Jerry Kaplan
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Samuel Jerrold "Jerry" Kaplan (born March 25, 1952) is an American
computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...
, author,
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
, and
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
. He is best known as a pioneer in the field of
pen computing Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using a digital pen or Stylus (computing), stylus and Graphics tablet, tablet, over input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse. Historically, pen computing (defined as a computer system employin ...
and
tablet computers A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...
. He is the founder of numerous companies, including GO Corporation, whose technology was used to develop the first smartphone and tablet PC. Kaplan is the co-founder of OnSale, the first B2C online auction site launched in 1994, five months prior to
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
. He is a recipient of the 1998 Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award and author of the best-selling book ''Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure.'' He has been featured in major news publications, including
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
,
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
, Red Herring, and
Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
. Kaplan is also the author of the 2015 book ''Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence''. Additional companies he has co-founded include artificial intelligence company Teknowledge, Inc. and social game website Winster.com. Kaplan was briefly a Fellow at the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics.


Early life and education

Kaplan attended the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
where he received a Bachelor's Degree in history and philosophy of science in 1972. He then studied computer science at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
where he graduated in 1979 with a Doctorate in computer and information science.


Career

While at the University of Pennsylvania, Kaplan wrote the software for the first all-digital keyboard instrument, the Synergy, sold by Digital Keyboards, Inc. In 1980. The Synergy was used by
Wendy Carlos Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos; November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer known for electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving to New Y ...
to compose Digital Moonscapes. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Kaplan joined the computer science department at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. He was a research associate with Stanford between 1979 and 1981. While at Stanford he wrote the database backend for the first personal computer natural language query system that became the first product of Symantec, called Q&A. In 1981 he co-founded the company Teknowledge, Inc., a publicly traded artificial intelligence company. Kaplan was hired by
Lotus Development Corporation Lotus Software (called Lotus Development Corporation before its acquisition by IBM) was an American software company based in Massachusetts; it was sold to India's HCL Technologies in 2018. Lotus is most commonly known for the Lotus 1-2-3 sprea ...
to develop and design software based on Al techniques, working as the company's principal technologist. While at Lotus he developed Lotus Agenda, an early DOS-based personal information manager along with Ed Belove and Mitchell Kapor. He got the idea for another venture while riding in a plane with Kapor and discussing computer technology and the need for a notebook type computer. This idea led to the founding of GO Corporation. Kaplan co-founded GO Corporation in 1987. He believed the next generation of computers would be hand-held digital notepads which people would use a pen to write on the screen instead of typing. The company focused on developing a new type of operating system for tablet computers with touch sensitive screens. The flagship product of GO Corporation, which survived the company by many years, was PenPoint, winner of Byte Magazine's Byte Award for best operating system 1992. Go Corporation was famous for pioneering pen computer technology as well as being one of the most well-funded start-up companies during the late 1980s. The technology developed by the company was a precursor to early portable computers including the Palm Pilot and the
Apple Newton The Newton is a specified standard and series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Computer, Inc. from 1993 to 1998. An early device in the PDA categorythe term itself originating with the Newtonit w ...
, and most recently in iOS products such as Apple's iPad.
AT&T Corporation AT&T Corporation, an abbreviation for its former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to busi ...
became a major investor in the company, using GO's technology to develop the EO Personal Communicator, the world's first smart phone. GO Corporation was later sold to
AT&T Corporation AT&T Corporation, an abbreviation for its former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to busi ...
. Kaplan later authored ''Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure,'' a book about the history of the company in which he details his experience with company investors as well as pitching the idea to Microsoft and Apple who began to develop their own tablets as opposed to investing in GO. The book was selected as one of the ''Top Ten Business Books of the Year'' by Businessweek and was translated into Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese. Kaplan is also the co-founder of OnSale, an online auction website that he co-founded in 1994 and launched in 1995, five months prior to
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
. The site was one of the busiest in the mid 1990s with approximately 2 million hits per day. OnSale auctioned items primarily in the computer sector, namely products from manufacturers that included AT&T, Apple, Packard-Bell, Sony, Compaq, and Dell. In 1996, Kaplan announced that he would be taking the company public. The company expanded its offerings to include sporting goods, jewelry, clothing, artwork, electronics and specialty foods. The company was later purchased by Egghead Software in 1999 for $400 million. Kaplan's original patents for OnSale were later acquired by eBay and
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
. In 2004, Kaplan launched a new venture called Winster, Inc., a social gaming website with multi-player casual games. Players on the site are encouraged to work with other players to win as opposed to competing against each other, creating a social community leading to friendship amongst players. It received its first funding from U.S. Venture Partners in 2007 and received a total of $5 million in funding as of 2011. Kaplan is still involved with Stanford University, the school where he began his career. He is a Fellow at The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics and teaches History and Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence in the Computer Science Department. Kaplan is interviewed in the 2018 documentary on artificial intelligence, '' Do You Trust This Computer?''


Personal life

Kaplan and his sister Amy Kaplan Eckman are the subject of a 1964 oil-on-canvas painting by Wayne Thiebaud. The painting is titled ''Amy and Jerrold, Children of the Sixties'' and was commissioned by their mother Muriel Kaplan. He is also involved in philanthropy and in 1998 donated $250,000 to The Robert and Mary Montgomery Armory Art Center in
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
in honor of his mother Muriel Kaplan, a former sculpture instructor at the Center. Kaplan made a $500,000 gift to the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2001, to endow a chair in honor of faculty member Aravind K. Joshi. He is married to Michelle Kaplan and has four daughters.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Jerry Living people University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Chicago alumni American computer scientists People from White Plains, New York 1952 births Scientists from New York (state)