Prophets of the Digital Age 

Prophets of the Digital Age: Jaron Lanier, Clive Thompson, and Michael Chabon in Conversation with Kurt Andersen
Dialogue co-organized by The Wolfsonian and Intelligence Squared London
For better or worse? We're talking technology and its impact on our lives and minds. We've gathered three of our most profound thinkers on the digital age for a dialogue chaired by Kurt Andersen, chief justice of the Complaints Court. Speakers: Jaron Lanier, computer scientist who coined the term virtual reality, musician, visual artist, and author of Who Owns the Future?; Clive Thompson, science and technology writer and blogger, author of Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better, and Michael Chabon, author of works including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Why these three? Lanier is a pioneering technology expert who has critiqued aspects of the current digital technology; Thompson started out a web skeptic and is now a cheerleader; and Chabon is an early adopter and fan of technology who is susceptible to the retro tug of vinyl and turntables.
35:00 Biggest problems with the internet. Spying on data.
45:02 Q: How do you create a new identity in the digital age, which was formerly an American ideal?
50:00 The role of secrets and identity in literary culture
1:02:30 Living in cities, and making today's internet culture better.