more video interviews, speeches and talks
two writers eye the future
David Brin and epic SF novelist and AI theoretician Ramez Naam join the King of Scenarios about the future, Peter Schwartz, onstage at the Dreamforce Conference in San Francisco to discuss what lies beyond tomorrow.
will the future be augmented?
The Augmented World Expo posted Brin's talk about what we will see in augmented and virtual reality over the next 40 years.
looking forward to the future
In this episode of "5 Burning Questions," David Brin discusses his thoughts about charting a course through the future.
cyber surveillance — impacts & challenges
David Brin speaks to the Internet Society about how to discover errors before they happen.
Horizon 2020: inventing the future
Earth isn't a vast utopia, it is just us — more reasonable than our ancestors, perhaps. We definitely raised better grandchildren. How will they manage the planet? Will they expand into the solar system?
is utopia in exile?
Adam Ford interviewed Brin at LosCon39 in Los Angeles, asking him if there's a utopia in our future, among other topics.
grand-scale reasons to explore space
In this video I discuss the economics of space exploration. Every decade since the 1940s, some scientific breakthrough (or several) enabled the U.S. to stay rich and vibrant enough to then spend it all in the Great Buying Spree that propelled world prosperity and created a world-majority Middle Class. That is, every decade except the first decade of the 21st Century, amid the calamitous War on Science.
why have we resumed exploration?
At Planetfest 2012, David Brin addresses the questions, "Will we see a new burst in planetary exploration?" and "With all the cameras, why don't we have better photos of the little green men?"
the science of "otherness"
Suppose we don't meet aliens. Might we satisfy our thirst for "otherness" anyway, by widening the range of who "we" are? Incorporating intelligences that are artificial, or human variants, or uplifted animals? Watch Brin's assumption-shattering talk at the Smithsonian, May 2014. (Here are the slides that accompany the talk!)
a self-evolved humanity?
A team of brilliant cinematographers have forged ahead on the production of Neo, a film about humanity's future. Their first announcement trailer (featuring David Brin) won the 'Future-Maker Award' at Beijing's 2016 Global Innovator Conference.
trekspertise
Trekspertise just released a beautiful, image-rich video accompaniment of a talk I gave about "What Is Science Fiction?"
no sign of intelligent life?
In this online tech-show, Future First (by Popular Science), David Brin and NASA director Jason Crusan are asked "Where are all the aliens?" Their answers encompass the Fermi Paradox, pondering why we seem — so far — to be alone.
getting reasonable
"The issue should not be government. It should not be unlimited and unalloyed idolatry of personal property, which is the path that the libertarian movement has gone down," says David Brin, a science fiction writer and self-identified "heretical libertarian" in this ReasonTV video.
science & the "great delusion"
This interview with mendelspod.com covers: Who's doing the heavy lifting of creating the future? What are the four great pillars that freed us from the "great delusion" of feudalism?
science fiction's horizons
Writer and futurist David Brin argues for the academic validity of science fiction, as the literature best suited to expanding our horizons while exploring solutions to society's most pressing problems.
exploring above, improving below
David presents "A SciFi Author's take on space technology innovations in the near and distant future" at Vint Cerf's Space Technology Innovations Conference at Google Headquarters. How likely is it that we can renew enthusiasm for expanding civilization into space?
which science is the most basic?
Physics, mathematics, philosophy, biology, chemistry, or physics — the eternal loop. Physics might be considered the most fundamental of all sciences, for all other sciences derive from basic principles of forces, motion, electromagnetism and thermodynamics. And yet, physical laws are mathematical models of the world; however, mathematics itself is abstract, deriving from theoretical constructs of philosophy. But, philosophy arises out of theories of mind, or psychology. The mind itself depends upon the biology of the brain... which is nothing but chemical reactions of molecules, such as neurotransmitters and proteins. And of course, chemistry depends upon the behavior of atoms and forces, which is constrained by physics.
still more videos interviews and talks
TED talks
GOOGLE talks
curated talks
David Brin's video, audio, and print interviews are curated at scoop.it and pinterest.
a very strange universe
Author David Brin speaks at Arizona State University's Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science about Humanity's Place in a Very Strange Universe.
the physics of free will
The Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at UCSD recently held a panel discussion on "The Physics of Free Will." Astrophysicists Brian Keating, Andrew Friedman and David Brin discussed what modern physics — including "entanglement" and the time-history of inflation and the Big Bang — has to say about the concept of free will, including perspectives from the foundations of quantum mechanics, cosmology, and speculations about the role of of conscious observers in the cosmos.
journey into 2050
This 10 minute video about transparency and the Internet Miracle is an excerpt from an interview Brin gave a European television station during the recent conference (in Lithuania) on the digital future. Another excerpt explains the most difficult concept of the information age: that we should stop whining about how much elites can see, and instead be militant about looking back at them.
creating a neo-enlightenment
In September 2012, David helped dedicate a new Engineering Building at UCSD, along with luminaries from as far away as Bauhaus University. His talk focused on the building's deliberate collaboration between science and art, a melding predicted 50 years ago by CP Snow and essential to our Enlightenment. Watch the video — or read the speech.
talking the Fermi Paradox
Brin is video-interviewed on Fast Forward: Why haven't we heard from aliens? What explains the Great Silence? And why we haven't found any extraterrestrial neighbors yet?
third millennium problem solving tools
Can our civilization maintain its 200-year commitment to openness, transparency, accountability, and confident belief in progress, or will a growing "relinquishment movement" fight back against the onrush of change?
Also: Find a trove of interviews, roundtable discussions and more on David Brin's Closer to Truth contributor page.
a brief intro to science fiction author DAVID BRIN
To learn more, visit his books page, or see his "about me" page or detailed biography.
novels
David Brin's science fiction novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. They range from bold and prophetic explorations of our near-future to Brin's Uplift series, envisioning galactic issues of sapience and destiny (and star-faring dolphins!). Learn More
shorter fiction
Short stories and novellas have different rhythms and artistic flavor, and Brin's short stories and novellas, several of which earned Hugo and other awards, exploit that difference to explore a wider range of real and vividly speculative ideas. Many have been selected for anthologies and reprints, and most have been published in anthology form. Learn More
Contrary Brin blog
Since 2004, David Brin has maintained a blog about science, technology, science fiction, books, and the future — themes his science fiction and nonfiction writings continue to explore. Learn More
social media influencer
Who could've predicted that social media — indeed, all of our online society — would play such an important role in the 21st Century — restoring the voices of advisors and influencers! Lively and intelligent comments spill over onto Brin's social media pages. Learn More
scientist
David Brin's Ph.D in Physics from the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. Every science show that depicts a comet now portrays the model developed in Brin's PhD research. Learn More
transparency expert
Brin's non-fiction book, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy?, continues to receive acclaim for its accuracy in predicting 21st Century concerns about online security, secrecy, accountability and privacy. Learn More
speaker & consultant
Brin speaks plausibly and entertainingly about trends in technology and society to audiences willing to confront the challenges that our rambunctious civilization will face in the decades ahead. He also talks about the field of science fiction, especially in relation to his own novels and stories. To date he has presented at more than 300 meetings, conferences, corporate retreats and other gatherings. Learn More
future/tech advisor
Brin advises corporations and governmental and private defense- and security-related agencies about information-age issues, scientific trends, future social and political trends, and education. Urban Developer Magazine named him one of four World's Best Futurists, and he was appraised as "#1 influencer" in Onalytica's Top 100 report of Artificial Intelligence influencers, brands & publications. Past consultations include Google, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and many others. Learn More
