'Who Owns the Future?'

A Renaissance Man for the 21st century, Jaron Lanier (You Are Not A Gadget) is a computer scientist, composer, visual artist, musician, and author who writes on numerous topics, including high-technology business, the social impact of technology, the philosophy of consciousness and information, Internet politics, and the future of humanism. Lanier is a pioneer in virtual reality (a term he coined) and founder of VPL Research, the first company to sell VR products, and led teams creating technology for medicine, design, and numerous other fields. His new book is called Who Owns The Future?

"At the bottom of Lanier's cyber-tinkering is a fundamen¬tally humanist faith in technology, a belief that wisely designed machines can bring us closer together by expanding the possibilities of creative self-expression ... His mind is a fascinating place to hang out." – Los Angeles Times