Artifact Details

Title

The Legendary Alto and Research at the Edge

Catalog Number

102792833

Type

Moving image

Description

What if we had a time machine that could help us invent the future?

In 1973, the innovators at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) had exactly that. The Alto computer transported computing 15 years into the future with its groundbreaking features and functions. A half century later, how we live with computing is still shaped by the Alto.

But revolutionary changes are underway in the world of computing and its applications. How are today’s pioneers redefining what is possible for the next 50 years?

How did researchers at PARC succeed in building tomorrow’s computer?
What lessons does the Alto story hold for those working to build the future of computing today?
Where might computing research labs take us 15 years from now, with AI, computer-human interaction, and more?

On the 50th anniversary of the Alto, join us on a journey through time with the creators of the Alto and some of today’s leading inventors of the future.

Date

2023-04-26

Participants

Horvitz, Eric, Speaker
Kay, Alan C., Speaker
Lampson, Butler, Speaker
Shoch, John F., Moderator
Simonyi, Charles, Speaker
Souvaine, Diane, Moderator
Sutskever, Ilya, Speaker

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Place of Publication

Mountain View, CA

Duration

01:24:03

Format

MOV

Collection Title

CHM Live

Credit

Computer History Museum

Lot Number

2023.0064