Michael Dertouzos: Birth anniversary of man who predicted impact of Internet celebrated in Google Doodle

The Google Doodle for the day celebrates what would have been the 82nd birthday of computer scientist Michael Dertouzos. [caption id=“attachment_5503791” align=“alignleft” width=“640”] Michael Dertouzos predicted the impact of the internet.[/caption] Dertouzos was the first one to predict the popularity of personal computer in our daily lives. As early as 1980, Dertouzos wrote the concept of “The Information Marketplace”, which he explained in his book What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives. It was published in 1997. “If we strip the hype away, a simple, crisp and inevitable picture emerges – of an Information Marketplace where people and their computers will buy, sell and freely exchange information and information work,” the Google Doodle website quotes from his writings. The computer scientist consistently insisted on the importance of the internet in our lives. He aimed at his project to make computers “as natural a part of our environment as the air we breathe.” As also highlighted in his final book, The Unfinished Revolution: Human-Centered Computers and What They Can Do For Us, Dertouzos’ belief in technology was always “grounded in his desire to unleash the full potential of humanity.” Dertouzos was born in Athens, Greece in 1936. He graduated from Athens College, post which he attended the University of Arkansas on a Fulbright Scholarship and earned a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Eventually, he become the Director of the institute.