This looks like an event that should interest people in our community.
Dominic
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [gslis_info] Fwd: Berkman Center: Interoperability Event on
5/30 at 6pm at Harvard
Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 15:03:32 -0400
From: Candy Schwartz <candy.schwartz(a)simmons.edu>
Reply-To: candy.schwartz(a)simmons.edu
To: GSLIS Faculty <gslis_faculty(a)simmons.edu>du>, GSLIS Info
<gslis_info(a)simmons.edu>du>, GSLIS Staff <gslis_staff(a)simmons.edu>du>,
Doctoral Students <gslis_doc(a)simmons.edu>
Forwarded:
Please join us on the evening of Wednesday, May 30th, for a special
event hosted by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law
School Library, and the Harvard Book Store. Professors John Palfrey
(Director of the Berkman Center) and Urs Gasser (Executive Director of
the Berkman Center) will launch their new book, /Interop: The Promise
and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems/, at 6PM at the Harvard Law
School. The book argues that interoperability is a critical aspect of
any successful system—and now it is more important than ever.
More information about the event and the book is below. The talk will be
followed by a reception, which we would welcome you to join. Please feel
free to share the announcement below with friends, colleagues, students,
and others who may be interested (and if you have recommendations for
people or groups to whom this may appeal, please feel free to share
their contact information with me).
Please don't hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions. We hope
to see you there!
= = =
*
Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems
John Palfrey and Urs Gasser*
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2012/05/interop
Wednesday, May 30, 6:00PM
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein West AB (2nd Floor, Map)
Free and Open to the Public
RSVP required for those attending in person via
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2012/05/interop
Co-sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law
School Library, and the Harvard Book Store
Reception to follow
The practice of standardization has been facilitating innovation and
economic growth for centuries. The standardization of the railroad gauge
revolutionized the flow of commodities, the standardization of money
revolutionized debt markets and simplified trade, and the
standardization of credit networks has allowed for the purchase of goods
using money deposited in a bank half a world away. These advancements
did not eradicate the different systems they affected; instead, each
system has been transformed so that it can interoperate with systems all
over the world, while still preserving local diversity.
As Palfrey and Gasser show, interoperability is a critical aspect of any
successful system—and now it is more important than ever. Today we are
confronted with challenges that affect us on a global scale: the
financial crisis, the quest for sustainable energy, and the need to
reform health care systems and improve global disaster response systems.
The successful flow of information across systems is crucial if we are
to solve these problems, but we must also learn to manage the vast
degree of interconnection inherent in each system involved.
Interoperability offers a number of solutions to these global
challenges, but Palfrey and Gasser also consider its potential negative
effects, especially with respect to privacy, security, and co-dependence
of states; indeed, interoperability has already sparked debates about
document data formats, digital music, and how to create successful yet
safe cloud computing. Interop demonstrates that, in order to get the
most out of interoperability while minimizing its risks, we will need to
fundamentally revisit our understanding of how it works, and how it can
allow for improvements in each of its constituent parts.
*About John*
John Palfrey is Henry N. Ess Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library
and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. He is the co-author of
"Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives"
(Basic Books, 2008) and "Access Denied: The Practice and Politics of
Internet Filtering" (MIT Press, 2008). His research and teaching is
focused on Internet law, intellectual property, and international law.
*About Urs*
Urs Gasser is the Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet
& Society at Harvard University. Urs Gasser has written several books,
is the co author of “Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of
Digital Natives” (Basic Books, 2008, with John Palfrey) that has been
translated into 10 languages (including Chinese), and has published over
70 articles in professional journals.
About the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Interop-Promise-Perils-Interconnected-Systems/dp/0465…
--
Maura Marx
mobile: 617-835-3510 <tel:617-835-3510>
email: mmarx(a)cyber.law.harvard.edu <mailto:mmarx@cyber.law.harvard.edu>