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Alan Kay Revival Project, First Report

日本語記事はこちら

Date: July 4th, 2024, 19:00-21:40

About the Alan Kay Revival Project

 

Image: business leaders square wisdom

Alan Kay envisioned modern multimedia society and significantly influenced the development of the computer industry. This project aims to spread awareness of his remarkable achievements and contribute to industry vitalization. I'm Reona, a front-end engineer at Flagship Inc. Our project's goal is to study and deepen our understanding of Alan Kay's philosophy while sharing information to provide the next generation of computer industry leaders with opportunities to engage with his ideas and achievements.


For our activities, we hold research meetings (discussions) every 1-1.5 months, focusing on assigned reading materials and video resources. We compile these discussions into reports to share with a broader audience.


For our first meeting, we studied Yasuki Hamano's paper "Alan Kay: Understanding the Power to Envision the Future," which provides a comprehensive overview of Alan Kay's profile.


Reference:

  • Title: 「アラン・ケイ：未来を見通す力とは何か」浜野保樹 / "Alan Kay: Understanding the Power to Envision the Future" by Yasuki Hamano
  • Journal: Computer Software
  • Volume: 7(4)
  • Publisher: Japan Society for Software Science and Technology
  • Publication Date: October 15, 1990
  • URL: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jssst/7/4/7_4_395/_article/-char/ja/

While the meeting was initially scheduled for 19:00-20:30, the discussions became so engaging that we continued until 21:40!

Participants

Our first meeting attracted 15 participants from diverse backgrounds, including:

  • Flagship company employees
  • Computer industry professionals
  • Information science researchers
  • Venture capital professionals
  • Education sector representatives

Notably, we were honored to have Tomomi Tsubota join us, who had personally interviewed Alan Kay during his time as a Nikkei newspaper reporter. His insights into the historical context and industry atmosphere of that era were invaluable.

Introduction

Project organizer Kensuke Hiwatashi began by presenting an overview of Alan Kay's achievements. During Flagship's internal "Innovation and Knowledge Exploration Series," we learned how Alan Kay's vision influenced Apple's innovations, and how his forward-thinking concepts, combined with Steve Jobs' craftsmanship, led to breakthrough innovations.


We also learned that Kay was an avid reader from childhood, reading hundreds of books annually. His carefully curated reading list of 99 books spans various fields, including psychology, politics, philosophy, and art, demonstrating how cross-disciplinary knowledge connections became the source of his innovative thinking.

Discussion Highlights

1. Computers and Expression

The most heated discussion centered on Kay's perspective of computers as expressive media. Kay insisted that "computers are not tools" – a statement that particularly resonated with participants. He believed the term "tool" was insufficient to describe a computer's capabilities, preferring terms like "communication amplifier" and "fantasy amplifier."


Kay often stated that music was more important to him than computers, allowing him to maintain an objective perspective and view computers as expressive media. His notable quote: "Technology developers without creative impulses cannot create expressive media."


The discussion referenced Paul Klee's (1879-1940) statement that "art does not reproduce the visible but makes visible," suggesting that Kay's musical background enabled him to explore new possibilities for expression through technology.

2. User Interface Evolution

Participants noted the lack of major innovations in user interfaces since Engelbart's mouse. While GUI (Graphical User Interface) enabled two-dimensional operation, we still haven't developed effective 3D or 4D mice.


The discussion touched on the Vivarium project, which envisioned future media operated purely by hands and fingers without traditional displays. Hiroshi Ishii, MIT Media Lab's Associate Director, has made groundbreaking progress in this area.

3. Alan Kay's Philosophy and Modern AI

The group discussed how current AI technology, based on pattern recognition, differs from the strong AI that Kay researched. Kay was interested in AI that reflected human thinking, a field that hasn't progressed as significantly as machine learning.


Apple's Knowledge Navigator, presented in 1987 during John Sculley's CEO tenure, demonstrated this vision of strong AI.

4. Education and Community Importance

Participants discussed Kay's particular interest in educational research. His view of computers as media naturally led to exploring how children could utilize new media and how computers could enhance education.

Conclusion

The diversity of participants from various industries brought unique perspectives to the discussion. The meeting deepened our understanding of computer development and Kay's influence on innovation.

Personal learning objectives identified through this discussion include:

  • Has the Dynabook been realized? If not, what remains unrealized?
  • What are the differences between Kay's envisioned future and our present?
  • What was the Vivarium project's vision for future media?
  • How did Kay build upon the work of pioneers like:
    • Vannevar Bush
    • Douglas Engelbart
    • Ted Nelson

Postscript

Regarding UI invention, Hiroshi Ishii's "ClearBoard" received high praise from Kay, who called it "the best work I've seen in 30 years since Douglas Engelbart."

https://getnews.jp/archives/2227179

On the Dynabook's realization, Kay warns about the dangers of treating computers and smartphones as ordinary tools, as seen in his keynote lecture at the IT25-50 Symposium.

Reference Materials

■Contact

If you are interested in this project, please contact us at the following email address.
pr@flagship.cc


 

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