WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 Diana Reiss: You may think you're looking 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:06.000 through a window at a dolphin spinning playfully, 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:09.000 but what you're actually looking through 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:11.000 is a two-way mirror at a dolphin 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:14.000 looking at itself spinning playfully. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:16.000 This is a dolphin that is self-aware. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.000 This dolphin has self-awareness. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:20.000 It's a young dolphin named Bayley. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.000 I've been very interested in understanding the nature 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.000 of the intelligence of dolphins for the past 30 years. 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:30.000 How do we explore intelligence in this animal 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.000 that's so different from us? 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:34.000 And what I've used is a very simple research tool, 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.000 a mirror, and we've gained great information, 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.000 reflections of these animal minds. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.000 Dolphins aren't the only animals, the only non-human animals, 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.000 to show mirror self-recognition. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:49.000 We used to think this was a uniquely human ability, 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:52.000 but we learned that the great apes, our closest relatives, 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.000 also show this ability. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:56.000 Then we showed it in dolphins, 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.000 and then later in elephants. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.000 We did this work in my lab with the dolphins and elephants, 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:03.000 and it's been recently shown in the magpie. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.000 Now, it's interesting, because we've embraced 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:10.000 this Darwinian view of a continuity in physical evolution, 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:11.000 this physical continuity. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:15.000 But we've been much more reticent, much slower 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:18.000 at recognizing this continuity in cognition, 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.000 in emotion, in consciousness in other animals. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.000 Other animals are conscious. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.000 They're emotional. They're aware. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.000 There have been multitudes of studies with many species 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.000 over the years that have given us exquisite evidence 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.000 for thinking and consciousness in other animals, 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.000 other animals that are quite different than we are in form. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:43.000 We are not alone. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:47.000 We are not alone in these abilities. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.000 And I hope, and one of my biggest dreams, 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.000 is that, with our growing awareness 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.000 about the consciousness of others 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.000 and our relationship with the rest of the animal world, 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.000 that we'll give them the respect and protection 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:01.000 that they deserve. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:03.000 So that's a wish I'm throwing out here for everybody, 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.000 and I hope I can really engage you in this idea. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:09.000 Now, I want to return to dolphins, 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.000 because these are the animals that I feel like 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.000 I've been working up closely and personal with 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:15.000 for over 30 years. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.000 And these are real personalities. 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.000 They are not persons, but they're personalities 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:22.000 in every sense of the word. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.000 And you can't get more alien than the dolphin. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.000 They are very different from us in body form. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.000 They're radically different. They come from a radically different environment. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:35.000 In fact, we're separated by 95 million years 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:37.000 of divergent evolution. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:39.000 Look at this body. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:42.000 And in every sense of making a pun here, 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.000 these are true non-terrestrials. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:50.000 I wondered how we might interface with these animals. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:53.000 In the 1980s, I developed an underwater keyboard. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:56.000 This was a custom-made touch-screen keyboard. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.000 What I wanted to do was give the dolphins choice and control. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:01.000 These are big brains, highly social animals, 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.000 and I thought, well, if we give them choice and control, 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.000 if they can hit a symbol on this keyboard -- 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.000 and by the way, it was interfaced by fiber optic cables 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:12.000 from Hewlett-Packard with an Apple II computer. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.000 This seems prehistoric now, 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.000 but this was where we were with technology. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.000 So the dolphins could hit a key, a symbol, 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.000 they heard a computer-generated whistle, 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:23.000 and they got an object or activity. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Now here's a little video. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.000 This is Delphi and Pan, and you're going to see Delphi 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:31.000 hitting a key, he hears a computer-generated whistle -- (Whistle) -- 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:35.000 and gets a ball, so they can actually ask for things they want. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:39.000 What was remarkable is, they explored this keyboard 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:42.000 on their own. There was no intervention on our part. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.000 They explored the keyboard. They played around with it. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.000 They figured out how it worked. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.000 And they started to quickly imitate the sounds 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.000 they were hearing on the keyboard. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.000 They imitated on their own. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.000 Beyond that, though, they started learning 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.000 associations between the symbols, the sounds 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:01.000 and the objects. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.000 What we saw was self-organized learning, 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.000 and now I'm imagining, what can we do 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.000 with new technologies? 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.000 How can we create interfaces, new windows into 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.000 the minds of animals, with the technologies that exist today? NOTE Paragraph 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 So I was thinking about this, and then, one day, 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.000 I got a call from Peter. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.000 Peter Gabriel: I make noises for a living. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.000 On a good day, it's music, 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.000 and I want to talk a little bit about 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:36.000 the most amazing music-making experience I ever had. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.000 I'm a farm boy. I grew up surrounded by animals, 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:41.000 and I would look in these eyes and wonder 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:43.000 what was going on there? 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.000 So as an adult, when I started to read about 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.000 the amazing breakthroughs with Penny Patterson and Koko, 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 with Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Kanzi, Panbanisha, 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.000 Irene Pepperberg, Alex the parrot, 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.000 I got all excited. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:58.000 What was amazing to me also 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:02.000 was they seemed a lot more adept 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.000 at getting a handle on our language 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:09.000 than we were on getting a handle on theirs. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:13.000 I work with a lot of musicians from around the world, 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:16.000 and often we don't have any common language at all, 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:20.000 but we sit down behind our instruments, 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.000 and suddenly there's a way for us to connect and emote. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.000 So I started cold-calling, and eventually got through 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.000 to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000 and she invited me down. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.000 I went down, and the bonobos 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.000 had had access to percussion instruments, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.000 musical toys, but never before to a keyboard. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.000 At first they did what infants do, 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:44.000 just bashed it with their fists, 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.000 and then I asked, through Sue, 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:51.000 if Panbanisha could try with one finger only. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:56.000 Sue Savage-Rumbaugh: Can you play a grooming song? 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.000 I want to hear a grooming song. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.000 Play a real quiet grooming song. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.000 PG: So groom was the subject of the piece. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:13.000 (Music) 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:29.000 So I'm just behind, jamming, 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:34.000 yeah, this is what we started with. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.000 Sue's encouraging her to continue a little more. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:42.000 (Music) NOTE Paragraph 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:31.000 She discovers a note she likes, 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:35.000 finds the octave. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.000 She'd never sat at a keyboard before. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:50.000 Nice triplets. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.000 SSR: You did good. That was very good. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.000 PG: She hit good. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:10.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:15.000 So that night, we began to dream, 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:17.000 and we thought, perhaps the most amazing tool 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.000 that man's created is the Internet, 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 and what would happen if we could somehow 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:25.000 find new interfaces, 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.000 visual-audio interfaces that would allow 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:31.000 these remarkable sentient beings 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.000 that we share the planet with access? 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:38.000 And Sue Savage-Rumbaugh got excited about that, 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:40.000 called her friend Steve Woodruff, 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.000 and we began hustling all sorts of people 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:46.000 whose work related or was inspiring, 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.000 which led us to Diana, 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.000 and led us to Neil. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.000 Neil Gershenfeld: Thanks, Peter. PG: Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:59.000 NG: So Peter approached me. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:01.000 I lost it when I saw that clip. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:05.000 He approached me with a vision of doing these things 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:06.000 not for people, for animals. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.000 And then I was struck in the history of the Internet. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:13.000 This is what the Internet looked like when it was born 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:15.000 and you can call that the Internet 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:17.000 of middle-aged white men, 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:18.000 mostly middle-aged white men. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.000 Vint Cerf: (Laughs) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:23.000 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.000 NG: Speaking as one. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.000 Then, when I first came to TED, 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.000 which was where I met Peter, I showed this. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.000 This is a $1 web server, 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.000 and at the time that was radical. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.000 And the possibility of making a web server for a dollar 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.000 grew into what became known as the Internet of Things, 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.000 which is literally an industry now with tremendous implications 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:48.000 for health care, energy efficiency. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.000 And we were happy with ourselves. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.000 And then when Peter showed me that, 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:52.000 I realized we had missed something, 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.000 which is the rest of the planet. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.000 So we started up this interspecies Internet project. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.000 Now we started talking with TED 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:01.000 about how you bring dolphins and great apes and elephants 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.000 to TED, and we realized that wouldn't work. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:06.000 So we're going to bring you to them. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.000 So if we could switch to the audio from this computer, 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:12.000 we've been video conferencing with cognitive animals, 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.000 and we're going to have each of them 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.000 just briefly introduce them. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.000 And so if we could also have this up, great. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:19.000 So the first site we're going to meet 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.000 is Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, with orangutans. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.000 In the daytime they live outside. It's nighttime there now. 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:28.000 So can you please go ahead? NOTE Paragraph 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.000 Terri Cox: Hi, I'm Terri Cox 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:33.000 with the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas, 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.000 and with me I have KeraJaan and Mei, 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.000 two of our Bornean orangutans. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:44.000 During the day, they have a beautiful, large outdoor habitat, 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.000 and at night, they come into this habitat, 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:48.000 into their night quarters, 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.000 where they can have a climate-controlled 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.000 and secure environment to sleep in. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:57.000 We participate in the Apps for Apes program 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:00.000 Orangutan Outreach, and we use iPads 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:02.000 to help stimulate and enrich the animals, 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.000 and also help raise awareness 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.000 for these critically endangered animals. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:11.000 And they share 97 percent of our DNA 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:12.000 and are incredibly intelligent, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.000 so it's so exciting to think of all the opportunities 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:19.000 that we have via technology and the Internet 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:23.000 to really enrich their lives and open up their world. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:25.000 We're really excited about the possibility 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:27.000 of an interspecies Internet, 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:31.000 and K.J. has been enjoying the conference very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.000 NG: That's great. When we were rehearsing last night, 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:35.000 he had fun watching the elephants. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.000 Next user group are the dolphins at the National Aquarium. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:41.000 Please go ahead. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:42.000 Allison Ginsburg: Good evening. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:43.000 Well, my name is Allison Ginsburg, 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:46.000 and we're live in Baltimore at the National Aquarium. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:50.000 Joining me are three of our eight Atlantic bottlenose dolphins: 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:53.000 20-year-old Chesapeake, who was our first dolphin born here, 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:56.000 her four-year-old daughter Bayley, 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:00.000 and her half sister, 11-year-old Maya. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:01.000 Now, here at the National Aquarium 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.000 we are committed to excellence in animal care, 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.000 to research, and to conservation. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.000 The dolphins are pretty intrigued as to what's going on here tonight. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.000 They're not really used to having cameras here 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.000 at 8 o'clock at night. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.000 In addition, we are very committed to doing 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.000 different types of research. 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:21.000 As Diana mentioned, our animals are involved 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.000 in many different research studies. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:38.000 NG: Those are for you. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:40.000 Okay, that's great, thank you. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:43.000 And the third user group, in Thailand, 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:47.000 is Think Elephants. Go ahead, Josh. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:49.000 Josh Plotnik: Hi, my name is Josh Plotnik, 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.000 and I'm with Think Elephants International, 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.000 and we're here in the Golden Triangle of Thailand 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.000 with the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation elephants. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.000 And we have 26 elephants here, 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 and our research is focused on the evolution of intelligence with elephants, 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.000 but our foundation Think Elephants is focused 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.000 on bringing elephants into classrooms around the world 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.000 virtually like this and showing people 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.000 how incredible these animals are. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.000 So we're able to bring the camera right up to the elephant, 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.000 put food into the elephant's mouth, 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.000 show people what's going on inside their mouths, 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.000 and show everyone around the world 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:25.000 how incredible these animals really are. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:28.000 NG: Okay, that's great. Thanks Josh. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.000 And once again, we've been building great relationships 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.000 among them just since we've been rehearsing. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.000 So at that point, if we can go back to the other computer, 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:37.000 we were starting to think about how you integrate 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:40.000 the rest of the biomass of the planet into the Internet, 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.000 and we went to the best possible person 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:46.000 I can think of, which is Vint Cerf, 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.000 who is one of the founders who gave us the Internet. Vint? NOTE Paragraph 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.000 VC: Thank you, Neil. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:13:55.000 --> 00:14:00.000 A long time ago in a galaxy — oops, wrong script. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.000 Forty years ago, Bob Kahn and I 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.000 did the design of the Internet. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.000 Thirty years ago, we turned it on. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:10.000 Just last year, we turned on the production Internet. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.000 You've been using the experimental version 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.000 for the last 30 years. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:16.000 The production version, it uses IP version 6. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:21.000 It has 3.4 times 10 to the 38th possible terminations. 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:25.000 That's a number only that Congress can appreciate. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.000 But it leads to what is coming next. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:31.000 When Bob and I did this design, 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:35.000 we thought we were building a system to connect computers together. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.000 What we very quickly discovered 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.000 is that this was a system for connecting people together. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:42.000 And what you've seen tonight 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:46.000 tells you that we should not restrict this network 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:49.000 to one species, 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.000 that these other intelligent, sentient species 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.000 should be part of the system too. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.000 This is the system as it looks today, by the way. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.000 This is what the Internet looks like to a computer 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.000 that's trying to figure out where the traffic 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:04.000 is supposed to go. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.000 This is generated by a program 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.000 that's looking at the connectivity of the Internet, 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.000 and how all the various networks are connected together. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.000 There are about 400,000 networks, interconnected, 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:21.000 run independently by 400,000 different operating agencies, 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:22.000 and the only reason this works 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.000 is that they all use the same standard TCP/IP protocols. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.000 Well, you know where this is headed. 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:31.000 The Internet of Things tell us 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.000 that a lot of computer-enabled appliances and devices 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.000 are going to become part of this system too: 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.000 appliances that you use around the house, 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.000 that you use in your office, 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:45.000 that you carry around with yourself or in the car. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.000 That's the Internet of Things that's coming. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:50.000 Now, what's important about what these people are doing 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.000 is that they're beginning to learn 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.000 how to communicate with species 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.000 that are not us 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:00.000 but share a common sensory environment. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.000 We're beginning to explore what it means 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.000 to communicate with something 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.000 that isn't just another person. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.000 Well, you can see what's coming next. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.000 All kinds of possible sentient beings 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:13.000 may be interconnected through this system, 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:17.000 and I can't wait to see these experiments unfold. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.000 What happens after that? 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.000 Well, let's see. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.000 There are machines that need to talk to machines 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.000 and that we need to talk to, and so as time goes on, 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.000 we're going to have to learn 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.000 how to communicate with computers 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.000 and how to get computers to communicate with us 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.000 in the way that we're accustomed to, 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:39.000 not with keyboards, not with mice, 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:41.000 but with speech and gestures 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:44.000 and all the natural human language that we're accustomed to. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.000 So we'll need something like C3PO 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.000 to become a translator between ourselves 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.000 and some of the other machines we live with. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.000 Now, there is a project that's underway 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.000 called the interplanetary Internet. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.000 It's in operation between Earth and Mars. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:01.000 It's operating on the International Space Station. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:05.000 It's part of the spacecraft that's in orbit around the Sun 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.000 that's rendezvoused with two planets. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:09.000 So the interplanetary system is on its way, 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.000 but there's a last project, 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.000 which the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.000 which funded the original ARPANET, 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:19.000 funded the Internet, funded the interplanetary architecture, 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:22.000 is now funding a project to design a spacecraft 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:27.000 to get to the nearest star in 100 years' time. 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.000 What that means is that what we're learning 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.000 with these interactions with other species 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:33.000 will teach us, ultimately, 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:37.000 how we might interact with an alien from another world. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.000 I can hardly wait. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:47.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:48.000 June Cohen: So first of all, thank you, 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.000 and I would like to acknowledge that four people 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.000 who could talk to us for full four days 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.000 actually managed to stay to four minutes each, 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:56.000 and we thank you for that. NOTE Paragraph 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.000 I have so many questions, 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.000 but maybe a few practical things that the audience might want to know. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 You're launching this idea here at TED — PG: Today. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:05.000 JC: Today. This is the first time you're talking about it. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.000 Tell me a little bit about where you're going to take the idea. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.000 What's next? NOTE Paragraph 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.000 PG: I think we want to engage as many people 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000 here as possible in helping us 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.000 think of smart interfaces that will make all this possible. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.000 NG: And just mechanically, 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.000 there's a 501(c)(3) and web infrastructure 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:24.000 and all of that, but it's not quite ready to turn on, 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.000 so we'll roll that out, and contact us 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.000 if you want the information on it. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:31.000 The idea is this will be -- much like the Internet functions 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:32.000 as a network of networks, 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.000 which is Vint's core contribution, 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.000 this will be a wrapper around all of these initiatives, 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:39.000 that are wonderful individually, to link them globally. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:40.000 JC: Right, and do you have a web address 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.000 that we might look for yet? NOTE Paragraph 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:44.000 NG: Shortly. JC: Shortly. We will come back to you on that. NOTE Paragraph 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.000 And very quickly, just to clarify. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:50.000 Some people might have looked at the video that you showed 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.000 and thought, well, that's just a webcam. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:52.000 What's special about it? 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.000 If you could talk for just a moment 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.000 about how you want to go past that? NOTE Paragraph 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.000 NG: So this is scalable video infrastructure, 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:02.000 not for a few to a few but many to many, 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.000 so that it scales to symmetrical video sharing 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.000 and content sharing across these sites around the planet. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.000 So there's a lot of back-end signal processing, 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.000 not for one to many, but for many to many. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:15.000 JC: Right, and then on a practical level, 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:16.000 which technologies are you looking at first? 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000 I know you mentioned that a keyboard is a really key part of this. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000 DR: We're trying to develop an interactive touch screen for dolphins. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.000 This is sort of a continuation of some of the earlier work, 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.000 and we just got our first seed money today towards that, 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:30.000 so it's our first project. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.000 JC: Before the talk, even. DR: Yeah. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.000 JC: Wow. Well done. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.000 All right, well thank you all so much for joining us. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:38.000 It's such a delight to have you on the stage. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:39.000 DR: Thank you. VC: Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:44.000 (Applause)