Science Faction: Intel's Futurist Leads Through Story

Editor's note: Meet Intel futurist Brian David Johnson at WorldFuture 2012 in Toronto this July

I think we all remember the relentless rain that set the film "Blade Runner." It was that type of dystopian gale that soaked Austin, TX yesterday as geeks, techies, designers and, yes, futurists arrived for South By Southwest 2012. One of those futurists, Brian David Johnson, works for Intel and he came to "South by" for a day to talk to us about how the chip manufacturer creates its vision for the future of technology. His message and approach were a welcome contrast to the weather outside.

That Intel engages in futurecasting won't surprise you (Johnson is currently working on the chip for 2019) but their process goes beyond the basics of trend analysis and attempts to develop a more comprehensive view of the technology consumer in 2020. For Intel, that means ensuring that the algorithms and software 8-10 years from now have hardware that lets them take into account what it means to be be human. It also means creating chips for a world where computers have become so small and efficient (both physically and economically) that computing in essence 'ghosts' into the background of most consumers lives. And it means trying to assess what Johnson calls "The Future of Fear," defining what it will mean to be safe (at the individual, community, state and global levels) in 10 years. This last point is the most critical because it means assessing what fears will exist and identifying which of those fears are specious (and thus combat by education) and which are valid (and thus addressed by mitigation).

The Future of Fear gets to the heart of Johnson's approach: bringing humanity front and center in visioning the future. And his primary method of showcasing that perspective is science fiction, or more specifically, science fiction directly inspired by scientific fact for the purpose of creating scientific fact. This is science fiction that leads science fact, as opposed to science fiction that follows social anticipation. Done correctly, this type of science fiction becomes a lingua franca for people across a myriad of scientific disciplines to have a conversation about the future. It serves as an intellectual foil for discussion, reaction, learning and eventually an actionable vision of the future...one that Intel can realistically build.

But there's another part to this as well. Johnson maintains the best way to change the future is to "change the story people tell themselves about the future they will live in." And that belief lead to the formation of "The Tomorrow Project." This consumer-facing initiative pulls in professional and amateur authors to write science fiction that envisions the future based on certain present-day scientific facts. It's a fascinating push-pull approach, because not only is Intel trying to pull insight on how consumers will use technology 10 years out, but they are also pushing consumers a vision to educate and mitigate against The Future of Fear.

In innovation circles Henry Ford's "faster horse" is thread-bare analogy. But Intel's process shows you how one organization can systematically go about giving people jet packs when what they are asking for is winged horses.

Okay, Intel isn't working on jet packs. But they are working to spread the word about The Tomorrow Project. To learn more you can visit: http://techresearch.intel.com/tomorrowproject.aspx and check out an anthology of stories created for the project thus far. You can also follow Brian on Twitter: @IntelFuturist

About the author: Chad Davis is a social media strategist in Washington, D.C.