Jaron Lanier

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Jaron Lanier in 2018

Birthname	Jaron Zepel Lanier
Date of Birth	May 3, 1960
Birth Place	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Computer scientist, philosopher, visual artist, author
Biography	Best known as the Father of Virtual Reality

Jaron Lanier (born May 3, 1960) is an American computer scientist, philosopher, visual artist, and author. Often referred to as the father of virtual reality, Lanier founded one of the very first virtual reality companies, VPL Research, in 1984 as a result of his unemployment when Atari inc. was split up that same year. Lanier has in recent years become an outspoken figurehead in the realm of ethics regarding technology and the internet, arguing that social media among other online platforms are negatively impacting society. Lanier has also written several books on technology and the ethical problems inherent to the web.

List of Significant Published Works

You Are Not a Gadget (2010)

In his first published book, You Are Not a Gadget (2010), Lanier describes the problems and benefits of the internet, detailing the mistakes and successes that were made early on in the World Wide Web’s lifetime. Being a member of Silicon Valley during the 1980s, Lanier was one of the first individuals to see the potential changes and improvements that the web could bring to the world.

Who Owns the Future? (2014)

In Lanier’s second published work Who Owns the Future? (2014), he explores the digital network, and ultimately asserts that, in order to properly balance the world economy, we must first fix our information economy. Lanier argues that the internet’s structure creates a terrible inequity regarding information and the freedoms of people online. In his book, Lanier proposes an information economy that rewards royalties in exchange for data to people using the internet.

Dawn of the New Everything (2017)

Dawn of the New Everything (2017) is written as a half-manifesto, half-exploration into the nature of Virtual reality. In this book, Lanier details his life story, from his upbringing in New Mexico, to the founding of his first start-up. Lanier goes on to describe virtual reality as more than some new technology, explaining that VR has the ability to further humanity’s understanding of themselves and the world around them.

How we need to remake the internet (2018)

Lanier has also given a TED Talk, in which he describes his ideas and concepts for the internet, and explains that it was Norbert Wiener who originally described a society controlled by algorithms as one that could not survive. Norbert Wiener described such a future as technologically infeasible, but Lanier points out that this hypothetical future is what we have come to create. Lanier says that humanity must undo the creation of such a system if it is to survive, and gives examples of the steps humanity could take in order to do so.

Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now (2018)

Lanier’s book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now (2018), Is a mini-book that presents several arguments for deleting and distancing oneself from social media entirely. Lanier said in an interview that he began writing the book after realizing that he had not written about the dangers of social media in several years. Coming off of the 2016 presidential election, Lanier decided to present his personal philosophy and reasons against using social media. Lanier said in the same interview that his ten arguments book was driven by journalistic interest, and was intended as a mini-book. However, with the event of the Cambridge Analytica scandal breaking in early 2018, Lanier was compelled to revise the book before printing. Upon this request, the publisher told Lanier that he wouldn’t be able to increase the original page count, and would only be able to use existing white-space on the pages. This somewhat limiting condition still allowed Lanier to include his thoughts on more topical events of early 2018.

Jaron Lanier Fixes the Internet (2019)

In addition to his books, Lanier has written many opinion pieces for multiple news organizations. In his New York Times op-ed Jaron Lanier Fixes the Internet (2019), Lanier condenses the main points of his book Who Owns the Future? (2014), and describes the problems and solutions that everyday users face. Lanier introduces the concept of Data Dignity, a conceptual representation of the internet where an individual has the moral rights to all information on the internet, introducing the concept of MIDs (Mediators of Individual Data) in order to pay users for their activity online.

VR and the Problem of How We Talk About Tech (2019)

In his Medium magazine article VR and The Problem of How We Talk About Tech (2019), Lanier describes the way people respond and act when using Virtual Reality technologies. In addition to his description of how people experience VR, Lanier also touches on his personal experiences, and speaks of his own wonderment with the technology. Lanier goes on to describe his displeasure with various conceptual technologies, and his personal thoughts on popular media such as Star Trek.

Ethics

Lanier has developed the concept and idea of a world wide web in which all individuals are paid royalties for their usage of the internet. Where algorithms feeding specifically curated content to users based off their actions do not exist and where companies do not sell user data to tech giants like Facebook or Google. Many people have dismissed Lanier for being too extreme in his ideas. In spite of that, Lanier is optimistic that the mistakes and problems which have plagued the internet can be fixed, as long as tech giants are willing to adapt to new ideas.