Speaker:
Bill Buxton

Bio:

Bill Buxton is a radical activist for the civil rights of devices. The enclave that serves as the hub of his cause is Microsoft Research, Redmond, where he is a Principal Researcher. Bill has prepared for this battle by a 35 year involvement in research, practice and commentary around design, innovation and human aspects of technology. Following a 20 year career as a professional musician, he morphed into a researcher at Xerox PARC, then Chief Scientist of Alias Research and SGI Inc. He has been awarded four honorary doctorates, is co-recipient of an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement, received an ACM/SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a Fellow of the ACM. Bill is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, and Distinguished Professor of Industrial Design at the Technical University Eindhoven. Other than his family, mountains and rivers are his first love. They and his devices of various sorts – from skis to bikes and even computers – which are treated as peers in all of his endeavors.

Title:
End Discrimination Now!

Abstract:

In terms of social computing, there has been all too much focus on people! What about the poor computers? While we get to join groups, exchange different information with different groups, adopt different persona to fit our mood or situation, they live in this boring lonely monochromatic world – the Internet notwithstanding.

It’s time to stand up for the rights of the oppressed digital devices, and start to offer them the same benefits of social computing as are enjoyed by their human oppressors.

This talk is a call to break down the barricades of discrimination, accompanied by an argument that – as in most all kinds of discrimination – all sides benefit as a result.

For more information, see billbuxton.com