Futurehunting with will.i.am & Brian David Johnson

Thursday, January 31, 11:00am
Main Stage, Room 2005

Hear musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist will.i.am with Intel’s futurist Brian David Johnson as they explore the future of technology, creativity and the gadgets we all love.  What are the next apps and technologies that will change the world?  Where are the next tech and entertainment hot spots?  What are the global trends that will shape how and what we design tomorrow? Where has technology exploded the creative process?  What kind of future will you create?

will.i.am, a multi-faceted entertainer and creative innovator, is a seven-time Grammy Award winner.  Known for his work with The Black Eyed Peas, who have sold 31 million albums and 58 million singles worldwide, he also works with some of the industry’s biggest names including Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, David Guetta, and film composer Hans Zimmer.

Frontman and founder of The Black Eyed Peas will.i.am has released three songs from his upcoming solo cd, #willpower on Interscope Records, due out in 2013. The three singles from the cd released in 2012 were: “T.H.E (The Hardest Ever),” featuring Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez; number one hit song in the UK, “This is Love” featuring Eva Simons; and “Scream & Shout” that has gone to number one on iTunes and radio play charts in multiple countries.

will.i.am is a founding shareholder in Beats Electronics, the creators of Beats by Dre™ headphones.   Leveraging his experience in the consumer electronics industry, will.i.am hosted the world premiere introduction of his i.am+ foto.sosho camera accessory for iPhone4/4s and iPhone 5 in London in late November, 2012.  Fusing the worlds of fashion, photography and mobile lifestyle, the i.am+ foto.sosho camera accessory line debuted in December, 2012 at retail, avaible exclusively at Selfridges & Co. department store in the UK.

will.i.am is the first recording artist to send a song to Mars in conjunction with NASA’s Curiosity Mars Space Lab.  Space and music industry firsts were achieved on August 28, 2012 when “Reach For The Stars (Mars Edition)” was played back from Mars during a youth education event hosted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

As a musician, producer, director and advocate for education, he is an enthusiastic user of technologies in both his professional and personal lives.  In recognition of his ability to harness technology to enhance entertainment, creativity and communication, Intel Corporation appointed will as Director of Creative Innovation in 2011.

Recognized and honored by numerous industry organizations, will.i.am is the recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two NAACP Image Awards, a VH1 Do Something Award, the BMI President’s Award and a 2008 Webby Award.

The future is Brian David Johnson’s business. As a futurist at Intel Corporation, his charter is to develop an actionable 10 -15 year vision for the future of technology. His work is called “future casting”—using ethnographic field studies, technology research, trend data, and even science fiction to provide Intel with a pragmatic vision of consumers and computing.

Along with reinventing TV, Johnson has been pioneering development in artificial intelligence, robotics, and using science fiction as a design tool. He speaks and writes extensively about future technologies in articles and scientific papers as well as science fiction short stories and novels (Science Fiction Prototyping: Designing the Future with Science Fiction, Screen Future: The Future of Entertainment Computing and the Devices we Love, Fake Plastic Love, and Nebulous Mechanisms: The Dr. Simon Egerton Stories).

He has directed two feature films and is an illustrator and commissioned painter.