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Science fiction serves as a key inspiration for the man whose job it is envisage Intel's future and, to a large degree, the future of computing itself
By Larry Greenemeier | May 8, 2012|
NO FEAR: "Very few innovations have come out of being fearful," Johnson says. Image: Courtesy of Intel
In 2010 Brian David Johnson became Intel Corp.'s first futurist, a time-honored title bestowed on prognosticating technology mavens dating back to the likes of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Equal parts seer and evangelist, Johnson helps map out the future of technology and then guides his company toward that destination, whether it is five years or even a decade away.
Johnson draws inspiration from science fiction but tries to ground his vision of the future in reality through speaking engagements in front of audiences most likely to be affected by Intel's technology, such as attendees of the pop culture convention Comic-Con. For an in-depth Q&A with Johnson about the future of computing and his role at Intel, read "Professional Seer" in the May issue of Scientific American. Below is a collection of questions and answers from our conversation with Johnson not included in that article.
Which science fiction authors have inspired you the most? Johnson: So there's what inspired me as a kidthe Asimov, the Bradbury, the Heinleinthat forms the core of science fiction. As I got a little older and a little more sophisticated, it was people like Philip K. Dick, J. G. Ballard, and even more recently people like Vernor Vinge and Cory Doctorow and Charlie Stross, those types of guys. Now most of the stuff I'm inspired by is the near future that is very much based on science fact.
How does a future futurist spend his time as a kid? Growing up, my dad was a radar-tracking engineer and my mom was a specialist [in information technology]. My pop used to come home with electrical schematics of the radar and tell me the story of how it worked. A few weeks later he would come home with an actual piece of the radar and say, "Take it apart." And then he would actually show me how to take it apart. I think about when this happened and I realize that it was around the time I was learning to read. I was learning to read schematics the same time I was learning to read, so I grew up immersed in technology.
How does one become a futurist? Can you go to school and get a degree in futurism? No, but you can go to the college where they first taught futurism, which Alvin Toffler does at the New School [for Social Research] in New York City.
The New School is known for social research. What does a future futurist study there? That's the lovely thing about the New School when I went, which was the late '80s, early '90s. You could take whatever you wanted. I studied a lot of computer science, but when I went to the New School it was this great mix where I could study sociology, I could study economics, I could study film, and I could go down to [New York University] and take classes. As a futurist I need the technical chops to understand what we're talking about. But I also need the research chops to be able to go out and pull this all together and then have the ability to express it.
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