Biographer (biographer.com) is incubating a safe, sane communication platform for humans in the age of AI. Toward this end, we’re adding a couple of new shades of meaning to the traditional usage of the word biographer:
- first, using the word biographer to distinguish a living writer from a machine writer (i.e., AI); and
- second, using biographer to denote a person who is “writing” his or her own future—one who is actively engaged in creating the life he or she wants to live—, rather than writing about a person’s past, as in the traditional usage of biographer.
In support of this project, we are also developing an inaugural series of “impact biographies“—concise narratives that highlight how noteworthy historical individuals shaped the world. These biographies emphasize the enduring influence of the given individual—that person’s impact or mark—and glean lessons that may be beneficially applied to one’s own life today.
Finally, leveraging both the traditional retrospective meaning of biographer and the new prospective meaning described above, we are building an initiative to encourage universities to begin offering degree programs in biography—just as they currently offer degrees in history, philosophy, political science, or business. These biography programs will enable an integrated, focused, formal study of what leading a good life means and how such a life can be pursued. This inquiry has traditionally been spread across multiple disciplines, but the proposed degree programs in biography—spanning undergraduate through master’s and doctoral levels—will formalize this study as a dedicated academic discipline in its own right.
More information on the Biographer project lead is posted below. Circle back for updates!
Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.
Shelley Harrison. American inventor, professor, author, and activist. Inventor and U.S. patentee of what has become known worldwide as the social media newsfeed and app, which is licensed to Facebook and Instagram (now Meta) and used by over two billion people each month. Other works licensed, purchased, or cited by Acacia, Accenture, Amazon, American Express, Apple, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Dell, eBay, Fujitsu, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, Micron, Microsoft, NCR, Nike, Nintendo, PayPal, Pitney Bowes, Samsung, Softbank, Sony, Symbol, Swatch, Target, Universal Studios, Vistaprint, Xerox, and others.
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University of Virginia School of Law (J.D.) | Stanford University (A.B.) | Memphis University School
Biographer 