Park City Institute Presents Virtual Reality Pioneer And Digital Culture Critic, Jaron Lanier

Park City Institute presents virtual reality pioneer and internet visionary, author and speaker, Jaron Lanier, on the Main Stage at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center, at 7:30 P.M. on Saturday, January 5th, 2019.

"Our digital culture can be all-consuming, at times. But what we may not realize is the companies who enable our connections are also consuming data from us as rapidly as we put it out there," said PCI Executive Director, Teri Orr. "Jaron Lanier has worked in the innermost circles of digital development-he knows the good, the bad, and the ugly, but also has a vision for a kinder, gentler internet, which we all need to hear. He not only pioneered virtual reality as we know it-he coined the term."

A Renaissance Man for the 21st century, Jaron Lanier is a computer scientist, composer, artist, and author who writes on numerous topics, including high-technology business, the social impact of technology, the philosophy of consciousness and information, Internet politics, and the future of humanism. Lanier argues against the current construct of social media: "We cannot have a society in which, if two people wish to communicate, the only way that can happen is if it's financed by a third person who wishes to manipulate them."

Lanier looks at the large patterns shaping digital world, such as the 2008 financial crisis, NSA surveillance, and the implementation of healthcare.gov. Who Owns the Future? remains an international bestseller, and was declared the most important book of 2013 by The New York Times and was on the Amazon 2013 Best Books of the Year list. It has also been awarded Harvard's 2014 Goldsmith Book Prize. The impact of Who Owns the Future? was celebrated prominently in Europe when Lanier was awarded the 2014 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, one of the highest literary honors in the world.

He has given TED Talks, since the very beginning of the TED Conference, and is the author of five books on digital culture. Lanier's writing appears in Discover, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Harpers Magazine, Atlantic, Wired Magazine (where he was a founding contributing editor), and Scientific American. He has appeared on TV shows such as PBS NewsHour, The Colbert Report, Nightline and Charlie Rose, and has been profiled on the front pages of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times multiple times.

Tickets for An Evening with Jaron Lanier, start at $29. Members may purchase tickets to any two regular shows in the 2018-19 Main Stage Season, and receive tickets to a third show, free. Membership information may be found on parkcityinstitute.org. Discounts are also available for children (16 and under), seniors, and Summit County students (K-12). Call the Box Office at 435-655-3114 for more information.

Park City Institute is a non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing world-class performances and new ideas to the community. Since 1998, PCI has presented internationally renowned and cutting edge musicians, actors, authors, comedians, dancers, speakers, and film, at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (a joint-use facility with the Park City School District). Next summer, the organization will enter its 16th season of presenting headliner outdoor concerts in Park City. PCI is dedicated to introducing young people to the arts through free student outreach workshops, shows and demonstrations. Since 2010, PCI has offered a free, after-school literacy program to students in grades one through 12 at the thinky and fun tutoring hub, The Mega-Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ (located at 435 Swede Alley).