TED Tech

Could DAOs, or "decentralized autonomous organizations," be the key to building the next great city? Experimental urbanist Scott Fitsimones shares how these mission-driven, blockchain-governed, collectively owned organizations could increase the speed and efficiency of building cities (among many other applications) -- all while pooling decision-making power in a radically collaborative way. Hear...

Growing up in the public eye, multi-hyphenate creator Bryce Dallas Howard experienced the familiar pressure to share her life with the world on social media. But with her mother's steadfast guidance, Howard learned to set personal boundaries and savor the beauty of private moments. In this personal talk, she draws on three generations of family wisdom to remind us that "a private life makes a publ...

Since the 1800s, a handful of oligarchs had controlled nearly all of El Salvador's land, forcing laborers to work for almost nothing. But in 1980, farmers and urban workers formed guerrilla groups to overthrow the US-backed dictatorship. These revolutionaries were attacked from every direction, but a group of rebels refused to be silenced. Diana Sierra Becerra shares the story of Radio Venceremos....

From the return of nomadic living to a climate-disrupted world, author and global strategist Parag Khanna has some predictions for humanity. Get a fascinating glimpse at the future as he tackles an urgent question: Where on Earth will eight billion humans live in the uncertain times ahead? This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive...

The universe that we know, with its luminous stars and orbiting planets, is largely made up of elements we can't actually see -- like dark energy and dark matter -- and therefore don't fully understand. Theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein takes us inside the search for this cosmos-shaping invisible matter and explains how, with the help of a new generation of telescopes, we could be clo...

What’s the alternative to the Silicon Valley unicorn? In this episode of the podcast Your Undivided Attention, co-hosts Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin talk with Mara Zepeda and Kate “Sassy” Sassoon of Zebras Unite about how to create the conditions for humane business, and in turn, humane technology. You can find more episodes of Your Undivided Attention anywhere you listen to podcasts. Hosted on A...

Mark Cuban has gone from selling garbage bags door-to-door to selling internet companies for billions, acquiring an NBA team, and becoming a beloved “Shark” on Shark Tank. Mark reveals to Adam how he turns problems into opportunities in entrepreneurship, basketball, and investing. They discuss his latest venture–disrupting the healthcare industry with an online pharmacy and a price-slashing philos...

"If we can unlock the full potential of our cities, we can minimize the price the planet pays for hosting us in our growing numbers," says Marvin Rees, the Mayor of Bristol, UK. Rees notes that while sustainable infrastructure already exists in many parts of the world -- like electric buses in Colombia and freshwater reserves in Singapore -- major investments could make similar innovations more fa...

Over the last decade, humanitarian organizations have digitized many of their systems, from registering refugees with biometric IDs to transporting cargo via drones. This has helped deliver aid around the world, but it's also brought new risks to the people it's meant to protect. Tech and human rights ethicist Aarathi Krishnan points to the dangers of digitization -- like sensitive data getting in...

What if you could control your digital devices using just the power of thought? That's the incredible promise behind the Stentrode -- an implantable brain-computer interface that collects and wirelessly transmits information directly from the brain, without the need for open surgery. Neurotech entrepreneur Tom Oxley describes the intricacies of this breakthrough technology, which is currently enro...

As prescription drug costs skyrocket in the US, thousands of people are forced to forgo lifesaving medications -- all while manufacturers and health care facilities systematically destroy perfectly good, surplus pills. Kiah Williams shares how SIRUM -- a nonprofit that delivers unused medications to families who need them most -- plans to drive down prescription prices by recycling almost a billio...

As digital assets like cryptocurrency and NFTs become more mainstream, design thinker and head of Instagram Adam Mosseri believes that creators are uniquely positioned to benefit. These blockchain-enabled technologies could remove the need for a "middleman" in the form of large social media platforms, allowing creators to more freely distribute their work and connect with their audiences. He expla...

Digital public servant Amanda Renteria has seen that the millions of people who rely on government welfare services are often discouraged from seeking them out, frustrated by long lines and unnecessarily complicated processes. At Code for America, Renteria is helping develop human-centered technology that "respects you from the start, meets you where you are and provides an easy, positive experien...

In need of a brief yet illuminating lesson on the obsession with NFTs? Elizabeth Strickler breaks down the acronym and explains the fundamentals of non-fungible tokens, sharing how these digital assets are changing the landscape for artists and content creators looking to cash in on their creations -- in and out of the metaverse. Stay tuned after the talk to hear thoughts from author QuHarrison Te...

What happens when the data-driven capabilities of AI are combined with human creativity and ingenuity? Shining a light on the opportunities this futuristic collaboration could bring to the workplace, AI expert Shervin Khodabandeh shares how to redesign companies so that people and machines can learn from each other. Hear more after the episode from our new host, Sherrell Dorsey, on the potential p...

This is an episode of How to Be a Better Human, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective. To hear more episodes, follow How to Be a Better Human wherever you're listening to this. We'll be back on July 22 with a new season of TED Tech—and a surprise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Work that's dictated by a fixed schedule, place and job description doesn't make sense anymore, says leadership expert Debbie Lovich. In light of the cultural shift towards remote work sparked by the pandemic, Lovich gives three essential tips to leaders so employees can keep their autonomy (while remaining productive), companies can let go of rigid bureaucracy and we can all reshape work to bette...

Future forecaster and game designer Jane McGonigal ran a social simulation game in 2008 that had players dealing with the effects of a respiratory pandemic set to happen in the next decade. She wasn’t literally predicting the 2020 pandemic—but she got eerily close. Her game, set in 2019, featured scenarios we're now familiar with (like masking and social distancing), and participant reactions gave...

We all know that information is power; but what if you live in a country without a free press or regular access to the internet? You have to be creative, and find nimble ways to help your community stay informed. That’s exactly what journalists in Caracas, Venezuela are doing by delivering the news every weekday…on public buses all over! Hop on a music-filled and inspiring journey as El Bus TV com...

Satya Nadella is a modern renaissance man; he’s a cricket enthusiast, poetry lover, oh, and the chairman and CEO of Microsoft with a nearly perfect approval rating on Glassdoor. Satya has led a transformation at Microsoft, up-ending the culture, and rethinking remote and hybrid work. In this episode, Adam talks to Satya about the future of work, leadership, and building cultures of care. This is a...

"We've been promised a future of chrome -- but what if the future is fleshy?" asks biological designer Christina Agapakis. In this awe-inspiring talk, Agapakis details her work in synthetic biology -- a multidisciplinary area of research that pokes holes in the line between what's natural and artificial -- and shares how breaking down the boundaries between science, society, nature and technology...

We've been hearing about self-driving cars for years, but autonomous vehicle entrepreneur Aicha Evans thinks we need to dream more daringly. In this exciting talk, she introduces us to robotaxis: fully autonomous, eco-friendly shuttles that would take you from place to place and take up less space on the streets than personal cars. Learn how this new technology works -- and what a future where we...

Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's first chief environmental officer, thinks about climate change through the lens of coding, and he says the world's current net-zero approach simply won't compute. So how do we create a system that actually accounts for all the world's carbon emissions -- and helps us get to zero (as in zero additional carbon added to the atmosphere by 2050)? Joppa shares three "bugs" in ou...

Jamila Gordon believes in the power of human connection -- and artificial intelligence -- to help people who might otherwise be left behind. Telling the story of her own path from refugee to global tech executive, she shows how AI is helping refugees, migrants and those from disadvantaged backgrounds find jobs and develop the skills they need to work effectively and safely. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

Today, something a little different: an episode from Your undivided Attention, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective. It's a show that explores the incredible power that technology has over our lives -- and how we can use it to catalyze a humane future. These days, there's enthusiastic talk about the possibilities of decentralized technologies, like cryptocurrencies and 3D printing. But dece...