First, Last, Everything David X Cohen, Co-Creator of Futurama
Sep 23, 2025
David X. Cohen, an Emmy-winning writer and co-creator of Futurama, shares his journey from The Simpsons to groundbreaking animated comedy. He reflects on his tech-infused childhood, early gaming experiences, and academic pursuits in computer science. The conversation dives into the balance of comedy and scientific plausibility in Futurama, the impact of AI on the entertainment industry, and memorable robots from the series. Cohen also discusses his current obsession with driverless cars and the potential of AI in medicine, blending humor with profound insights on technology.
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Arcades Sparked A Lifelong Tech Love
- David X. Cohen remembers arcades and early home computers as formative experiences that he shared with his dad.
- Those early games sparked a lifelong love of technology and programming that led him to build games and learn assembly language.
Early Computer Vision Work At Harvard
- Cohen worked in the Harvard Robotics Lab building vision programs that could find Marilyn Monroe's eye and measure smiles.
- He trained systems on graduate students' faces and joked Ken Keeler had a "negative smile coefficient."
A Mathematical Gag In Homer3
- For The Simpsons' Homer3 segment Cohen wrote software to find near-miss counterexamples to Fermat's Last Theorem to make a believable background gag.
- Fans who froze the frame discovered a true-looking numerical "proof" that sparked enthusiastic discussion online.