What We Do
David Pescovitz
Research Affiliate
David Pescovitz, a research affiliate at Institute for the Future, is editor/partner at the influential tech/culture Web site Boing Boing. He is also the co-founder of Ozma Records, a music label focused on the intersection of science, art, and consciousness. In 2018, he won a Grammy Award for co-producing the Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition, a lavish vinyl box set documenting the iconic phonograph record that NASA launched into space in 1977.
Pescovitz was also the founding editor-at-large for MAKE:, the DIY technology magazine, and co-wrote the book Reality Check (HardWired, 1996), based on his long-running futurist column in Wired magazine. He has written for Scientific American, Popular Science, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, and New Scientist, among many other publications. As a futurist, he frequently presents to senior leaders at Fortune 500 companies like Intel, Procter & Gamble, Tesco, and Samsung as well as large conferences about the future of technology, science, innovation, and media.
From 2000 to 2007 Pescovitz was the first ever writer-in-residence at UC Berkeley's College of Engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Media from the University of Cincinnati and a Master's in Journalism from UC Berkeley.
Pescovitz has also contributed to the Los Angeles Times, IEEE Spectrum, Fast Company, MTV, Discovery Channel Online, and Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings on technology and culture are featured in the books What Are You Optimistic About?: Today's Leading Thinkers on Why Things Are Good and Getting Better, Dissident Futures, The Happy Mutant Handbook, and The 'Zine Reader. Pescovitz is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Science and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and networks including CNN, NPR, and PBS NewsHour.