Alumni Spotlight: David Hilbert – Philosophical Computer Scientist

UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) alumnus David Hilbert will be inducted into the 2026 ICS Hall of Fame on May 8 at the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa. Hilbert is the Director of Product Management at Samsung Research America’s Enterprise & Security Innovation Lab, and his career spans a broad arc, from software engineer to industrial researcher to product leader, across Samsung, Fuji Xerox, NASA, and Microsoft.

Hilbert earned an M.S. in 1996 and Ph.D. in 1999 for information and computer science at ICS. Outside of technology, he holds a B.A. in philosophy from Tufts University and has performed in gigging bands since the age of fourteen, “a cherished outlet that brings balance and joy to life beyond shipping product.” Here, Hilbert shares his insights on his tech journey and time at ICS.

What sparked your interest in Information and Computer Sciences?

As a philosophy undergrad in the late 1980s, I began wondering what might come next after graduation. Become one of those taxi drivers that subjects passengers to philosophical conversations? Go to law school? Study several more years to become a philosophy professor? Since none of those felt like my calling, I asked my dad for advice, and he suggested that learning to program computers would open many doors to challenging and interesting work. Luckily for me, the computer science program was just beginning to spin up at my small liberal arts college, so it was easy to get into the classes I needed to nearly complete a dual major by the time my four years were up. Looking back, I’m so glad I took his advice.

Why did you choose UC Irvine and ICS?

After working in software for a couple of years, I felt a strong need to go back to school to deepen my knowledge. Where else could I go that had a highly regarded software engineering program and also served as a film set for one of the Planet of the Apes movies?

What was your experience like?

Have you seen Planet of the Apes?

What does it mean to you to be inducted into the ICS Hall of Fame?

It’s a great honor and a welcome opportunity to reconnect with smart and thoughtful friends, colleagues, and mentors.

How has your experience at ICS affected your career and life?

I get to brag that I earned my Ph.D. from the same program as — and at the same time as — this really nice guy [Roy Fielding] whose Ph.D. thesis defined REST. Have you heard of it?

Favorite ICS memory?

I really enjoyed taking what I’ve come to call “walk & talks” with Jason Robbins around Aldrich Park, to get out into the sunshine, think deep thoughts, and get the creative juices flowing. I’ve kept a similar tradition alive to this day with another distinguished ICS grad, Daniel Billsus, at the Stanford Dish in the Bay Area.

Any advice for future generations of ICS Anteaters?

One of the best things about ICS was the group of professors and students focused on studying the impacts of information systems on organizations, policy, and society. It’s so easy to get swept up in utopian dreams with every new wave of disruptive technology. Now more than ever, it’s critical we think deeply and urgently about the impacts of AI on people and our world. Take advantage of everything ICS has to offer on this front, and bring a humanistic, well-informed, and responsible perspective to our field.

Anything else you’d like to share?

As my favorite present-day philosopher, Ezra Klein, noted in one of his recent podcast episodes: “Life is the sum total of what we pay attention to. That’s it.” So remember to occasionally liberate yourself from the technologies battling to capture and monetize your attention. There is so much more to life. It would be a shame to miss it.