Seattle Town Hall Meeting

Listen to Talk of the Nation's Feb. 22 town hall meeting
in Seattle.

Talk of the Nation host Juan Williams at a town hall meeting broadcast

The Information Age: How It's Shaping Human History

From the plow to the automobile, from the dark ages to the age of enlightenment, technological innovations have long promised a more civilized existence and liberation from grinding work. The information age has frequently been touted as the next big thing, as something that will have a big of an impact on human history as the agricultural revolution.

Remember the Newton? It's not a cookie. It was the precursor to today's Palm Pilot and some thought it would rival the Gutenberg press for a place in history. There's been a lot of hype along with real innovations in the technology revolution. But would you want to go back to living without a laptop or cellphone? How have new technologies changed your life? What effect do you think it will have on the lives of your children? Find out in the first hour of Talk of the Nation.

Could Technology Change What it Means to be Human?

What does it mean to be a human being? Philosophers and historians have pondered this question for thousands of years, as they still do today. From the beginning of history, technological innovations have played a major role in our ability to survive and include fire, the wheel, antibiotics and the automobile. These innovations have helped humans live stronger and longer and allowed us to dominate over all other species on earth. But now some cutting-edge researchers say we could be on the verge of creating beings that evolve and replace humans in the coveted top spot on the hierarchy. Scientists are hoping to create robots that can think and feel, and manufacture sub-microscopic machines that can manufacture and repairthemselves. And what about designer babies? With technology enabling us to create and rearrange the building blocks of nature, what will "being human" mean in the brave new world of the future? Find out in the second hour of Talk of the Nation.

Guests:

Rob Glaser
Founder and CEO, RealNetworks

Ed Lazowska
Chairman of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle

Ellen Ullman
Software engineer and technology writer
Author of Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents

Hon. Maria Cantwell

U.S. Senator, Washington state (D)

Greg Bear
Science fiction writer. Author of Darwin's Radio

Rick Rashid
Chief of Research, Microsoft

Dr. Lee Hartwell
President and Director, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Professor of Genetics, University of Washington

The Changing Face of America is an 18-month-long NPR series that tells the stories of regular, everyday Americans and the issues they face at a time of rapid and dramatic change in the U.S. This special series can be heard on NPR's Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

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