Saturday, April 21, 2018: 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Grand Ballroom
In this closing conversation, Curtis Wong, Principal Researcher at the Microsoft Redmond Research Laboratory, reflects on how museum and other learning experiences have been transformed by the evolution of the many technologies he has helped pioneer, from the 20th century’s laserdiscs and CD-ROMs, to today’s Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Tech companies are today’s Medicis, he argues, and the opportunity for those leading the technological Renaissance is to share a portion of their success by supporting the creation and access to arts and culture and experiment with new tools in connecting the separate contexts that museum objects and their visitors occupy in an experiential way. Inspired by his own interests in science, culture, music, arts, history, and humanities, Curtis has been a life-long friend and champion for museums, educational, and scientific organizations worldwide. Given the levels of investment now occurring in social networks and the public exposure of personal information, how will the latest generation of emergent technologies shape what museums do in the future? Curtis discusses these and related topics with MW18 co-chair, Nancy Proctor, and Manish Engineer from the Seattle Art Museum, where Curtis is a trustee.
Chair: Nancy Proctor