Alan C. Kay

President, Viewpoints Research Institute Inc.; Senior Fellow, HP Labs

Most Important Technology of the Last 40 Years:

Gene-sequencing technology.

Most Important Technology for the Coming Decade:

By definition, a technology is anything that is made, so we could reasonably consider the U.S. Constitution as a technology, and I do. The most pressing needs in the world currently are drinkable water and education, especially of women. If we were to add a third need, it would have to be a much better awareness and perspective on the human condition and what we can do with nature and learning to make things more civilized for all. We could certainly imagine "technologies" to accomplish all three of these needs. Ultimately, technologies that are like the printed book, but even more comprehensive and better in many ways—for example, they can teach the user how to be literate in them— will have the biggest impacts.

Technology That has Evolved in a Surprising Way:

The nonappearance of the computer tutor, foretold in the 1960s, which would gently help a child to learn.

"There's been an amazing slowdown and viscosity induced by the commercialization of personal computing and networks into the mass market. [Marshall] McLuhan had ways to predict such things, but I didn't think that so much would be thrown away and so little progress would be made in the last 20 to 25 years.

"Most humans are instrumental reasoners—they judge new tools and new ideas by how well they contribute to their current goals. This leads to a low-pass filter that is quite numbing. But powerful new tools and containers for ideas have a way of winning out over decades, usually through children. I believe that computers can be used to amplify human potential—it's taking longer than one might hope, but it has a very high probability of happening."