Richard Thieme

"Richard Thieme has presented the keynote address at four of MIS Training Institute’s conferences, appearing before as many as 1,000 people at a time and consistently keeping the audience riveted for the duration of his speech. While the audience he has addressed on these occasions comprises mainly of IT professionals, Richard’s perspective leads them to see technology in a far broader and more philosophical light than they are used to, introducing them to exciting concepts they have never considered.

In terms of payment and other aspects of negotiations, Richard has always been reasonable and is happy to help out on-site in any way he can, including serving as a panelist in a session if necessary. Far from the prima donna sort of keynote we have hired on some occasions, Richard is a team player and willing to help in any way he can to make the event a success."

"Richard Thieme is easily one of my favorite speakers. From the first time I saw Richard giving a speech around 2000, I have been overwhelmed by his incredible ability to weave tales from science and spiritual journeys together in a way that appear to provide very appropriate, even important lessons for the modern human. A true Renaissance man. Since that time I have read many of his writings and have seen him speak in person and on the net and he has never let me down. Always very informative, relevant, unpredictable and thoroughly entertaining.

I was thrilled when Richard agreed to speak at events sponsored by my information security company, InterNetwork Defense, in 2004 and again in 2008. In both occasions he managed to exceed expectations. It is truly an honor to say that I twice shared a stage with a man I consider to be, one of the great thinkers of the cyber-world. I cannot say enough to express my gratitude and respect for Richard and his work. I look forward to working with him again."

"Richard Thieme is an artist of words and ideas. He brings life to thoughts and creates a new world that is parallel to ours. Technology affects our life in so many ways; our social being has changed forever. As individuals, we affect others so easily now and Richard is the perfect thinker to show us how. By inspiring people to reach out and touch the clouds that might obscure a new way of living, Richard teaches people around him how to reinvent themselves as persons and as members of a community.

There are many truths and many ways to reinvent this truth, Richard will show you the truth you want to believe in and the truth you want to be part of.

These days, technology must be seen from a different angle, and it’s high time that psychologists and modern philosophers receive the stage to show us all how humankind socializes in totally different ways. Richard teaches experts to see with “beginner’s eyes” and hackers to think like philosophers.

We are witnesses of one of the biggest changes in human history. Richard will make you believe in what you witness every day when you open your digital device and begin your digital life. When you hear him or read him, you believe in the Matrix."

"Three qualities in Richard have made him an ideal fit to address our technical security audiences: Level of preparation, ability to make complex topics consumable, and his humor & wit. In every case, Richard came well prepared to address the material we had discussed in advance.

In my business, “no surprises” is the key to success, and Richard was always among the most reliable moving parts of our conference. Every fact shared is researched and footnoted, every claim backed up, and every opinion well thought through. His level of preparation makes him predictable. That is an essential quality.

“Mind-bender” and “he really made me re-think how I think” are common remarks from our attendees who hear Richard speak. He has a knack for taking technical topics and boiling them down to essential human concerns, and that sells well among my audience. He is a “futurist” in the truest sense of the word.

Finally, if you need someone to increase the energy of a delegation group, Richard is a great choice. His humor and wit are sophisticated, but really put a room full of professionals at ease. Richard is able to draw from so many experiences outside of technology to bring a lighter side to so many technical topics.

In sum, Richard unfailingly brings inspiration and hope to our audience. Attendees walk out of our events with Richard’s words stuck in their brains, and a sense of what’s possible. They then think of IANS as the source of that inspiration, and that’s good for my business."

"The depth, complexity, and texture of his thought processes. Let me compare him to another noted inter-disciplinarian that I have often heard and admired. Buckminster Fuller could hold an audience for hours discussing the optimal interactions of various technology threads at their interfaces with each other, and extrapolate possible futures. He could “stand on the interface” and look both ways.

Richard Thieme also discusses the interaction of different technology threads, but not just the optimal interactions that will arise to achieve a given goal, but many of the possible interactions that could arise. He not only “stands on the interface”, but is capable of walking on both sides of it, getting inside the skin of practitioners on both sides and exploring the texture of the culture they come from for additional, unexpected impacts on the culture at large if the envisioned interaction of technologies occurs and is fruitful.

He can and does discuss the unintended consequences of technological progress, as well as extrapolating the expected consequences. He not only discusses the new capabilities that will be available to humans, but also what impact living in the context of such capabilities will do to what it means to be human.

That is, how we ourselves will change, given the new capabilities. Not just in our interaction with others, but how we come to view ourselves, our own sense of being, what we truly are at core. He can present these “future views of selfhood” in a scientific, psychological context, or in a humanistic, spiritual if you will, context. Comparing these contexts even-handedly allows each audience member “comfort” in hearing the message, and internalizing what Richard has to say.

Buckminster Fuller drove an audience with the power of his ideas, even though he was not a gifted speaker. Richard Thieme is a far more eloquent speaker, addressing technology and where it is taking us with more depth and texture with regard to consequences than Fuller delivered.

You feel exhausted but exhilarated after hearing either of them speak. And you will be changed by it."