Lectures and Essays

RISD - Rhode Island School of Design

President

Presentations and essays by RISD President John Maeda

Jobs Added Art to STEM to Create STEAM
Huffington Post - October 6, 2011

"Jobs fueled my career as a technologist, artist, designer, and now as a leader," writes President John Maeda on the passing of Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "Jobs saw that artists and designers could make technology emotional, desirable, human. I thank Jobs and Apple for proving that art and design are poised to transform our economy in the 21st century, like science and technology did in the last century. It is this realization that will keep America competitive."
Discovery's Curiosity.com
Discovery's Curiosity.com - June 2011

John Maeda answers questions such as, "What makes you curious," "What qualities make for a good leader" and "What is the future of art, technology and design?"
Adobe Museum of Digital Media Announces New Exhibition: John Maeda: Atoms + Bits = The Neue Craft (ABC)
Yahoo - March 23, 2011

The Adobe Museum of Digital Media is pleased to announce its second exhibition, John Maeda: Atoms + Bits = the neue Craft (ABC), on view March 23 to Dec. 31, 2011. The exhibition is a digital representation of Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), leading an interactive lecture on how artists are connecting the worlds of digital creativity and analog creativity.
Art and the He(art)
Huffington Post - March 21, 2011

President Maeda's essay focuses on the belief that we are on the verge of new discoveries in health care that will be powered by innovation from art and design, and by inviting more health care professionals to dialogue with their local art schools and organizations. They will surely find common ground —the artist's passion and respect for humanity likely mirrors their own raison d'être for entering health care in the first place.
Watson is No Match for Humanity
Huffington Post - February 23, 2011

President Maeda pens his thoughts on the "Watson craze" and how the so-called "artificial intelligence" (AI) systems he studied decades ago are on their way to becoming the Fonzies of our times. He points out a few misconceptions and attempts to clarify them while on a taxi ride lost in a suburb of DC.
Ford Foundation: Wired for Change
Wired for Change - February 16, 2011

On February 16, 2011, President Maeda joined other social innovators, technologists, entrepreneurs and philanthropists at the Ford Foundation to take on the greatest challenge of our time: How to create an innovative and equitable digital future.
World Innovation Summit for Education
Doha Qatar - December 2010

President Maeda believes that creativity should be at the core of the educational agenda. He explains why integrating convergent and divergent thinking enhances innovation, and how creativity and innovation will lead to economic recovery, citing RISD's educational practices and collaborations.
Looking for Superman
99% Conference - September 2010

RISD president John Maeda defines the key qualities of standout innovators – a willingness to struggle, to make mistakes, to live with ambiguity – and how to lead other creatives. Perhaps confronting the status quo, killing bureaucracy, and leading change can be its own art form.
The Meaning of Innovation
AIGA GAIN - New York - September 2010

President Maeda presented "The Meaning of Innovation: How Art and Design Restore Humanity" at the AIGA GAIN conference with Paola Antonelli. In this current moment of economic uncertainty, we are all taking stock and once again turning to innovation as the silver bullet that will guide us forward. Yet in the eyes of many leaders, innovation seems tightly coupled with science, technology, engineering and math—the STEM subjects. Maeda posits that we need to turn STEM to STEAM by adding art. Through an on-the-ground exploration at leading art and design college Rhode Island School of Design, Maeda argues that the critical thinking, critical making and creative leadership embodied in the arts and design can lead us to an enlightened form of innovation where art, design, technology and business meet. By way of this post-digital renaissance, Maeda envisions a world where a bit of our humanity will be restored.
Economist Human Potential Summit
New York - September 2010

President Maeda presented at the Economist's Human Potential Summit in September 2010 about the importance of putting the "art" into "STEM." Watch his video in the link above.
Glass House Conversations
The Glass House - July 26, 2010

John asks: If you had to choose between a pencil, a knife or a hammer as the only tool you could ever own, which would you choose and why?
When Digital Doesn’t Do It
Huffington Post - May 25, 2010

Now is the time to integrate what is great about the virtual world with all that works best in the real world. The first step is to realize that the future we are constructing has a few missing ingredients: grit, imperfection, nuance and most importantly, feeling. We need to integrate the hand-based, kinetic, emotional approaches of art and design into the fabric of how we develop and use technology, in how we make sense of the present, how we invent the future and in how we do business on- and offline.
Your Life in 2020
Forbes - April 8, 2010

In an essay for Forbes.com, President Maeda ponders life in 2020. He predicts that technology will disappear so far into the background that its presence will vanish within our collective consciousness. As we become more accustomed to “being connected,” happily, some breathing room will open up for a different conversation about what we want back in our lives.
On Meaningful Observation
SEED Magazine - March 2010

Essay by President Maeda on how adding art and design to science education would put a bit of humanity back into the innovation engine and lead to the most meaningful kind of progress.