The Era of Entanglement: Humanity Is 'Back to the Jungle'

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/10/24/World_Changing_Ideas

Danny Hillis, co-chairman of the technology and design firm Applied Minds, characterizes the present day as a "post-Enlightenment" point in time in which people no longer understand the technology that surrounds them. Branding it "the Entanglement Era," Hillis compares humanity's current relationship to the technological environment to its relationship to the natural environment, such as a jungle.

SETTING THE CONTEXT: WHAT'S POSSIBLE, WHAT MATTERS, WHAT'S AHEAD

World Changing Ideas

A conversation between:
Danny Hillis, Co-Chairman, Applied Minds
Mariette DiChristina, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Compass Summit, a forum for true interaction and exchange, examines some of today's most pressing problems through the lens of global citizenship, recognizing that human ingenuity is an unlimited resource. Guided by NPR's Ira Flatow, an intimate group of some of the world's best thinkers and doers convened along the rugged Palos Verdes coastline on Oct 23-26, 2011 at Terranea Resort to engage in meaningful conversation, ask questions, and challenge ideas -- we invite you to join in the conversation.

Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the concept of parallel computers that is now the basis for most supercomputers, as well as the RAID disk array technology used to store large databases. He holds over 150 U.S. patents, covering parallel computers, disk arrays, forgery prevention methods, and various electronic and mechanical devices. Danny is also the designer of a 10,000-year mechanical clock.

In addition to his leadership role at Applied Minds, he is co-chairman of The Long Now Foundation, Judge Widney professor of engineering and medicine of the University of Southern California, research professor of engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and professor of research medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and serves on the board of the Hertz Foundation. He has also served on the Science Board of the Santa Fe Institute, the Advisory Board of Yale's Institute for Biospheric Studies, and SETI Institute's Technical Advisory Committee.