Author and computer scientist Jaron Lanier, who Time Magazine named one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010, visited USC Annenberg from Sept. 13 to 15 as this year's “Innovator-in-Residence."

Lanier fielded questions from a standing-room only classroom during the Sept. 15 Dean's Open Forum in which he presented on “Self and Reality: Finding Clarity in the Digital Noise" (watch video). He discussed topics from his 2010 book, You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, where he "discusses the technical and cultural problems that can grow out of poorly considered digital design and warns that our financial markets and sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter are elevating the 'wisdom' of mobs and computer algorithms over the intelligence and judgment of individuals."

"I especially want to challenge the students to think for yourself," he said. "If you find yourself agreeing with everything I say, stop and figure out what you disagree with. You need to invent yourself." 

The Innovator-In-Residence program began last year with Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger and was made possible by a gift from Deena and Mitchell Lew, USC alumni and Annenberg parents.

"The goal is to invite someone who is an innovator in his or her own right to help our community here at the Annenberg School specifically to come together and think about what innovation means in the context of their personal and professional lives," Dean Ernest J. Wilson III said about the program.

Annenberg research scholar Pekka Pekkala (M.A. Specialized Journalism '10) said he is often impressed by the caliber of guest speakers and lecturers that come to USC Annenberg, but he was especially excited to hear Lanier speak.

"As Jaron Lanier said, it’s good for your own thinking to hear interesting viewpoints," Pekkala said. "You hear lots of different views and then you can start finding out what’s true to you. That’s how your own thinking evolves."