Newton Lee
Newton Lee is an author, educator, futurist, and FBI ambassador. He was the founder of Disney Online Technology Forum, creator of AT&T Bell Labs' first-ever commercial artificial intelligence tool, inventor of the world's first annotated multimedia OPAC for the U.S. National Agricultural Library, and longest-serving editor-in-chief (2003-2018) in the history of the Association for Computing Machinery since 1947.
He is chairman of the California Transhumanist Party, education and media advisor to the United States Transhumanist Party, and president of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Institute for Education, Research, and Scholarships. Lee graduated Summa Cum Laude from Virginia Tech with a B.S. and M.S. degree in Computer Science, and he earned a perfect GPA from Vincennes University with an A.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and an honorary doctorate in Computer Science.
Lee has lectured at Emily Carr University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser University, University of Southern California, Vincennes University, and Woodbury University. He has been honored with a Michigan Leading Edge Technologies Award, two community development awards from the California Junior Chamber of Commerce, and four volunteer project leadership awards from The Walt Disney Company.
“There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence.”
“If we take a small step in extolling peacemakers as much as honoring war heroes, we will be making a giant leap towards peace.”
“The U.S. government needs to learn from successful private businesses that run an effective and efficient operation in serving their customers and outwitting their competitors.”
“The enormous amount of financial resources and creative energy that nations have spent on wars and weapons could have been redirected to curing deadly diseases, feeding the hungry, eliminating poverty, promoting art and culture, investing in renewable clean energy, and solving a host of other important challenges facing humanity.”
“War is legitimized state-sponsored terrorism in a grand scale.”
“While information is the oxygen of the modern age, disinformation is the carbon monoxide that can poison generations.”
“The two-way street of Total Information Awareness is the road that leads to a more transparent and complete picture of ourselves, our governments, and our world.”
“An open internet is an open platform for debating opposing views. It allows unpopular voices to be heard.”
“Journalists should be watchdogs, not lapdogs.”
“As the world is increasingly interconnected, everyone shares the responsibility of securing cyberspace.”
“Change was a constant in Walt Disney’s commitment to tell a story well, to bring it to an audience through the technology of the day, and to push that technology so that rather than controlling the story, it enhanced the story and gave it an opportunity to touch people, to speak to each of them individually, to make it believable.”
“I keep wondering why the Academy decided that they needed a separate category for animated films just at a moment when there are a lot of people who couldn't tell you whether a film is animated or not. - Roy E. Disney”
“One of the functions of entertainment, I think, is education. - Roy E. Disney”
“The useful information for the millions outweighs the privacy of the few.”
“Dictatorship of the majority over the minority would be an encroachment on the rights of the individual and their prerogative to personal freedom.”
“Every major technological innovation propels humanity forward to the point of no return.”
“Information is power. Disinformation is abuse of power.”