Knowledge Wars

Hal Abelson, a leader in the global movement to democratize informational resources, believes a battle is being waged against the intelligentsia.

Due to the monopolization of publishing houses, scholarly materials are becoming exorbitantly more expensive. Copyright law is severely restricting academics’ ability to disperse their own forward-thinking materials. And big tech companies, like Apple, are limiting the ability for makers to disperse their ideas into the world. (Specifically, Abelson says the company imposes stringent restrictions on its app store.)       

RISD Architecture Professor Kyna Leski comments during the Q&A

According to the MIT professor who teaches computer science and electrical engineering, it’s time for academics to take a stand.

“There’s a war being waged against the idea of the university,” Abelson explained to an audience seated in the RISD Auditorium on Wednesday night. “Universities empower people to make and to share. The information [created] there should be a resource to all of humanity.”   

Abelson came to RISD as part of Shared Voices: The RISD Presidential Speaker Series. The forum seeks to share a fruitful exchange of ideas by hosting some of the most expansive thinkers of our times. Missed the lecture? Watch it here!