St. Olaf College | St. Olaf Alumni

David Rose ’89

David-Rose-1---1989-NewsFrom David Rose, entrepreneur and MIT Media Lab scientist, comes Enchanted Objects, a sweeping, optimistic vision for a future where everyday objects have been transformed into connected devices that channel our deepest human desires and improve our homes, offices, and public spaces.

In the late 1990s, as the Internet crystallized as the most profound invention in a generation, thousands of companies scrambled to make their products and services relevant.  Some were too late.  David Rose believes we are now standing at the precipice of the next transformative development: the Internet of Things. Soon, connected technology will be embedded in hundreds of everyday objects we already care about and know how to use – our cars, cubicles, wallets, watches, umbrellas, even our trash cans — objects that will respond to our needs, come to know us, and even learn to think ahead on our behalf. Rose calls these devices – which are just beginning to creep into the marketplace — Enchanted Objects. Some believe the future will look like more of the same—more smartphones, tablets, and other devices, with screens embedded in every conceivable surface. Rose calls this the Terminal World—and it won’t last forever. Instead, future technology will inevitably spread out, combining itself with the objects that make up the very fabric of daily living. Such technology, says Rose, can be woven into the background of our environment–enhancing human relationships, channeling desires for powers like omniscience, immortality, and creative expression, and ushering the enchanted objects of fairy tales, scifi, and fantasies into real life.

Groundbreaking, timely, and provocative, David Rose has written a powerful manifesto about the way we live with technology—and a blueprint for a better future, where efficient solutions come hand in hand with technology that delights our senses. Enchanted Objects is essential reading for designers, professional and armchair technologists, entrepreneurs, and the business leaders looking to stay relevant in the Internet of Things.