Past Debates
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2008
PAST DEBATE
GOOGLE VIOLATES ITS DON’T BE EVIL MOTTO
FOR THE MOTION
MODERATOR
AGAINST THE MOTION
Harry Lewis
Harry Lewis
Harry Lewis
FOR THE MOTION
Harry Lewis
former Dean of Harvard College, is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard. In 2003 he was honored with the title of Harvard College Professor in honor of his teaching excellence. Over more than thirty years of teaching, Lewis has helped launch thousands of Harvard undergraduates into careers in computer science. He is the author of five books on computer science and co-author of Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion (2008).
Randal C. Picker
Randal C. Picker
Randal C. Picker
FOR THE MOTION
Randal C. Picker
is the Paul H. and Theo Leffmann Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He is also a senior fellow at The Computation Institute of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory and has for a number of years taught a class at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago. Picker's recent research has focused on questions relating to copyright, antitrust and network industries. He is co-author of the book, Game Theory and the Law, as well as a textbook on secured transactions.
Siva Vaidhyanathan
Siva Vaidhyanathan
Siva Vaidhyanathan
FOR THE MOTION
Siva Vaidhyanathan
is a cultural historian and media scholar, and is currently an associate professor of media studies and law at the University of Virginia. The Chronicle of Higher Education has called Vaidhyanathan "one of academe's best-known scholars of intellectual property and its role in contemporary culture." His blog, googlizationofeverything.com is a book in progress, dedicated to exploring the process of writing a critical interpretation of the actions and intentions behind the cultural behemoth that is Google, Inc.
John Donvan
John Donvan
John Donvan
MODERATOR
John Donvan
is a correspondent for ABC News Nightline. He has served as ABC White House Correspondent, along with posting in Moscow, London, Jerusalem and Amman.
Esther Dyson
Esther Dyson
Esther Dyson
AGAINST THE MOTION
Esther Dyson
is well qualified to opine on Google. In 1997, she wrote Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age, about the impact of the Internet on individuals and society. She has followed Google almost from its inception, and had (and sold) pre-IPO shares (through Kleiner Perkins). She is an investor in and director of two relevant companies: 23andMe, co-founded by Sergey Brin's wife, and Yandex, Russia's leading search engine, with approximately 60-percent market share to Google's 20.
Jim Harper
Jim Harper
Jim Harper
AGAINST THE MOTION
Jim Harper
is director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute. A nationally recognized privacy, Internet, and technology policy expert, Jim has testified in Congress a half-dozen times and in state legislatures nationwide. He advises the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on privacy issues, and his book Identity Crisis: How Identification is Overused and Misunderstood made him a leading fighter against a U.S. national identity system. Jim's legislation tracking site WashingtonWatch.com sometimes rakes in more than ten dollars a day using Google AdSense.
Jeff Jarvis
Jeff Jarvis
Jeff Jarvis
AGAINST THE MOTION
Jeff Jarvis
is writing a book, WWGD? - What Would Google Do?, that reverse-engineers the company's success and applies those lessons and laws to other industries. He writes about media and technology on his blog, Buzzmachine.com and for the Guardian. Jarvis is director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He was creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly and Sunday editor and associate publisher of the New York Daily News.
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PRE-DEBATE VOTE:

FOR: 21% AGAINST: 31% UNDECIDED: 48%

POST-DEBATE VOTE:

FOR: 47% AGAINST: 47% UNDECIDED: 6%

MODERATOR
John Donvan is a correspondent for ABC News Nightline. He has served over a career of more than two decades in the following capacities for ABC News: chief White House correspondent, chief Moscow correspondent, Amman bureau chief, Jerusalem correspondent and correspondent for the ABC News magazine Turning Point. Donvan’s most recent major assignment was covering the war in Iraq as a unilateral reporter, for which the Chicago Sun Times named him one of the ten war stars.

FOR THE MOTION

Harry Lewis, former Dean of Harvard College, is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard. In 2003 he was honored with the title of Harvard College Professor in honor of his teaching excellence. Over more than thirty years of teaching, Lewis has helped launch thousands of Harvard undergraduates into careers in computer science. He is the author of five books on computer science and co-author of Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion (2008).

Randal C. Picker is the Paul H. and Theo Leffmann Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He is also a senior fellow at The Computation Institute of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory and has for a number of years taught a class at the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago. Picker’s recent research has focused on questions relating to copyright, antitrust and network industries. He is co-author of the book, Game Theory and the Law, as well as a textbook on secured transactions.

Siva Vaidhyanathan is a cultural historian and media scholar, and is currently an associate professor of media studies and law at the University of Virginia. The Chronicle of Higher Education has called Vaidhyanathan “one of academe’s best-known scholars of intellectual property and its role in contemporary culture.” His blog, googlizationofeverything.com is a book in progress, dedicated to exploring the process of writing a critical interpretation of the actions and intentions behind the cultural behemoth that is Google, Inc.

AGAINST THE MOTION

Esther Dyson is well qualified to opine on Google. In 1997, she wrote Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age, about the impact of the Internet on individuals and society. She has followed Google almost from its inception, and had (and sold) pre-IPO shares (through Kleiner Perkins). She is an investor in and director of two relevant companies: 23andMe, co-founded by Sergey Brin’s wife, and Yandex, Russia’s leading search engine, with approximately 60-percent market share to Google’s 20.

Jim Harper is director of information policy studies at the Cato Institute. A nationally recognized privacy, Internet, and technology policy expert, Jim has testified in Congress a half-dozen times and in state legislatures nationwide. He advises the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on privacy issues, and his book Identity Crisis: How Identification is Overused and Misunderstood made him a leading fighter against a U.S. national identity system. Jim’s legislation tracking site WashingtonWatch.com sometimes rakes in more than ten dollars a day using Google AdSense.

Jeff Jarvis is writing a book, WWGD? – What Would Google Do?, that reverse-engineers the company’s success and applies those lessons and laws to other industries. He writes about media and technology on his blog, Buzzmachine.com and for the Guardian. Jarvis is director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He was creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly and Sunday editor and associate publisher of the New York Daily News.

*All Panelists are subject to change without notice

We have moved to a new venue: NYU SKIRBALL CENTER (566 LaGuardia Place)      Reception 5:45 - 6:30PM      Debate 6:45 - 8:30PM      Tickets $45
The pre-debate reception offers an opportunity to meet other New Yorkers and mingle with the evening's panelists. Enjoy complimentary wine and soft drinks in the Skirball Center lobby from 5:45 - 6:30PM and gain priority access to the auditorium. Doors open at 6:30PM for debate-only ticket holders.

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