Former Intel futurist Brian David Johnson set out to destroy the ideal of an accidental future and encouraged students to think imaginatively in his lecture “Designing the Future.”

Tasked with developing an action plan for businesses to help address the problems of tomorrow in today’s world as a futurist for both Intel and Arizona State, Johnson’s presentation focused on a three-stage thought process for technology development and the steps young people should take to create a better world.

“We no longer have to ask ourselves if we can do something, but instead what we want to do,” Johnson said. “The No. 1 most underused tool in education, aerospace or anything is imagination. Our inability to imagine a better future is what is holding us back.”

Johnson highlighted two industries, music and finance, and how an analog, hybrid and digital stages helped develop new innovation in each field. From vinyl records to the arrival of the iPod and ending with streaming services such as Spotify, Johnson’s model displayed the idea of a simple song evolving into music sharing with friends and family.

The financial markets that once ruled Wall Street suffered from similar advancements. Created in ancient times under the idea of a physical location meant for trading goods, 24/7 algorithmic trading robots have almost exterminated the need for a physical trading floor, something Johnson sees as “set” for news organizations and television.

Johnson said innovations such as these at one point were thought of as impossible, and people who thought otherwise were mocked for their views.

“Looking at today and tomorrow, our job is to not be surprised by these massive technological feats,” Johnson said. “Instead, we need to look past tomorrow and think even further ahead to what’s in that future.”

A hot topic addressed humorously several times during Johnson’s speech was world domination via robots or humanoid AI programs. Terminator’s Skynet was mentioned as an example. As a self-proclaimed geek of science fiction writing, Johnson sees the need to be vigilant about AI, but not to an extreme extent.

“They’re creating robots for children using 3-D printing, using apps to design the model,” Johnson said. “If you don’t want the robot destroying the world, then don’t download the world destroying app.”

As a more human-focused futurist than technological, keeping the purpose of robotics in mind is important for Johnson when discussing the responsibility associated with creating an AI system. He believes some jobs should be kept for humans while others can be taken on by computers.

“If I asked you to name the number of your top five contacts in your phone, you probably couldn’t, and some scientists would say that’s bad, but I don’t think so,” Johnson said. “Your brain is a horrible hard drive, but the smartphone in your pocket isn’t. Let your phone be a good hard drive and free your brain to other tasks.”

Given Johnson’s goal of inspiring youth to dream and achieve their goals for the future, some students appreciated his approach to speaking.

“He didn’t [share] his ideas with just technological people, he made it simple for people who were here to just enjoy something they could comprehend,” said Justin Kuhn, freshman in software engineering. “His estimations of where he thought computers would be in five years [were] very interesting, and how he’ll be able to incorporate that technology into other businesses.”

Johnson’s lecture series will continue at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union, where he will speak about the future of the American dream and what that dream means to society.