I am a social architect with a passion for exploring the intersection of psychology, sociology and computing. I don't do angel investing, but enjoy mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs, serving on boards and teaching.My current focus is on starting a philanthropic organization. I am considering areas such as conserving natural resources and supporting teens as they develop their values and identity. I enjoy being able to choose consciously with whom, when and where I work and on what. I enjoy gardening, traveling and have started/run half a dozen small communities.As a son of high school teachers, I grew up in a small town in northern Germany. I am a former athlete. I have studied, lived and worked in Japan and traveled extensively in South-East Asia. My technical concentrations at Stanford were in artificial intelligence and reasoning under uncertainty. My first job was with Aion, which was one of three AI startups at the time, and I also worked in immersive 3-D worlds and social networks, using primarily freemium and SaaS business models.I am interested in the new cognitive capabalities of computing that go beyond knowledge acquistion and manipulation and move into just-in-time decision support. I remain intrigued by people-connecting architectures like marketplaces, collaborative consumption and other social computing for economic and social purposes. I'm also interested in emotional computing and the physical augmentation of our human powers.My proudest professional accomplishment so far is co-founding LinkedIn, but I believe you can learn at least as much from startups that didn't work out as well as from the successful ones.Since 2012, I have shifted from lunches /coffees or calls/Zooms to walking meetings since I like connecting in person, getting exercise and enjoying nature. My hobbies include tennis, gardening and traveling.