Trained in computer science and software engineering, Douglas Schuler has been working on the borderlines of society and technology for over 20 years. He believes that positive social change is possible and that technology could play a role in promoting it. To that end he has given presentations on similar themes in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. He has written and co-edited several books, including New Community Networks: Wired for Change (Addison-Wesley, 1996; also http://www.publicsphereproject.org/ncn/) and, most recently Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution (MIT Press, 2008), a civic intelligence undertaking with 85 contributors. He is a founder of the Seattle Community Network, an early, free public-access computer network and the Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing (DIAC) symposium series sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility that was launched in 1987. Formerly an AI Researcher at Boeing Computer Services, Doug has been teaching at The Evergreen State College, a non-traditional liberal arts college in Washington State, since 1996. He is also president of the Public Sphere Project (http://www.publicsphereproject.org/) a non-profit organization dedicated to the democratization and effective use of information and communication systems.
Civic Intelligence & the Public Sphere
