TED Tech

Next up for AI? Dancing robots | Catie Cuan

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Would you tango with a robot? Inviting us into the fascinating world of dancing machines, robot choreographer Catie Cuan highlights why teaching robot...

How you could see inside your body — with a micro-robot | Alex Luebke and Vivek Kumbhari

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Would you swallow a micro-robot? In a gutsy demo, physician Vivek Kumbhari navigates Pillbot, a wireless, disposable robot swallowed onstage by engine...

Your right to repair AI systems | Rumman Chowdhury

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For AI to achieve its full potential, non-experts need to contribute to its development, says Rumman Chowdhury, CEO and cofounder of Humane Intelligen...

How AI could save (not destroy) education | Sal Khan

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen...

How to govern AI — even if it's hard to predict | Helen Toner

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

No one truly understands AI, not even experts, says Helen Toner, an AI policy researcher and former board member of OpenAI. But that doesn't mean we c...

12 predictions for the future of technology | Vinod Khosla

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Techno-optimist Vinod Khosla believes in the world-changing power of "foolish ideas." He offers 12 bold predictions for the future of technology — f...

Entertainment is getting an AI upgrade | Kylan Gibbs

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AI has the power to bring your favorite fictional characters to life, says technologist Kylan Gibbs. Introducing Caleb, an "AI agent" with personality...

The TED AI Show: Is AI just all hype? w/ Gary Marcus

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are we mistaking the remarkable skills of tools like ChatGPT with genuine intelligence? AI skeptic Gary Marcus pulls no punches when he warns that bel...

With AI, anyone can be a coder now | Thomas Dohmke

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What if you could code just by talking out loud? GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke shows how, thanks to AI, the barrier to entry to coding is rapidly disappear...

The TED AI Show: Will AI “eat software” — and what’ll happen to coders? w/ GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AI is reshaping software development so much that someday soon, anyone will be able to build an app or a game. What does that mean for programming now...

What is an AI anyway? | Mustafa Suleyman

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to artificial intelligence, what are we actually creating? Even those closest to its development are struggling to describe exactly wher...

The TED AI Show: AI therapy is here. What does it mean for you? w/ Dr. Alison Darcy and Brian Chandler

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We may think the complexities of the human mind can only be understood by other humans. Yet research on chatbots and psychology suggests non-human bot...

What if buildings created energy instead of consuming it? | Ksenia Petrichenko

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 consu...

The TED AI Show: Your next best friend may be 100% AI w/ Purnendu Mukherjee

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Non Player Characters --NPCs for short-- have always been a huge part of what makes video games engaging, from Cortana in Halo to Navi in The Legend o...

How AI is unlocking the secrets of nature and the universe | Demis Hassabis

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can AI help us answer life's biggest questions? In this visionary conversation, Google DeepMind cofounder and CEO Demis Hassabis delves into the histo...

The TED AI Show: Why we can't fix bias with more AI w/ Patrick Lin

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Technology is supposed to make our lives better – but who gets to decide how that improvement unfolds, and what values it upholds? Tech ethicist Pat...

3 mysteries of the universe — and a new force that might explain them | Alex Keshavarzi

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're still in the dark about what 95 percent of our universe is made of — and the standard model for understanding particle physics has hit a limit...

The TED AI Show: AI may take jobs – but not our creativity w/ artist Claire Silver

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Like many new, exciting artistic technologies before it, the development of AI is begging us to ask: what counts as art? In a provocative conversation...

Can AI catch criminals at sea? | Dyhia Belhabib

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can AI help catch oceanic outlaws? From drug smugglers to modern-day pirates, maritime crime fighter Dyhia Belhabib introduces Heva: an AI-powered too...

The TED AI Show: What really went down at OpenAI and the future of regulation w/ Helen Toner

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If there’s one AI company that’s made a splash in mainstream vernacular, it’s OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Former board member and AI pol...

The AI-powered tools supercharging your imagination | Bilawal Sidhu

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How is AI changing the nature of human imagination and creativity? Through a mind-bending tour of new techniques he's been tinkering with, creative te...

The TED AI Show: Is AI destroying our sense of reality? with Sam Gregory

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Could you spot a deepfake? We’re entering a new world where generative AI is challenging our sense of what’s real and what’s fiction. In our fir...

Why don't we have better robots yet? | Ken Goldberg

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why hasn't the dream of having a robot at home to do your chores become a reality yet? With three decades of research expertise in the field, robotici...

AI and the paradox of self-replacing workers | Madison Mohns

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As companies introduce AI into the workplace to increase productivity, an uncomfortable paradox is emerging: people are often responsible for training...

How wireless energy from space could power everything | Ali Hajimiri

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Modern life runs on wireless technology. What if the energy powering our devices could also be transmitted without wires? This week we are revisiting ...

How AI and democracy can fix each other | Divya Siddarth

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We don't have to sacrifice our freedom for the sake of technological progress, says social technologist Divya Siddarth. She shares how a group of peop...

How clicking a single link can cost millions | Ryan Pullen

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is cybercrime getting easier? Cybersecurity expert Ryan Pullen dives into his work investigating massive digital breaches and testing security blindsp...

The TED AI Show: Coming May 21st

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is AI about to change everything? Whether you’re optimistic, pessimistic, or somewhere in between about the power of artificial intelligence, join h...

Can nanoparticles help fight hunger? | Christy L. Haynes

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A game-changing solution to the global food crisis could come from something so tiny you can't see it with the naked eye. Nanomaterials chemist Christ...

What's the point of digital fashion? | Karinna Grant

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What if you could own more clothes without crowding your closet or growing your carbon footprint? Introducing the dematerialized future of your wardro...

The next grand challenge for AI | Jim Fan

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Researcher Jim Fan presents the next grand challenge in the quest for AI: the "foundation agent," which would seamlessly operate across both the virtu...

How Bill Gates spends $9 billion a year - The TED Interview

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode of the latest season of The TED Interview, focused on Infectious Generosity.To get a free copy of the Infectious Generosity book, v...

"How do I make the most of my time at my soulless job?" - Fixable

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Delaney left a fulfilling teaching career to join the tech industry. But after a round of layoffs left her the sole remaining member of her team, she’...

Why AI is incredibly smart -- and shockingly stupid | Yejin Choi

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Computer scientist Yejin Choi is here to demystify the current state of massive artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, highlighting three key p...

DeepMind's Demis Hassabis on the future of AI | The TED Interview

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Demis Hassabis is one of tech's most brilliant minds. A chess-playing child prodigy turned researcher and founder of headline-making AI company DeepMi...

Advice for leaders on creating a culture of belonging | Melonie D. Parker

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google's chief diversity officer Melonie D. Parker joins journalist and host of the "TED Tech" podcast Sherrell Dorsey for a conversation on fostering...

Your creative superpowers can help protect democracy | Sofia Ongele

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

"Democracy is more fun and inviting when you take it into your own hands," says creator and activist Sofia Ongele. Sharing how she's using coding and ...

The exciting, perilous journey toward AGI | Ilya Sutskever

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just weeks before the management shakeup at OpenAI rocked Silicon Valley and made international news, the company's cofounder and chief scientist Ilya...

Why you should ditch deadly fossil-fuel appliances | Donnel Baird

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the US, people spend the overwhelming majority of their time inside buildings that burn fossil fuels, which are bad for both the environment and hu...

How one small idea led to $1 million of paid water bills | Tiffani Ashley Bell

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When programmer Tiffani Ashley Bell learned that thousands of people in Detroit were facing water shutoffs because they couldn't afford to pay their b...

When AI can fake reality, who can you trust? | Sam Gregory

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're fast approaching a world where widespread, hyper-realistic deepfakes lead us to dismiss reality, says technologist and human rights advocate Sam...

How to harness abundant, clean energy for 10 billion people | Julio Friedmann

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We can produce abundant, sustainable and cheap energy — for everyone, says physicist Julio Friedmann. He explores the infrastructure, innovation and...

The most important century in human history | George Zaidan

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is it possible that this century is the most important one in human history? The 21st century has already proven to be a period of rapid growth. We're...

The powerful possibilities of recycling the world's batteries | Emma Nehrenheim

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The world has plenty of clean energy. The problem is storing that energy and getting it where we need it, when we need it, says battery recycling pion...

Over 20,000 joined the NPR/Columbia study to move throughout the day. Did it work? | Body Electric

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode we think you might like of Body Electric. TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi digs into the preliminary results of the listener st...

The awesome potential of many metaverses | Agnes Larsson

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the multitude of metaverses that exist there are infinite possibilities for inclusivity and creativity. As we revisit a talk that invites us to cra...

How global virtual communities can help kids achieve their dreams | Matthew Garcia

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and...

Is technology our savior — or our slayer? | Ruha Benjamin

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to technology, we're often presented with two contrasting visions of the future: one where technology fulfills all our desires, and anot...

AI is dangerous, but not for the reasons you think | Sasha Luccioni

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

AI won't kill us all — but that doesn't make it trustworthy. Instead of getting distracted by future existential risks, AI ethics researcher Sasha L...

How to make learning as addictive as social media | Luis von Ahn

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach yo...

A brain implant that turns your thoughts into text | Tom Oxley

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if you could control your digital devices using just the power of thought? That's the incredible promise behind the Stentrode — an implantable ...

The tech we need to fight workplace ageism | Piyachart Phiromswad

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From exoskeletons and robotic arms to the mass adoption of remote work, economist Piyachart Phiromswad explores what seniors need to overcome the phys...

Uber, and how to fix things when trust is broken | Fixable

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode of Fixable, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. This week, Anne and Frances dive into their area of expertise: trust. Fr...

Can AI help solve the climate crisis? | Sims Witherspoon

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“AI can be a transformational tool in our fight against climate change," says Sims Witherspoon, a leader at the AI research lab Google DeepMind. Usi...

How "digital twins" could help us predict the future | Karen Willcox

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From health-tracking wearables to smartphones and beyond, data collection and computer modeling have become a ubiquitous part of everyday life. Advanc...

The future of machines that move like animals | Robert Katzschmann

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a boat that propels by moving its "tail" from side to side, just like a fish. That's the kind of machine that TED Fellow Robert Katzschmann's ...

War, AI and the new global arms race | Alexandr Wang

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lethal drones with facial recognition, armed robots, autonomous fighter jets: we're at the dawn of a new age of AI-powered warfare, says technologist ...

Could an orca give a TED Talk? | Karen Bakker

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if we could hear nature's ultrasonic communication -- and talk back? From a bat's shrill speech to a peacock's infrasound mating call, conservati...

The growing megafire crisis — and how to contain it | George T. Whitesides

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Megafires, or fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are becoming more frequent worldwide, wreaking havoc on landscapes and communities -- and fire ...

So much sitting, looking at screens. Can we combat our sedentary lives? | Body Electric

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is an episode of Body Electric a series airing over at the TED Radio Hour. In this special series, host Manoush Zomorodi investigates the relatio...

Introducing Body Electric

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The urgent risks of runaway AI -- and what to do about them | Gary Marcus

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Will truth and reason survive the evolution of artificial intelligence? AI researcher Gary Marcus says no, not if untrustworthy technology continues t...

What the world can learn from China's innovation playbook | Keyu Jin

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the last few decades, China has gone from technological scarcity to abundance. What sparked this shift? Economist Keyu Jin explores how China has f...

A powerful new neurotech tool for augmenting your mind | Conor Russomanno

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In an astonishing talk and tech demo, neurotechnologist Conor Russomanno shares his work building brain-computer interfaces that could enable us to co...

The incredible creativity of deepfakes -- and the worrying future of AI | Tom Graham

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 Grah...

The outlaws of the ocean -- and how we're reeling them in | Tony Long

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

How wireless energy from space could power everything | Ali Hajimiri

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Modern life runs on wireless technology. What if the energy powering our devices could also be transmitted without wires? Electrical engineer Ali Haji...

Why the passport needs an upgrade | Karoli Hindriks

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to give paper passports a digital upgrade, says entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks. Looking to Estonia's technology-driven government for inspirat...

The energy Africa needs to develop -- and fight climate change | Rose M. Mutiso

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 car...

The disappearing computer -- and a world where you can take AI everywhere | Imran Chaudhri

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this exclusive preview of groundbreaking, unreleased technology, former Apple designer and Humane cofounder Imran Chaudhri envisions a future where...

Who owns the internet of the future? | Ordinary Things

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The emergence of data-driven mass surveillance "is threatening to turn privacy into a relic of the 20th century," says the anonymous YouTube creator k...

How one small idea led to $1 million of paid water bills | Tiffani Ashley Bell

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When programmer Tiffani Ashley Bell learned that thousands of people in Detroit were facing water shutoffs because they couldn't afford to pay their b...

How AI could save (not destroy) education | Sal Khan

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen...

The Internet's First Main Character? | The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The AI Dilemma | Your Undivided Attention

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Why AI is incredibly smart -- and shockingly stupid | Yejin Choi

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Computer scientist Yejin Choi is here to demystify the current state of massive artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, highlighting three key p...

TikTok's CEO on its future -- and what makes its algorithm different | Shou Chew

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

TikTok CEO Shou Chew dives into how the trend-setting video app and cultural phenomenon works -- from what distinguishes its algorithm and drives vira...

The inside story of ChatGPT's astonishing potential | Greg Brockman

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a talk from the cutting edge of technology, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman explores the underlying design principles of ChatGPT and demos some mind...

How we could solve the dark matter mystery | Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Cultivating good power with longtime IBM CEO Ginni Rometty | ReThinking with Adam Grant

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 chronicle...

Why people and AI make good business partners | Shervin Khodabandeh

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when the data-driven capabilities of AI are combined with human creativity and ingenuity? Shining a light on the opportunities this futur...

What if buildings created energy instead of consuming it? | Ksenia Petrichenko

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 consu...

Fixable: Nai’a - "How do I get the attention of a distracted manager?"

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 bra...

Meet the massive machines removing carbon from Earth's atmosphere | Jan Wurzbacher

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

May the 4th Be With You: Introducing The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

7 new species of robot that jump, dance -- and walk on water | Dennis Hong

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

More than a decade ago, roboticist Dennis Hong debuted a new generation of cutting-edge robots. Now he's back to reveal how his lab at UCLA has eclips...

Are insect brains the secret to great AI? | Frances S. Chance

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are insects the key to brain-inspired computing? Neuroscientist Frances S. Chance thinks so. In this buzzy talk, she shares examples of the incredible...

What the discovery of exoplanets reveals about the universe | Jessie Christiansen

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the planets outside our solar system like? Astrophysicist and TED Fellow Jessie Christiansen has helped find thousands of them (and counting)...

The internet's accessibility problem -- and how to fix it | Clive Loseby

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The internet provides access to knowledge for billions across the world, but how accessible is it really? Website accessibility advocate Clive Loseby ...

Exploring how we think: Mind, Body, Spirit - Part 1 | TED Radio Hour

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For millennia, humans have debated the mind, body, spirit connection. But today, the phrase sounds trite -- a hallmark of the #selfcare industry. We n...

Demystifying the wild world of crypto | Laura Shin

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is crypto truly the next big thing, or is it just a money-sucking flash in the pan? In a wide-ranging interview, journalist Laura Shin explains what c...

Are video calls the best we can do in the age of the metaverse? | Josephine Eyre

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Remote work, while redefining the workplace landscape, seems stuck behind endless video conference calls that hinder free-flowing conversation and col...

How will AI change the world? | George Zaidan and Stuart Russell

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the coming years, artificial intelligence is probably going to change your life -- and likely the entire world. But people have a hard time agreein...

Why the passport needs an upgrade | Karoli Hindriks

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's time to give paper passports a digital upgrade, says entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks. Looking to Estonia's technology-driven government for inspirat...

A future with fewer cars | Freeman H. Shen

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What if your car could drop you off and then find parking by itself? According to electric vehicle entrepreneur Freeman H. Shen, this technology alrea...

Introducing Good Sport

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on TED Tech we’re excited to introduce TED’s newest podcast, Good Sport, hosted by veteran sports producer Jody Avirgan. What can sports...

Esports, virtual Formula 1 and the new era of play | James Hodge

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As the line between the physical and digital worlds blur, so does the line between real-world and virtual sports. Reframing our understanding of compe...

The future of machines that move like animals | Robert Katzschmann

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a boat that propels by moving its "tail" from side to side, just like a fish. That's the kind of machine that TED Fellow Robert Katzschmann's ...

How global virtual communities can help kids achieve their dreams | Matthew Garcia

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and...

Meet the world's largest machine | Henry Richardson

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 1967, Homer Loutzenheuser flipped a switch and connected the power grids of the United States, forming one interconnected machine. Today, the US po...