Innovation, Empathy, and the Future of Human-Machine Interaction

The interaction between humans and technology has changed drastically in the last 20 years. This relationship shapes our society in positive and negative ways, and the next 20 years promises to bring about even more profound changes. Perhaps you remember the "Borg Collective" from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Borg used neural interfaces to connect every member of their society to each other and their leader. What if instead of a dictatorial society, the Borg had used their neural interconnections to create an advanced egalitarian society? They didn't. But maybe we can. As founder and CEO of AnthroTronix Inc., Corinna Lathan's ('88) work with children with disabilities has been featured in Forbes, Time, and The New Yorker and has led to her being named one of MIT Technology Review's "Top 100 World Innovators" and Fast Company's "Most Creative People in Business." Lathan also is the founder of Keys to Empowering Youth, an engineering mentoring program for young girls. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event.