video interviews, speeches and talks
what's new for 2050?
At the YouAccel career and learning network, David Brin describes the industries of 2050 — our grandchildrens' career choices.
a coronavirus conversation
Physicist Dt. Brian Keating speaks with physicist Dr. David Brin about, among other topics, the less-than-science-fictional aspects of the coronavirus: What if there is more to this virus than meets the eye? We already know that corona viruses are not like the flu. Flu stays in business by mutating rapidly, every year, forcing new kinds of vaccines to be developed.
no more surprise attacks?
What's the solution to rapidly advancing threat horizons? At the US Army TRADOC 'Mad Scientist' conference, David Brin asserts that the key may be to anticipate threats — but we can't, so we must become more resilient.
the merits and hazards of extrapolation
Science fiction authors poke at the universe using their prefrontal lobes... the seat of the thought experiment. So if you want to test your ability as a writer, to keep the action and interest and intellect and empathy all going at the same time, while building a world and dealing with ideas and issues — you're pretty much behooved to write science fiction as an alternative to cynicism and zero-sum thinking.
the second era of humans in space
David led an amazing roundtable of people working both inside and outside NASA, including Geoffrey Landis, Chris McKay, Rusty Schweickart, and Ariel Waldman, as they roughed out some of the ambitious new goals that could animate this next era in space, ranging from mining asteroids, to setting up solar energy stations in orbit, to exploring for life in the roofed water worlds of our solar system.
talking to our worst adversaries
David's Singularity Summit talk in New York notes we have reached a stage in our technology where we are making gods and asks — will that bother anyone?
predicting the future with sf
Is there no way we know what the future is going to be like? In this Fast Forward video, Brin describes how science fiction designs thought experiments to make educated guesses.
writing the starship era
When (and how) will we develop starships capable of exploring beyond our solar system? This is one of many questions explored by David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Jon Lomberg, and moderator Gregory Benford at the Clarke Center's fiction writers panel at UCSD.
is it the gliderport?
Explore the mystery of why UCSD has cultivated more science fiction writers than any other university of our time with alumni David Brin, Nancy Holder, Kim Stanley Robinson, Vernor Vinge, and Gregory Benford.
what do we do when we lose our privacy?
Watch this speech delivered at Bard College's Hannah Arendt Center. Brin notes that wanting to preserve privacy is only the beginning: We look for Big Brothers in government and universities and corporations yet fail to see the ones living next door.
can we keep secrets anymore?
This roundtable at the Washington DC Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC-DC) and the Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center discusses the dramatically-reduced cost of collecting and sharing information. It has become easier to track what companies and governments are doing; whistleblowers and malicious hackers alike can disseminate huge quantities of confidential information. Are we seeing an inevitable trend towards transparency? Or will companies, organizations and governments find ways to lock down their networks?
searching for big-picture AI
In this talk, "Will Artificial Intelligence occur by design, evolution, accident... or at all?" given to the 'braniacs' at World of Watson: IBM conf, in Las Vegas, Brin asks: given all the critical problems we need to solve very soon — on land, in the upper atmosphere, and in our seas — will we create the artificial intelligences we will need?
did we make a 'bargain'?
David Brin's second short screenplay submission, Diaspora, was selected as the Los Angeles Feedback Film Festival's "Best Short Screenplay" for January. His first submission, "Bargain," won the Festival's one-page Screenplay Contest in December. Both scripts are performed and posted online. Watch Bargain and Diaspora on YouTube.
where will we be in 40 years?
In this YouTube video, two renowned futurists, David Brin and John Smart, discuss what inventions and adventures await us in the next 40 years.
want to make a more exciting book or movie?
What criteria do you use to judge whether or not you like a movie or novel? We all have our standards, considering issues such as story-telling, consistency of plot, whether the work is dramatic enough, whether the characters seem plausible or believable. But there’s one you never hear mentioned, civilization, the context within which we all live. It’s what we depend upon for our daily life, our food, our electricity.Indeed, the assumption that civilization is useless dominates most films, because it makes it easy to put your hero in pulse-pounding jeopardy.
Continue reading more video interviews, speeches, and talks.
newest book releases
Best of David Brin
David Brin has thrilled readers in almost thirty languages by presenting vastly imaginative — and well-grounded — challenges set in times that might yet come... along with a sometimes razor-thin hope we’ll persevere. In this major retrospective collection of shorter work, gathered from across an extraordinary career spanning decades, you’ll find wonder via David Brin’s unparalleled talent at imagination, extrapolation, hard headed optimism, and plain old fun.
Find out more, or purchase Best of David Brin as a special limited collectible hardcover or Kindle ebook. (#AmazonCommissionsEarned)
Castaways of New Mojave
Teens and their teachers were stunned when the alien Garubis yanked Twenty-Nine Palms High School right out of California’s Mojave desert, plopping it into a jungle many light years away. It was supposed to be a “gift” — a new settlement for humanity. But tell that to Mark, Alexandra, Barry and Sophie when strange parasites attack... and they don’t know what to eat... and the island of Earth-buildings runs out of water! Then, strange tool-users are spotted in the forest. Are the Garubis back? Or is this some other alien menace?
Find out more, or purchase Castaways of New Mojave as a paperback or Kindle ebook. (#AmazonCommissionsEarned)
Vivid Tomorrows
Can science fiction — especially sci-fi cinema — save the world? It already has, many times. And it’s not been all dire warnings. While optimism is much harder to dramatize than apocalypse, both large and small screens have also encouraged millions to lift their gaze, contemplating how we might get better, incrementally, or else raise grandchildren worthy of the stars. Come along with legendary science fiction author and astrophysicist David Brin on a quirky quest for unusual insights into the power of forward-looking media.
Find out more, or purchase Vivid Tomorrows as a paperback. (#AmazonCommissionsEarned)
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
