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 is a geospatial and visualization
researcher with the Center for Advanced Spatial
Technologies at the University of Arkansas. Since
1993 he has pursued research in geospatial
applications and development and scientific
visualization. He works closely with the EAST
Initiative to develop new approaches in
geospatial and visualization education, leading a
team that supports 10,000+ students in
approximately 240 schools.
What is your
greatest fear for the future of networked
technologies? Commercialism. And
basically anything that takes away from the
ability for people to feel that they can freely
and equally gain access to the internet. I have
some misgivings, and I realize from a practical
business sense this may not be good business, but
in a social sense it is essential. In the town
where I live, a local banker had one of the first
free local public (internet) kiosks in the
country, and I think that kind of concept –
free and open access – is what's needed
to make it a social equalizer.
Looking out more
than 10 years, what development will have the
greatest impact on society? The ability
to involve other senses than vision and hearing
is really what would revolutionize social
interaction as we know it over the network.
Somebody would be able to smell the avatar next
to them. They say that smell is the strongest of
our senses in terms of subconscious
communication. So touch and smell and the ability
to use those other senses over the internet would
absolutely revolutionize long-distance
communication as we know it. That's my
biggest vision there.
What technology
will have the greatest impact on our everyday
lives the next 10 years? The idea that
the world can be recorded and presented virtually
through the internet will revolutionize
everything. The idea of geographic privacy is
already pretty much gone. It's too easy to
see where things are or where people are…
that's going to impact everything. It also
provides a multitude of really positive
opportunities. As you're walking down the
road being able to look at your telephone and see
what's close to you and see what kind of
tree, is that where is that restaurant,
what's the flock of birds flying over? I
think the idea of making that information
available virtually everywhere, being able to
share knowledge based on where you are could
impact everyone.
What do you think
policymakers should do to ensure a positive
future for networked technologies? The
whole idea of ownership of content on the network
and control of what's allowed to flow between
countries. Keeping the internet as open as
it's been historically is totally essential
to insuring the future to be what we'd like
it to be. We're already seeing instances of
there being more than one internet experience
depending on where you are geographically, and we
need to work towards removing that if
possible.
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