In three presentations that look back to digital-age milestones, and glimpse ahead to what may come next, speakers share some previously undisclosed stories, great enthusiasms, and a few concerns. Nicholas Negroponte tells a few “dirty secrets” about the start of the MIT Media Lab, including the fact that Negroponte and co-founder Jerome Wiesner wanted to admit people “who wouldn’t normally apply to MIT, let alone get in,” and that the lab was viewed by top administrators as a “salon de refuses:” a refuge for brilliant researchers such as Seymour Papert, “who were not welcome” elsewhere.
Watch this 56 minutes video