Does MIT bring some comparative advantage?
To be a humanist at MIT is to be a walking, talking oxymoron a total contradiction. I see this as a strength, not a liability. There’s an enormous opportunity because we’re here where the various labs are developing cutting- edge technologies for tomorrow. We’re ahead of the curve in understanding what those technologies are and how they will be used. And our backgrounds as humanists and social scientists enable us to ask important questions about how those technologies are going to impact society and culture. Tell me about your involvement with teens; why are you putting your efforts here? As I looked around, it was clear that high school students were among the first to really explore the creative and community-building potential of digital technology. They are really on the front lines of the digital revolution. The public reaction to Columbine revealed how much fear about digital technology there was in our culture. The week after the Littleton shooting, The Washington Post conduct
