Who Was Douglas Engelbart?

Computing Pioneer

Engelbart wasn't just an inventor, he was a visionary who saw computers as tools to amplify human intelligence, not just automate tasks.

Douglas C. Engelbart’s pioneering work in the 1960s laid the foundation for what we now call collective learning or collective intelligence.

The 1968 Demo

His "Mother of All Demos" introduced the first computer mouse, hypertext, video conferencing, and collaborative editing, decades ahead of their time.

Mission-Driven

Engelbart was fundamentally motivated by a vision of augmenting human intellect to tackle complex societal problems. He saw digital tools not as ends in themselves, but as part of a broader system to improve how people think, collaborate, and solve problems together.

Why This Matters Now

Complexity Is Accelerating - The problems we face today - whether building products, educating students, or organizing communities are more interconnected and dynamic than ever. Traditional approaches can't keep pace with exponential change.
AI Changes the Game - AI tools dramatically accelerate our output, but they don't automatically improve our understanding or judgment. The bottleneck has shifted from execution to collective sense-making and decision-making.
Learning Together Wins - Individual brilliance isn't enough. Teams that learn faster together - that improve their improvement processes - compound their advantages over time. This is the new competitive edge.

Engelbart's Core Question

How do we increase our ability to solve complex problems—collectively?

Augmenting Human Intellect