Jaron Lanier

About

Lanier’s name is often associated with Virtual Reality research. He probably coined the terms ‘Virtual Reality’ and ‘Mixed Reality’.  He founded VPL Research, the first company to sell VR products, in the early 1980s. In the late 1980s he led the team that developed the first implementations of multi-person virtual worlds using head mounted displays, as well as the first “avatars,” or representations of users within such systems. While at VPL, he and his colleagues developed the first implementations of virtual reality applications such as surgical simulation, vehicle interior prototyping, skill training, and virtual sets for television production.

Lanier is also a writer, mostly addressing the philosophy and economics of technology.  He is often associated with humanism, critiques of the “advertising business model”, and with his proposals for an alternate approach to digital economics.  His books have been international bestsellers; he is a frequent guest on television and other media to discuss them.

Lanier has received multiple honorary doctorates and awards, including CMU’s Watson Award, a Lifetime Career Award from the IEEE, Harvard’s Goldsmith Book Prize, and the German Peace Prize for Books, one of the world’s highest literary honors.  In 2018 Wired Magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people in technology of the previous 25 years; Time Magazine has named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Lanier was a founder or principal of four startups presently owned by Oracle, Adobe, Google, and Pfizer. He is currently the Prime Unifying Scientist at Microsoft’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, which spells out “Octopus”, in reference to his fascination with cephalopod neurology.

He is also a musician and composer who has recently performed or recorded with Sara Bareilles, T Bone Burnett, Jon Batiste, Philip Glass, and many others.