Episode 2313: Esther Dyson on being the Aunt and Court Jester of the Tech Industry

If anyone should be anointed “aunt” or “court jester” of the tech industry, it’s long time journalist, investor and philanthropist Esther Dyson. When I caught up with Dyson at DLD, she reflected on her 40+ year career in technology and her evolution from tech industry observer to wellness advocate. Her aunt/court jester" role, she explains, is to provide honest feedback to the tech powers-that-be while maintaining independence. In this role, Dyson expresses concern about society's vulnerability to "information diabetes" - addictive content that, like processed food, provides short-term pleasure but long-term harm. She details her work with Wellville, a 10-year project focused on community health and resilience, and explains her upcoming book "Term Limits," which argues for the importance of knowing when to pass the torch rather than trying to live or serve forever. Dyson - who, between 2008 and 2009 lived in Star City outside Moscow, Russia and trained as a backup cosmonaut - also shares her unique insights about Russia's descent into authoritarianism and the privatization of space travel.

ESTHER DYSON is an investor, journalist, author, businesswoman, commentator, and philanthropist. She is a leading angel investor focused on health care, open government, digital technology, biotechnology, and outer space. She is chairman of EDventure Holdings and executive founder of Wellville, a ten-year project to show the long-term value, both social and financial, of investing in health. Overall, she is fascinated by new business models, new technologies and new markets (both economically and politically). From October 2008 to March of 2009, she lived in Star City outside Moscow, Russia, training as a backup cosmonaut. Apart from this brief sabbatical, she is an active board member for a variety of startups. She has a BA in economics from Harvard and was founding chairman of ICANN from 1998 to 2000. In addition, she wrote the bestselling, widely translated book Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

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