Kevin Kelly of WIRED and Recomendo: On What Technology Wants and the Future of Virtual Reality — Ep. 12
By: Daniel Scrivner
Tags: AR, VR, Technology, Podcast

Kevin Kelly is the publisher of the incredibly weekly newsletter, Recomendo, and co-host of the Cool Tools podcast.

“What is this thing we call technology? In the cosmological sense, like, where does it fit in? How does it relate to life? And my current summary would be that it is an extension of life and therefore is not contrary to life. It’s an extended version of life — and that gives me hope, because it means that we can always make a greener version of whatever we make.” — Kevin KellyIn this episode of Outliers, I’m talking with Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly) of WIRED magazine about his perspective on technology and its evolution. We discuss AI, AR, and how humans can benefit from partnering with and embracing tech.

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Kevin Kelly was the Founding Executive Editor of WIRED magazine and the Editor of Whole Earth Review. He’s also the author of several best-selling books, including Out of Control and What Technology Wants. His perspective on science and technology has been featured in writings for The New York Times, The Economist, and Time magazine, and he served as a futurist advisor for Steven Spielberg’s film, Minority Report. Kevin continues to produce content for his newsletter, Recomendo, his YouTube channel, and his weekly podcast, Cool Tools.

Topics Discussed

00:00:48 — The turning point for Kevin’s relationship with technology

— The turning point for Kevin’s relationship with technology 00:05:06 — Kevin’s thoughts on what technology wants

— Kevin’s thoughts on what technology wants 00:07:31 — Technology’s evolution in the directions of more complexity, more diversity, and/or more specificity

— Technology’s evolution in the directions of more complexity, more diversity, and/or more specificity 00:11:19 — General purpose vs. specialized technology

— General purpose vs. specialized technology 00:13:21 — Managing complexity through simplistic interfaces

— Managing complexity through simplistic interfaces 00:15:20 — The best designers can master complexity to render it simple for users

— The best designers can master complexity to render it simple for users 00:16:23 — Kevin’s start with Wired magazine

— Kevin’s start with Wired magazine 00:20:00 — The debate for optimism in technology

— The debate for optimism in technology 00:23:53 — Magic Leap and virtual worlds

— Magic Leap and virtual worlds 00:30:01 — Kevin’s next focus on generative art with AI

— Kevin’s next focus on generative art with AI 00:32:37 — Kevin’s work on Minority Report

— Kevin’s work on Minority Report 00:35:50 — A “centaur” team of human + AI tends to be better than just human or just AI

— A “centaur” team of human + AI tends to be better than just human or just AI 00:37:20 — How Kevin collaborates on his newsletter, Recomendo

— How Kevin collaborates on his newsletter, Recomendo 00:40:21 — Recent recommended books and documentaries

— Recent recommended books and documentaries 00:41:48 — A parting message from Kevin on embracing technology

For more, explore the full transcript of this episode. Transcripts for all episodes can be found here.

Links from the Episode

Kevin’s Books and Projects:

Key Insight

The only way for humans to be able to steer and direct the future of technology is to embrace it. Rather than rejecting this progress and the problems technology can bring, we can test, evaluate, adopt, and change the tools that arise, so we can play a part in how technology evolves.

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