Doug Engelbart: The Visionary Who Shaped the Future of Computing
“Though his contributions weren’t immediately recognized by the broader tech world, Engelbart’s legacy has only grown with time. From the rise of the personal computer to the dawn of the internet, the seeds he planted continue to bear fruit. His pioneering ideas have influenced tech giants like Apple and Microsoft, and his vision of a connected world is now our everyday reality.”
See also more articles from SteamRocket
The Rise of Groupware: How collaboration software came to be
“Some of the basic ideas behind groupware were first forged at the Stanford Research Institute by a Douglas Engelbart–led team, in the 1960s, working on what they called an oN-Line System (NLS). An early version of NLS was presented in 1968 during what became known as the “Mother of All Demos.” It was essentially a coming-out party for many computing innovations that would eventually become commonplace.”
Doug Engelbart — Looking Beyond The Mouse
“While Douglas Engelbart may not be a household name, his vision and tireless work transformed the way we interact with technology. He is a true pioneer who deserves recognition for shaping the future of computing.”
Beyond the Mouse: Douglas Engelbart‘s Visionary NLS System
“As we face the complex challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to social inequality to global health crises, the need for tools and frameworks that can help us work together to solve problems is more pressing than ever. Engelbart‘s vision of augmenting human intellect offers a compelling roadmap for how we might use technology to tap into our collective wisdom and creativity.”
AI Should Augment Human Intelligence, Not Replace It
“The question of whether AI will replace human workers assumes that AI and humans have the same qualities and abilities — but, in reality, they don’t. AI-based machines are fast, more accurate, and consistently rational, but they aren’t intuitive, emotional, or culturally sensitive. And, it’s exactly these abilities that humans posses and which make us effective.[...] Contrary to AI abilities that are only responsive to the data available, humans have the ability to imagine, anticipate, feel, and judge changing situations, which allows them to shift from short-term to long-term concerns...”
55 years ago, the ‘Mother of All Demos’ foresaw modern computing
“On Dec. 9, 1968, Oregon-born engineer and inventor Douglas Engelbart hosted a computer demonstration so groundbreaking it is known today as the “Mother of All Demos. [...] Early in his career, Engelbart decided that his life’s work would focus on solving humanity’s problems. He recognized that computers could not only help with that work, but also accelerate it. [...] He envisioned computers as communication tools that could help people learn, collaborate and tackle complex problems.”
Douglas Engelbart facts for kids
“Early in his career he decided (1) he would focus his career on making the world a better place; (2) any serious effort [in this pursuit would require harnessing] the collective human intellect of all involved; (3)
if you could dramatically improve how we do that, you'd be boosting every effort on the planet to solve important problems – the sooner the better; (4) computers could be the vehicle for dramatically improving this capability.”
Related Articles: Computer mouse Facts for Kids | History of personal computers facts for kids | the Mother of All Demos | Keyboard facts for kids | Turing Award facts for kids |
Douglas Engelbart - Inventing the 21st Century
In this Podcast, “we look back to the man who wanted to augment human intelligence to help us work together to solve the world's most complex problems, and in doing so invented the 21st Century. How do we get smart enough to solve the really difficult problems? Douglas Engelbart said "the better we get at getting better, the faster we will get better" where our problem-solving abilities are constantly improved, and therefore so is everything we do!"
See also Avail Formats | Show Notes
Extended Mind interview with Donald Clark
“In this episode of Great Minds on Learning, John Helmer interviews Donald Clark exploring The Extended Mind. Where do our thoughts live? And if, as some theorists contend, they do not observe physical limitations, but extends to our technology tools and physical surroundings, what are the implications for learning?” Includes Great Mind Doug Engelbart's vision on collective intelligence.
See also: Episode Notes | Detail: Learning Theorists | Detail: Engelbart on Collective IQ
A Machine for Thinking: How Douglas Engelbart Predicted the Future of Computing
“More than 50 years ago, Douglas Engelbart gave the "Mother of All Demos" that transformed software forever. The computer world has been catching up with his vision ever since.” See Also: About the Hidden Heroes Series
The Public Debut of a Dream
“Doug Engelbart’s “Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework” 60 Years On: In October, 1962, Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart published a document that synthesized over a decade of research and careful thought, a document that would illuminate the work he would do for the rest of his career. 'Augmenting Human Intellect' is both a research report and a visionary manifesto for how computers and human beings could co-evolve to foster the highest levels of human flourishing. Engelbart sought to empower humanity’s capabilities to address its most complex problems, and he saw networked computing as an essential part of that capability...”
Why The Metaverse Must Be Deeply Human-Centric
Key Takeaways From 13th annual Augmented World Expo (AWE)- including “Most people involved in creating the foundations of XR are motivated by a perspective that at its core is humane and driven to help others, not just further the interests of those who design the systems [...] citing UX pioneer Doug Engelbart’s vision of computers that steer human experiences toward 'how the world should work.'”
75 Years of Innovation: Computer Vision
“SRI International has contributed to the blurring of the boundaries between humans and computers [...] From the humble computer mouse to augmented reality and computer vision, SRI has made computing more human, more compelling, and widened the scope of its use for the good of humanity.”
From the series 75 years of innovation at SRI International
Human Movements in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
New book “Shows what can be learned from movements of the human body, from face, hand, leg, and foot to the whole body movement Discusses these human-centric issues in the development, design, analysis, and implementation of the HCI systems”
Engelbart’s research covered in two chapters -
see TOC | Part of series on Computational Intelligence | More at Historic Firsts: Personal & Interactive at dougengelbart.org
Advent of Computing - Podcast 2021
“Advent of Computing, the podcast that talks about the shocking, intriguing, and all too often relevant history of computing. A lot of little things we take for granted today have rich stories behind their creation, in each episode we will learn how older tech has led to our modern world.” This two-part podcast on Doug Engelbart's oN-Line System (NLS) details the evolution of the world's first personal, interactive, collaborative, hypermedia, networked system that was featured in the now famous 'Mother of All Demos'. Could use some fact-checking, but largely well researched, with great insight, well told!
Check out
NLS: Part 1 | NLS: Part 2 | The Engelbart Audio Collection
Engelbart: Collective intelligence and IQ
“He also put forward an early and full vision of collective intelligence and the idea of collective IQ. He envisioned much of this before the advent of the internet but foresaw the importance of networked knowledge and the networked organisation.”
See Also: Extended Minds Interview | Post this is Part Of
Improvement communities
“Improving the way we improve is a collective effort with exponential rewards. But why have so few industries embraced it?”
See companion article Collective IQ and Continuous Improvement
Collective IQ and Continuous Improvement
“How do you harness the collective intelligence of a group, solve difficult problems, and share what you learn?”
An excellent distillation and synthesis of Doug Engelbart's driving vision for navigating accelerating change. See companion article Improvement communities
How Humans Think When They Think As Part of a Group
“The fancy word for it is "entitativity," and it’s produced when people act and feel together in close proximity. We need it more, but we’re getting it less.” Not an Engelbart article, but it's right up our alley.
The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
“A bold new book reveals how we can tap the intelligence that exists beyond our brains—in our bodies, our surroundings, and our relationships.”
Although this book does not include or reference Doug Engelbart's work, it is quite relevant.
Engelbart Alumnus Bill Paxton: An Accidental Astrophysicist
“The American Astronomical Society honors [Engelbart alumnus Bill Paxton] an unlikely astrophysics leader from UC Santa Barbara” ... "While working at the Stanford Research Institute in 1968, he participated in what was later dubbed The Mother of All Demos, during which researcher Douglas Engelbart previewed many features that would become staples of personal computing."
Watch Paxton with Engelbart in 1968 Demo | More about the Demo
Augmenting the Learning Dialogue Online
A Q&A with Gardner Campbell “We've heard a lot lately about moving the remote learning experience farther away from a training model and closer to a collaborative learning model in which students participate together in the co-creation or discovery of knowledge.
As far back as the 1960s, alongside the work of Doug Engelbart, people have dreamed about ways to augment the knowledge worker, the researcher, the scholar, the faculty, and the student... Today, a conversation about how to do that ”
Information: A Historical Companion
This book offers a "landmark history that traces the creation, management, and sharing of information through six centuries” - exploring how information has shaped and been shaped by human society, offering views of history through the lens of information, and views of information through the lens of history.
Find Doug Engelbart on pages 249, 252, 256, 266-268.
See also: Table of Contents & Index | Book Review | Book on Amazon
The Click Heard around the World
“On December 9, 1968, Douglas Engelbart of the Stanford Research Institute hosted a session at the Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco in which he used the first computer mouse to sweep through a demonstration that became the blueprint for modern computing.”
Related Articles: Tech Suport | How design factored into “the mother of all tech demos”
A Case for Cooperation Between Machines and Humans
“A computer scientist argues that the quest for fully automated robots is misguided, perhaps even dangerous. [...] The distinction first appeared in two computer science laboratories that were created in 1962 near Stanford University. John McCarthy, [who] coined the term 'artificial intelligence,' [and] Douglas Engelbart, [who] coined the term 'intelligence augmentation,' or I.A.”