Lon Safko — Creator and Executive Producer
The Digital Discoverers grew from Lon Safko’s firsthand experience inside the technological revolution the series documents. An inventor, author and media communicator, Lon created the series to preserve the human stories behind the technologies that built the modern world—and to connect a production partner directly with the pioneers who can still tell those stories in their own words.
A Creator With Firsthand Authority
Lon’s own work spans assistive technology, voice interfaces, home automation, artificial intelligence and early digital systems. His “First Computer to Save a Human Life,” 18 inventions and approximately 30,000 professional papers are represented in the Smithsonian Institution’s collections, and 14 inventions are represented in the Computer History Museum’s collection. That record gives him the technical fluency to ask informed questions while keeping each episode focused on character, consequence and the personal cost of invention.
Access That Cannot Be Recreated Later
Lon has spent years developing the concept, researching the pioneers and building the relationships behind the series. He serves as the project’s subject-matter guide and the bridge between the featured innovators and the production team. Six participants are confirmed, while their identities and participation status remain confidential until formal production and release arrangements are complete.
The urgency is real. Most of the featured pioneers are now between 75 and 95 years old, and Gladys West died on January 17, 2026. Her passing underscores why these firsthand accounts must be recorded now, before more irreplaceable testimony is lost.
Built for a Focused Production
As Creator and Executive Producer, Lon will guide research, story development, participant relationships and access to available archival material. A producing partner can concentrate on financing, packaging, production execution and distribution. The planned interviews require roughly a two-hour shoot with each living participant, including host William Shatner, with the series shaped principally in post-production from interviews and cleared archival assets.
Lon is also the author of multiple bestselling books and appeared in the PBS television special Social Media & You: Communicating in a Digital World. Those experiences support the series’ central task: translating complex innovation into clear, emotionally compelling stories for a broad audience.
This is not simply a project about technology. It is a time-sensitive effort to preserve the voices of the people who made the digital age possible.
Selected Background
Across more than four decades, Lon has worked as an inventor, entrepreneur, author, speaker and advisor. His published work includes The Social Media Bible, The Fusion Marketing Bible, The Innovative Thinking Bible and A.I. ChatBots: Unexpected Positive Consequences. His inventions, papers, patents and media experience form useful supporting context for the project; detailed biographical documentation is available below.
A Partnership Invitation
The Digital Discoverers is seeking an experienced producer with the relationships and track record to package the series and secure a streaming or distribution home. Lon brings the concept, the participant relationships, the research foundation and continuing creative guidance. The right partner brings the production and distribution pathway needed to record these stories while the remaining pioneers can still participate.
Review the Project Materials or begin a confidential Producer Inquiry.
Institutional holdings, archive access, participation, ownership and rights availability are subject to documentary verification, written agreements and customary clearance.
For speaking, corporate training, consulting and professional inquiries unrelated to the series, visit LonSafko.com.
