Doug Engelbart’s Vision:
In the early 1950s, Doug Engelbart realized that the world’s problems were becoming more complex and urgent, while human abilities to deal with them were not keeping pace. He envisioned a future where people could use computers to augment their intellect and work collectively to solve complex problems.

Doug Engelbart’s Research:
In 1962, Engelbart described his conceptual framework for augmenting human intellect. He aimed to develop new techniques and systems to adapt people’s information handling capabilities to societal needs. Over the next six years, he and his team created the NLS system, which showcased many innovative concepts.

The NLS System:
The NLS system introduced several groundbreaking ideas that are now commonplace in modern interfaces. It featured document processing, outline processing, hypertext, hypermedia, and collaborative hypermedia systems. The NLS system also included input and output devices such as the mouse, a one-handed corded keyboard, high-resolution displays, and multiple windows. It emphasized shared work, including shared files, hypertext systems, personal annotations, electronic messaging, shared displays, multiple pointers, and audio/video conferencing. Engelbart also had early ideas about the internet.

The Famous Demonstration:
In 1968, Engelbart presented his ideas and the NLS system in a live demonstration at the AFIP Fall Joint Computer Conference. This presentation showcased many of the concepts that would later become standard features in modern computing. Engelbart’s demonstration had a profound impact on the field of computer science and laid the foundation for the development of modern user interfaces.

1. Collaborative Editing and Communication:
Engelbart demonstrates the use of shared text editing and real-time communication between two terminals. The system features a “bug” that allows users to point to text and communicate with each other. Engelbart highlights the importance of establishing a collaborative mode for efficient teamwork.

2. Integrated Network Information Service:
Engelbart discusses the need for a dedicated service to provide relevant network information. The service would help users find information about available services, protocols, user guides, and system descriptions. Engelbart emphasizes the challenge of utilizing tools for organizing and retrieving information in a network context.

3. Recognition of Engelbart’s Contributions:
Saul Greenberg acknowledges the significance of Engelbart’s contributions and visions, which were initially ahead of their time. Engelbart’s work has influenced the development of various interfaces, but the full potential of his ideas is yet to be realized. Greenberg highlights Engelbart’s inclusion in the CSCW readings, the Lemelson-MIT Prize, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the ACM Turing Award.

4. Challenges in the 1970s and 1980s:
Engelbart expresses his concern about being labeled as an historical figure and confined to the past. He reflects on the loss of research funding due to the focus on office automation rather than augmentation. Engelbart describes the commercialization of the NLS system through Timeshare and McDonnell Douglas.

5. Open Hyper-Document System and the Bootstrap Institute:
Engelbart emphasizes the need for an open hyper-document system to address the challenges of complex problems and collaboration. He discusses the establishment of the Bootstrap Institute with his daughter Christina to promote the concept of a consortium among end-user organizations. Engelbart mentions the formation of the Bootstrap Alliance as a framework for the consortium.

6. Engelbart’s Humility and Collaborative Spirit:
Engelbart humbly acknowledges that he is not a skilled doer, organizer, or designer. He credits his team members, such as Building Nation and Jeff Wilson, for their contributions to his achievements. Engelbart emphasizes the importance of collaboration and acknowledges the need for a strong team to achieve ambitious goals.

Engelbart’s Main Points:
Technology is evolving rapidly, and organizations are not keeping pace with necessary adaptations. These technologies have the potential to solve major problems and boost collective action. Augmenting human capabilities and improvement infrastructure can create a co-evolutionary frontier. The human system includes genetic capabilities, tools, procedures, customs, language, and knowledge. The world needs more collective action to address major problems and harness technological potential.

Co-evolutionary Frontier:
Engelbart recognized that human capabilities alone are insufficient. Engineers can create tools and systems to augment human capabilities. The human system encompasses various aspects, including culture, society, and knowledge. The co-evolution of technology and the human system can lead to significant progress.

Augmenting Capabilities and Improvement Infrastructure:
Engelbart saw the potential for technology to enhance both human capabilities and improvement infrastructure. This could lead to a virtuous cycle of innovation and progress.

Call to Action:
Engelbart challenged the audience to take responsibility for improving the world. He emphasized the need for collective action to address major problems and harness technological potential.

Technological Advancements and Their Implications:
Doug Engelbart emphasizes the profound impact of technological advancements on society, particularly in terms of their qualitative changes and the inability of existing systems to harness them effectively.

Scaling and Its Effects:
Engelbart discusses the importance of scaling in electronic components and how changes in key parameters can lead to surprising and qualitative shifts in the way an environment operates. He highlights the need to explore new phenomena and technologies that can be harnessed at smaller scales, such as rapid heating and cooling capabilities.

The Interdependence of Technology and Human Systems:
Engelbart emphasizes the interconnectedness of technology and human systems, suggesting that changes in one domain necessitate corresponding changes in the other. He proposes that the emergence of new technologies requires new approaches to transportation, teamwork, and organizational structures to fully leverage their potential.

Historical Perspective on Technological Shifts:
Engelbart reflects on the historical significance of technological shifts and compares them to the current era of emerging technologies. He identifies the agricultural revolution as a comparable period of qualitative change in human systems and social structures, highlighting the profound impact it had on various aspects of society.

The Printing Press and Industrial Revolution:
Engelbart acknowledges the importance of the printing press and the Industrial Revolution but argues that their impact on society was relatively minor compared to the potential impact of current technological advancements.

The Distribution of Technological Adoption:
Engelbart suggests that different organizations and societies adopt technologies at varying rates, resulting in a distribution of technological advancement across different entities. He expresses interest in analyzing this distribution to gain insights into the evolution of technology adoption and its impact on society.

The Slow Evolution of Society and the Frontier:
Engelbart reflects on the gradual pace of societal evolution in the past, where new technologies were gradually adopted and integrated into existing systems. He contrasts this with the potential for rapid and disruptive change brought about by current technological advancements.

The Cost of Early Computer Displays:
Engelbart provides a historical example of the high cost of computer displays in 1964, highlighting the significant investment required to conduct experiments and develop new technologies. He compares the cost of a custom-made display in 1964 to its equivalent value in modern times, emphasizing the substantial financial resources needed for technological innovation.

Nanotechnology’s Potential and Challenges:
Engelbart discussed the potential of nanotechnology to bring immense computing power and memory capacity in a compact form factor. He emphasized the need for society to prepare for the changes and challenges that this technological advancement may bring.

Wearable and Surgically Implanted Computers:
Engelbart predicted the emergence of wearable computers and surgically implanted computers that could directly interface with human nerves. He acknowledged the potential benefits but also highlighted the ethical and societal implications of such technologies.

Intelligent Agents and Their Risks:
Engelbart discussed the potential of intelligent agents to enhance human productivity and automate tasks. He cautioned that intelligent agents could become aberrant and pose risks if not properly harnessed and controlled. He emphasized the need for new vocabularies, skills, processes, and procedures to effectively manage intelligent agents.

Smart Agents and the Need for Human Learning:
Engelbart criticized the notion that smart agents would eliminate the need for humans to learn and adapt. He argued that humans must actively engage with and learn from smart agents to harness their full potential.

Challenges in Exploring the Frontier of Computing:
Engelbart highlighted the limitations of the marketplace in helping to explore the potential of computing technologies. He emphasized the need for outposts and initiatives to guide organizations in adopting and adapting to new technologies effectively.

The Need for Outposts to Explore New Technologies:
Engelbart stressed the importance of establishing outposts or dedicated spaces where new technologies can be explored and tested in real-world settings. He argued that without such outposts, organizations would struggle to understand and adopt new technologies effectively.

Conclusion:
Engelbart’s insights provide a thought-provoking perspective on the potential and challenges of emerging technologies. He emphasizes the need for careful consideration, ethical reflection, and strategic planning as society navigates the rapidly evolving landscape of computing and nanotechnology.

Collective Intelligence Shift:
Social organisms, including organizations and communities, evolve slowly over time. The emergence of digital technology has provided these organisms with a new, high-power nervous system. This new nervous system has the potential to radically evolve social organisms, causing both challenges and opportunities.

Social Organisms and External Environment:
Social organisms must keep track of and assess their external environment to identify opportunities and threats. They must be able to marshal resources and coordinate actions to pursue new plans and adapt to changes in the environment.

Collective Intelligence:
Collective intelligence is essential for social organisms to cope with the rapid changes and challenges of the modern world. By improving collective intelligence, organizations can better leverage their collective knowledge and resources to solve problems and achieve goals.

Improving Collective Intelligence:
Key organizational capabilities for improving collective intelligence include the concurrent development, integration, and application of knowledge. This involves fostering a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning within the organization.

Introduction of Concepts:
Collective intelligence is a crucial civic capability that can be achieved by moving out of the co-evolution frontier. Improvement infrastructure is essential for enhancing an organization’s primary work capabilities. Open knowledge systems are necessary for the radical evolution of knowledge management and innovation.

Improvement Infrastructure:
Organizations engage in three types of activities: A (everyday work), B (activities to improve A), and C (activities to improve B). C activities involve scouting the frontier, gaining knowledge, and providing orientation for moving out into the frontier. B activities utilize the knowledge gained from C to improve the organization’s primary work capabilities. Accounting and auditing systems should be designed to isolate spending on B and C activities, as these are crucial for future organizational success.

Open Knowledge Systems:
Proprietary knowledge systems hinder the evolution of open hyper document systems. An open architecture for knowledge containers is necessary to facilitate real work and enhance access, maneuverability, scalability, and interoperability across domains. Breaking free from proprietary knowledge systems is vital for promoting innovation and knowledge management.

Improvement Communities:
Organizations with similar improvement interests can form C communities to share C-type work and resources. C communities can enhance cost-effectiveness, safety, and stability in exploring the co-evolution frontier. Many improvement communities and consortia already exist, and their heightened awareness can lead to more effective collaboration.

Conclusion:
Doug Engelbart emphasizes the importance of collective intelligence, improvement infrastructure, and open knowledge systems for organizations to thrive in the rapidly changing world. He introduces the ABC framework to categorize organizational activities and highlights the need for dedicated accounting and auditing of B and C activities. By forming improvement communities, organizations can share resources and expertise, leading to more efficient and effective improvement efforts.

His Personal Connection to the Redmond Area:
Doug Engelbart grew up near Portland, Oregon, and spent time in Redmond, Washington. His family moved to a homestead in Redmond during the Great Depression, where he attended school. He reflects on how much the area has changed since his childhood.

The Need for an Infrastructure to Improve Human Capabilities:
The current infrastructure for improving human capabilities is inadequate. The rapid pace of change demands a new approach to improving our social and organizational capabilities. Doug Engelbart experienced the need for a different kind of infrastructure during his research in the 1960s.

Challenges of Changing Organizations and Individuals:
Changing organizations and individuals can be difficult due to resistance to change. Older individuals, close to retirement, may be particularly resistant to changes that disrupt their established roles and routines. Social analysis is crucial before implementing radical changes to ensure that individuals and groups are prepared for the transition.

The Importance of Identifying the Customer for Capability Improvement:
In the context of capability improvement, the customer is the activity or group that benefits from the increased knowledge and experience gained through the improvement process. Identifying the customer helps clarify the goals and objectives of capability improvement efforts.

The Focus on Functional Capability Improvement:
The functional capability of the activities being improved is the primary focus of capability improvement efforts. This framework helps define the characteristics of the community and the specific capabilities it aims to enhance.

Doug Engelbart’s Views on NICs and Community Alliances:
NICs (Networked Information Centers) are communities that collectively work to improve their capabilities. To enhance NICs, alliances can be formed strategically to focus on specific improvement processes.

The Importance of Knowledge Products:
Knowledge products are dynamic, evolving representations of a community’s collective knowledge. They go beyond traditional knowledge management and retrieval systems. Knowledge products require continuous integration of dialogue, data, and research.

The Bootstrap Alliance Concept:
Bootstrap alliances are formed between NICs with the aim of collectively enhancing their capabilities. The purpose is to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among NICs. A Japanese chapter of the Bootstrap Alliance has recently emerged, demonstrating growing interest in this approach.

Enhancing NIC Capabilities through Member Contributions:
NIC members can contribute their expertise and capabilities to improve the overall NIC. This creates a virtuous cycle where individual improvements feed back into the collective capability of the NIC.

The Significance of Community Involvement:
Community involvement is crucial for the success of NICs and bootstrap alliances. Communities need to actively participate in knowledge integration and improvement processes. Collective efforts are essential to drive continuous improvement and innovation.

Emergence of NICs:
Doug Engelbart discusses the concept of a bootstrapping index, used to identify and recruit Network Information Centers (NICs) with the potential to contribute to knowledge management. The Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) team and ACM SIGs are mentioned as potential NICs due to their high bootstrapping index.

Challenges in Creating NICs:
Engelbart raises the challenge of transforming CSCW into a real NIC. He emphasizes the need for a collective approach to knowledge work and management.

Future of Knowledge Sharing:
Engelbart envisions a future where meetings are recorded, and participants can easily access and link to specific statements, passages, or views. He highlights the importance of technology in enabling this dynamic knowledge development dialogue.

Knowledge Product Idea:
Engelbart introduces the concept of a knowledge product, similar to a textbook, but continuously updated and maintained by the community. This knowledge product would serve as a comprehensive resource for a particular community, reducing the need for textbooks and summaries.

Open Source Solution:
Engelbart proposes an open source solution for pursuing Kodiak and OHS, similar to the approach used by Linux systems. He emphasizes the benefits of community participation in the concurrent evolution of tools and processes.

Exploration of the Frontier:
Engelbart stresses the need for exploration beyond existing products and tools to reach the frontier of knowledge management. He advocates for participatory communities to explore new capabilities and functional tool sets.

Inventions and Innovations:
Engelbart reflects on his past inventions, including a unique writing tool designed to stimulate thinking about the impact of external symbols on language, accounting, business practices, and scholarship. He emphasizes the importance of easy-to-learn and natural-to-use tools, drawing an analogy to the evolution of automobiles and the skills required to operate them in complex traffic conditions.

HCI and the Evolution of the GUI:
Doug Engelbart discusses the evolution of human-computer interaction (HCI) and the development of the modern GUI. He criticizes the prevalent use of menu-based GUIs, emphasizing the efficiency and intuitiveness of command-based interfaces. Engelbart highlights the potential of a more efficient GUI that combines the best features of both approaches.

Open Hyper Document System and Collaborative Knowledge Work:
Engelbart emphasizes the need for an open hyper document system that facilitates seamless collaboration and communication among users. He draws upon his experience at McDonnell Douglas to illustrate the complexity of managing data and specifications across multiple divisions and suppliers. Engelbart envisions a system where data structures and specifications are standardized and easily accessible, enabling effective knowledge sharing and integration.

Structured Objects and Integrated Editor Browser:
Engelbart emphasizes the importance of structured objects and an integrated editor browser for efficient collaborative knowledge work. He advocates for a system where every object is blinkable, addressable, and interconnected, allowing for effortless navigation and editing. Engelbart criticizes the separation of editing and browsing functions in many contemporary systems, highlighting the benefits of a unified approach.

Hyper-Objects, Email, and Journal Publishing:
Engelbart describes the implementation of hyper-objects in email, allowing users to interlink passages within emails and files. He discusses the introduction of a system where documents submitted to a journal could be published and cataloged, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of the linked content. This innovation facilitated a more compact and reliable dialogue among researchers and collaborators.

Ongoing Evolution and Future Potential:
Engelbart mentions the ongoing evolution of various technologies and systems, including email, hypertext, and collaborative knowledge work environments. He expresses excitement about the potential of these technologies to transform communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, leading to a more efficient and interconnected world.

High-Performance Support Teams:
Engelbart emphasizes the importance of high-performance support teams to facilitate effective knowledge work and transfer of knowledge. These teams should focus on maintaining and developing dynamic knowledge repositories for a larger community. They can provide specialized support and expertise using advanced features and capabilities that are not accessible to conventional users.

Multi-Class User Interfaces:
Engelbart advocates for multi-class user interfaces in functional tool systems to accommodate users with different levels of expertise. This allows high-performance support teams to work efficiently using advanced features and properties that are not relevant to pedestrian users. Users can gradually move up in grades of capability within the environment as they gain experience and expertise.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing:
Engelbart envisions a collaborative computing environment where individuals can easily connect and share screens with each other. This enables real-time collaboration and knowledge sharing among geographically dispersed teams. Shared screen support allows others to observe and learn from high-performance support teams, fostering knowledge transfer and skill development.

Open Source Pursuit and Frontier Exploration:
Engelbart highlights the significance of open-source pursuits and the need for teams to explore the frontiers of knowledge work. He emphasizes the importance of breaking away from conventional methods and investing in training, equipment, and innovative approaches to enhance fundamental sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and motor capabilities.

Integration and Knowledge Repository:
Engelbart stresses the challenge of integrating various tools and resources to create a cohesive knowledge repository. He proposes that high-performance support teams focus on this core integration, ensuring effective knowledge management and transfer within a larger community. This integration process involves maintaining and developing dynamic knowledge repositories and facilitating the Kodiak processes associated with knowledge development and maintenance.

Exploring the Potential of a National Interest Group (NIC) for ACM Special Interest Groups (SIGs):
Doug Engelbart suggests forming a NIC of selected ACM SIGs to collaborate on research and development projects. This NIC would focus on critical areas such as computer-human interaction (CHI), hypertext linking (LINK), and knowledge and distributed intelligence. The goal is to unite the efforts of various SIGs and pool their resources to drive progress in these fields.

Collaboration with SIGCHI and SIGLINK:
Engelbart highlights the ongoing communication with SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction) and SIGLINK (Special Interest Group on Hypertext and Hypermedia). These SIGs share common interests and expertise in areas such as user interface design, information retrieval, and hypertext navigation. The proposed NIC would bring together these SIGs and other relevant SIGs to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF):
Engelbart proposes submitting a joint proposal to the NSF’s Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence program in February. The proposal would seek funding to support the formation of an ACM NIC focused on computer-human interaction, hypertext linking, and knowledge and distributed intelligence. The NIC would facilitate collaborative research, workshops, conferences, and other activities to advance these fields.

The Impact of Future Environments:
Engelbart concludes his presentation by showcasing a vision of future work environments, where individuals interact with computers in a seamless and intuitive manner. He emphasizes the transformative potential of these environments and invites the audience to consider their implications.

Question and Answer Session:
Saul Greenberg, the session moderator, invites questions from the audience. Engelbart expresses his willingness to engage in discussions and address any inquiries related to the proposed NIC and the future of computer systems.

Human Cloning:
Human cloning is a possibility that brings both excitement and fear. It may lead to improved capabilities but also raises ethical and safety concerns.

Importance of Collective Intelligence:
Rapid technological advancements demand a smarter society to handle the challenges they bring. Economic structures and environmental issues require collective wisdom to address them.

Challenges in Implementing Visions:
Despite visionary ideas, implementation can be slow. The speaker emphasizes the urgency of action to avoid potential collapse.

Maintaining Diverse Perspectives:
The success of collaborative efforts lies in embracing diverse perspectives. A single, unified view may limit creativity and adaptability.

Open Hyper Document System:
An open hyper document system allows for experimentation and evolution. Different communities can contribute to its development, fostering innovation.

Limitations of the Marketplace:
The marketplace is effective for climbing known hills, but not for discovering new ones. A more exploratory approach is needed to find unexplored opportunities.