About iQ Studios and Dr. Kaplan
iQ Studios is focused on raising public awareness of important topics that affect humanity's future, including Collective Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, and the evolution of Planetary Intelligence. These technologies and trends offer tremendous opportunities, but also unprecedented danger for all human beings. If we understand both the benefits and risks of the new technologies, we can make better decisions and greatly increase the likelihood of outcomes that benefit all people and our planet.
On New Year’s Day 2021, iQ Studios released the first of a six-part series on The Evolution of Planetary Intelligence. The final episode in the series was completed in August that same year. More videos on related topics are planned for the future. The video series describes a radical transformation that is underway from human-level intelligence to Planetary Intelligence (a “Global Brain”). Collective Intelligence, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI), has a crucial role to play in this transformation. Because of the incredible power of Planetary Intelligence, it is not an overstatement to say that the values of the humans at the center of this evolving Global Brain will determine the future of humanity.
Dr. Craig A. Kaplan is currently CEO and founder of iQ Studios. He also consults on limited basis for select clients via his consulting company, iQ Company, which he founded in 1993.
From 2006 - 2020, Dr. Kaplan was founder and CEO of PredictWallStreet, a collective intelligence company that harnessed the brainpower of millions of people to gain an edge in the stock market. Prior to founding PredictWallStreet, Dr. Kaplan founded a series of companies including an internet survey company and a consulting firm specializing in applications of collective intelligence. Prior to these businesses, Dr. Kaplan led the Adaptive Technology Group at IBM where he invented multiple patents, including patents that anticipated the collective intelligence recommendation systems later implemented by companies like Amazon and Netflix. He has over 27 years of CEO-level experience in technology companies, and is a leading expert in the field of Collective Intelligence.
Dr. Kaplan’s academic background includes a visiting assistant professorship in Computer Science at the University of California. He earned his MS and PhD degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. There he co-authored research in Cognitive Science with the Nobel-Prize winning co-inventor of Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Herbert A. Simon. Dr. Kaplan has authored and co-authored more than 50 publications, including a book and dozens of patents in the software and internet fields. He was elected to the scientific research society, Sigma Xi, and has been an invited speaker and consultant at institutions ranging from the Business Schools at Harvard and Wharton to international conferences on software and technology.
In addition to his current work at iQ Studios and iQ Company, Dr. Kaplan has provided pro bono technology consulting services to educational institutions including the Phillips Exeter Academy, the Los Angeles Unified School district, and the Harry Singer Foundation. Dr. Kaplan currently resides in California. A former marathon runner and triathlete, he enjoys hiking and outdoors activities with his family.