Computer Pioneer Alan Kay to Speak at Conference on Human-Computer Interaction

"Is the Best Way to Predict the Future to Invent It? Or to Prevent It?"

(Palo Alto, CA.) Alan Kay will deliver a keynote address at CHI 98, the next conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) sponsored by ACM SIGCHI. Kay pioneered the development of modern personal computers while at Xerox PARC, and has made numerous contributions in the field of user interfaces and the use of computers in education. He is currently a Disney Fellow at Walt Disney Imagineering. Kay's talk at CHI 98 is titled "Is the Best Way to Predict the Future to Invent It? Or to Prevent It?" In it, he will discuss the nature of creativity in computers and user interfaces and illuminate constructive uses of technology in education.

Kay advocates appropriate uses of technology in education, in opposition to much of the software available to children. Much of the software meant for use by children over-emphasizes rote learning or is an electronic substitute for books such as encyclopedias; Kay has long advocated a much richer interface for children emphasizing simulation of natural or man-made systems. Noting that "for children, simulation as a way of knowing and understanding is a natural, particularly if the kids construct the simulations themselves," he encourages deeper involvement of the student with computers than is available in most classrooms. This deeper understanding "has the same place in computer literacy as does writing in classical literacy." He is also skeptical of user interface designs that merely mimic physical reality, such as the current standard representations of an office desktop environment ubiquitous in current personal computers.

Allison Druin, Education Domain Chair for the conference, chose Alan Kay because of his long-standing and profound interest in education and technology. Kay's invitation to speak at CHI 98 emphasizes the importance of technology and user interface design in education at the conference. As Druin comments, "we need to understand how the world of education should change technology; and we need to understand how the technologies we make can change the way people learn." Druin also chairs the CHIKids program, a combination of child care and technical program for the children of adult conference participants.

CHI is the premier worldwide forum for the exchange of information on all aspects of how people interact with computers. The annual conference features a full program of presentations, tutorials and vendor exhibits. Participants from academia, industry, health care and the arts come from around the world. CHI conferences are sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM)'s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). The CHI conference is traditionally supported by industry organizations. The CHI 98 corporate sponsors include: Citibank, IBM, Microsoft Usability, Nokia, Sun Microsystems and Unisys.

The theme for 1998 is "Making the Impossible Possible." Approximately 2,500 participants will examine the future of human-computer interaction from 18-23 April in Los Angeles, CA at the Los Angeles Convention Center.