The Fuzzy and the Techie: Humanizing Technology to Address Our Gravest Problems

The division between the fuzzy and the techie - those who studied humanities or social science, and those who studied computer science or other technical fields - has become a default division in the business world. Yet in Scott Hartley's new book, The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World, we need balance between these two cultures. Whether it’s in Silicon Valley product development, or defense policy, we require both human and machine, context and code, experience and data. We need to start weaving together human understanding with our newest technologies, and apply them meaningfully to the biggest problems in the world, among those, our national security. Drawing upon examples from the U.S. Navy and West Point, Hartley points out this need for balance, drawing liberal arts back into the conversation on how we integrate them with a need for technical literacy, and how we bring human experience, intuition, and leadership together with “big data.”

Scott Hartley is the author of The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World and a venture capitalist and startup advisor. He served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the White House, a partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures, and a venture partner at Metamorphic Ventures. Prior to venture capital, Hartley worked at Google, Facebook, and Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He is a contributing author to the MIT Press book Shopping for Good, and has written for publications such as the Financial Times, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, and the Journal of International Affairs. Hartley speaks on technology and global entrepreneurship with MIT, the World Bank, Google, and the U.S. State Department. He holds an MBA and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a BA from Stanford University. He is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Copies of the book will be available for purchase by credit card or check.

Participant: 

Scott Hartley 
Author, The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts will Rule the Digital World 
@scottehartley 

Moderator: 

Stephen Rodriguez 
Fellow, New America International Security Program 
@steverod78

Follow the conversation online using #FuzzyTechie and following@NewAmericaISP.