TED Tech

We’ve got a special 6-part series with an interactive twist coming your way: On Body Electric, TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi investigates the relationship between our bodies and our technology…and she has a challenge for YOU. Starts Tuesday, October 3rd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will truth and reason survive the evolution of artificial intelligence? AI researcher Gary Marcus says no, not if untrustworthy technology continues to be integrated into our lives at such dangerously high speeds. He advocates for an urgent reevaluation of whether we're building reliable systems (or misinformation machines), explores the failures of today's AI and calls for a global, nonprofit org...

In the last few decades, China has gone from technological scarcity to abundance. What sparked this shift? Economist Keyu Jin explores how China has fostered a model of innovation unlike any other and shows why understanding its competitive, collaborative approach could benefit the world -- and perhaps demystify some contradictions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an astonishing talk and tech demo, neurotechnologist Conor Russomanno shares his work building brain-computer interfaces that could enable us to control the external world with our minds. He discusses the quickly advancing possibilities of this field -- including the promise of a "closed-loop system" that could both record and stimulate brain activity -- and invites neurohacker Christian Bayerl...

AI-generated media that looks and sounds exactly like the real world will soon permeate our lives. How should we prepare for it? AI developer Tom Graham discusses the extraordinary power of this rapidly advancing technology, demoing cutting-edge examples -- including real-time face swaps and voice cloning -- live from the TED stage. In conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, Graham digs into...

Pirate fishing, oil spills and other undetected crimes are destroying ocean ecosystems -- but we can't stop what we can't see. Harnessing the power of satellite data and AI to catch maritime offenders in the act, ocean conservation expert and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Tony Long introduces the first-ever live map of all industrial human activity at sea. He shares how his team at Global Fishing...

Modern life runs on wireless technology. What if the energy powering our devices could also be transmitted without wires? Electrical engineer Ali Hajimiri explains the principles behind wireless energy transfer and shares his far-out vision for launching flexible solar panels into space in order to collect sunlight, convert it to electrical power and then beam it down to Earth. Learn how this tech...

It's time to give paper passports a digital upgrade, says entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks. Looking to Estonia's technology-driven government for inspiration, she envisions a world where immigration is no longer hindered by bureaucracy and needless repetition. Travel with her to a future beyond borders where universal digital passports replace paper ones -- and where outdated systems stop wasting our...

In this perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint. After the talk, our host Sherrell expands upon the ways some nations have been historically neglected when it comes to climate adaptive technologies and shares comm...

In this exclusive preview of groundbreaking, unreleased technology, former Apple designer and Humane cofounder Imran Chaudhri envisions a future where AI enables our devices to "disappear" -- seriously, like one day making a phone call on the palm of your hand. He gives a sneak peek of his company's new product -- shown for the first time ever on the TED stage -- and explains how it could change t...

The emergence of data-driven mass surveillance "is threatening to turn privacy into a relic of the 20th century," says the anonymous YouTube creator known as Ordinary Things. Meanwhile, state-funded troll farms are spreading disinformation and curating chaos on platforms meant to connect us and revolutionize the way we live. Ordinary Things gives an enlightening account of the internet's strengths...

When programmer Tiffani Ashley Bell learned that thousands of people in Detroit were facing water shutoffs because they couldn't afford to pay their bills, she decided to take action -- in the simplest, most obvious way possible. It's an inspiring story of how one person with tenacity and an idea can create monumental change -- and a demonstration that each of us can find our own way to help the w...

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen. He shares the opportunities he sees for students and educators to collaborate with AI tools -- including the potential of a personal AI tutor for every student and an AI teaching assistant for every teacher -- and demos some exciting new features f...

It's 1999, and sixteen years after its original release, a new Star Wars is finally coming. Fans have been camping out in front of theaters across the country just to be the first to see it. The beloved intergalactic saga is set to debut a slew of brand new characters, one of whom is a revolutionary CGI creation named Jar Jar Binks. Whispers begin to spread about big changes coming to the galaxy f...

This is an episode from Your Undivided Attention, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. At Center for Humane Technology, we want to close the gap between what the world hears publicly about AI from splashy CEO presentations and what the people who are closest to the risks and harms inside AI labs are telling us. We translated their concerns into a cohesive story to heads of institutions a...

Computer scientist Yejin Choi is here to demystify the current state of massive artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, highlighting three key problems with cutting-edge large language models (including some funny instances of them failing at basic commonsense reasoning.) She welcomes us into a new era in which AI is becoming almost like a new intellectual species -- and identifies the benef...

TikTok CEO Shou Chew dives into how the trend-setting video app and cultural phenomenon works -- from what distinguishes its algorithm and drives virality to the challenges of content moderation and digital addiction. In a wide-ranging conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, he tells stories about the TikTok creators he loves and digs into thorny issues like data privacy and government manip...

In a talk from the cutting edge of technology, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman explores the underlying design principles of ChatGPT and demos some mind-blowing, unreleased plug-ins for the chatbot that sent shockwaves across the world. After the talk, head of TED Chris Anderson joins Brockman to dig into the timeline of ChatGPT's development and get Brockman's take on the risks, raised by many in t...

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...

Ginni Rometty rose through the ranks at IBM to become their first female CEO. After leading the iconic tech company from 2012 to 2020, Ginni chronicled the experiences and lessons learned in her memoir, “Good Power.” In a candid conversation at the Authors@Wharton series, Ginni talks with Adam about cultivating and harnessing influence, leading change through highlighting what will stay the same,...

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...

Buildings are bad news for the climate -- but they don't have to be. While our structures are currently responsible for a third of global energy consumption and emissions, a future where they create more energy than they consume is possible. Energy policy analyst Ksenia Petrichenko has a three-tiered strategy for thinking differently about buildings, transforming them from passive users to active...

Nai’a is a product operations manager at an education technology company that has gone through a major restructuring. With a shifting team and a brand new manager, she struggles to make sure her colleagues recognize the value of her work and what she needs to continue achieving success in her role. Anne and Frances help Nai’a reframe her mindset to be around approaching the situation with curiosit...

To prevent global warming, we need to drastically reduce pollution. After that, we need to trap as much excess carbon dioxide from the air as possible. Enter Orca, the world's first large-scale direct air capture and storage plant, built in Iceland by the team at Climeworks, led by climate entrepreneur Jan Wurzbacher. With affordability and scalability in mind, Wurzbacher shares his vision for wha...

Love him or hate him, ever since his debut in Star Wars Episode 1, Jar Jar Binks has been one of the most divisive characters in movie history. And the backlash against him? It almost destroyed the man who played him. Host Dylan Marron goes back in time to learn what we got wrong about Jar Jar the first time around. Coming June 28 from the TED Audio Collective. Subscribe wherever you get your podc...