The attribution of intelligence to machines, crowds of fragments, or other nerd deities obscures more than it illuminates. When people are told that a computer is intelligent, they become prone to changing themselves in order to make the computer appear to work better, instead of demanding that the computer be changed to become more useful.

Internet2 visiting scholar (1997–2001)
From 1997 to 2001 Lanier was the Chief Scientist of Advanced Network and Services which contained the Engineering Office of Internet2 and served as the Lead Scientist of the National Tele-immersion Initiative a coalition of research universities studying advanced applications for Internet2. Memberships
Lanier has served on numerous advisory boards including the Board of Councilors of the University of Southern California Medical Media Systems (a medical visualization spin-off company associated with Dartmouth College) Microdisplay Corporation and NY3D (developers of auto stereo displays). July 28–30 1992.

A pioneer in the field of VR Lanier and Thomas G. the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves. Lanier is also known as a composer of classical music and a collector of rare instruments; his acoustic album Instruments of Change (1994) features Asian wind and string instruments such as the khene mouth organ the suling flute and the sitar-like esraj.