>",
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