TED - technology, entertainment, and design

TED is a conference where the best and the brightest in the fields of technology, design, and entertainment come together. People who attend this conference are some of the most prominent thinkers, innovators and creators that make our world an exciting place. Attendance is by invitation only and costs a cool $4,400 this year. You can request to be invited and will be accepted if:

• you are curious, open-minded, playful, smart, creative
• you have achieved notable success in your chosen field
• you are able to make a valuable contribution to the exchange of ideas that takes place at TED
• you are interested to help create a better future for our world

Here is a cool video by TED speaker Jeff Hawkins about how the human brain works. He says the brain isn't like a powerful computer processor. It's more like a memory system that records everything we experience and helps us predict, intelligently, what will happen next. Bringing this new brain science to computer devices will enable powerful new applications -- and it will happen sooner than you think.

Where do I fit in?

Information sciences and technology deals with information, technology, and people. When you take up a career in IST, you can position yourself anywhere within this triangle, depending on how much you are interested in I, T or P. Following are some interesting areas in IST to think about, followed by an example from that area and a link which will give you more information about that area.

1. Human-computer interaction (HCI) – the study of how people interact with computer interfaces

o Design of an ATM machine or a vending machine

o Learn about good design - http://www.jnd.org/GoodDesign.html

2. Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) – how technology helps groups of people to work together

o Using online chat (Yahoo or AIM) to collaborate on class projects

o Read a collaboratively written novel - http://www.amillionpenguins.com/wiki/index.php/Welcome

3. Software design and development – how to design and develop software and programs.

o Writing the programs that make your cell phones or washers and dryers work.

o Participate in Google-sponsored programming events - http://code.google.com/soc/

4. Virtual groups, social networks and online communities – how people interact in virtual spaces such as video games, online communities, weblogs etc.

o How Orkut helps you find classmates and groups to interact with

o Create your profile on Orkut and get in touch with friends – http://www.orkut.com

5. Information Society and information and communications in society – how technology affects societies, and access and control of the technology.

o How the microwave has changed both what and how Americans eat

o Learn about science, technology, and society - http://www.personal.u-net.com/~nchadd/

6. Enterprise Systems & Socio-technical Systems – large-scale software systems in organizations.

o Design of banking or car insurance systems

o Book cheap airline tickets and hotels for your next trip – http://orbitz.com

7. Knowledge management, acquisition and learning – how to capture, store, and share knowledge and experience of individuals and groups within an organization

o Storing experience and knowledge of employees before they leave an organization

o Use concept mapping tools to organize what you are learning at camp - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_map

8. Information searching, seeking, and retrieval – how search engines, databases, recommender systems, etc. allow people to access information that they want.

o Using Google to find information about your favorite topics

o Find your way home from our camp – http://maps.google.com

9. Agents, Modeling/simulation, Intelligent Systems – how machines can emulate human intelligence.

o Speech recognition systems that convert voice to text

o Talk to Alice the robot - http://www.pandorabots.com/pandora/talk?botid=f5d922d97e345aa1

Information, Technology, and People

You have all used a cell phone. But have you ever thought about what goes into the construction and use of a cell phone? Computer architects design the chips, psychologists study the behavior of potential users, cognitive scientists study the human brain and its responses to signals, computer programmers write the software, and business analysts study marketing and sales strategies. Thus, the cell phone is brought to the consumer. But, what happens after people have started using cell phones? Sociologists study the effects of cell phone usage on society, HCI experts study how to improve the design of interfaces, and the cell phone might be redesigned or removed from the market.


This example shows how information (I), technology (T), and people (P) are intricately connected in today’s world. The field of IST is about these connections. IST contributes to fields as diverse as education, health, entertainment, safety, communication, transportation, security, manufacturing, etc.