Respected biographer Walter Isaacson thinks that in the age of cognitive computers, technological advancement was made possible by one unique human trait— the imagination. Isaacson says imagination will make us "remain relevant in an era of cognitive computing." It is our imagination that will spark the next wave of digital revolution, which he believes will consist of the integration of the arts and sciences.
Isaacson let readers know exactly what was on his mind when it came to his ideas on the fusion between advancements in technology and art in a LinkedIn post.
"The interplay between technology and the creative arts will eventually result in completely new forms of expression and media," he writes.
Giving readers a look at his new book The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, Isaacson revealed on LinkedIn that he predicts that creative industries will play a role in technological innovations, which will result in the creation of beautiful technologies.
In the post he writes:
"The next phase of the digital revolution will bring a true fusion of technology with the creative industries, such as media, fashion, music, entertainment, education, literature, and the arts...This innovation will come from people who are able to link beauty to engineering, humanity to technology, and poetry to processors. In other words, it will come from the spiritual heirs of Ada Lovelace, creators who can flourish where the arts intersect with the sciences, and who have a rebellious sense of wonder that opens them to the beauty of both."
Crediting Lovelace, a 19th century mathematician who was one of the pioneers in creating algorithms, Isaacson says the advancements of the next digital revolution of the arts and sciences will only be possible thanks to the imaginations of the next set of collaborators.
Isaacson's four-decade career has included books about Steve Jobs and other iconic figures like Albert Einstein. He has written about topics that range from politics, education and technology. His new book about the history of technology talks about the people behind the most important inventions of our era: the computer and the Internet.
