TED Tech

Ever since generative AI tools like Midjourney became available to the public in 2022, curious users and AI fanatics alike have been experimenting with the technology. But for tech aficionados and AI enthusiasts like Justin Meyer and Maxfield Hulker, Midjourney’s closed-source model wasn’t enough — they wanted to go deeper. That’s why Justin and Max created Citivai, an open-source generative AI tool and social platform where users can create, share, and experiment with new image generation models. They sit down with Bilawal to discuss why community is so important to open-source development, the future of algorithmic personalization, and the famous so-called “dead internet theory.” They also unpack the risks of open-source development, and emphasize the importance of setting boundaries to keep users safe — while acknowledging the important role that “not-safe-for-work” content has played in the evolution of these powerful tools. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

"New possibilities for storytelling are emerging faster than at any other time in history," says film producer Mark Grimmer. With an immersive approach to art exhibitions, he shares several multidisciplinary projects — including a kaleidoscopic exhibit of David Bowie's world-changing career and a luminous, interactive show that brings visitors inside the paintings of David Hockney — and shows what's possible when ideas collide.

When it comes to preparing for an interview or making an important life decision, more and more people are turning to AI for advice. ChatGPT’s new voice interface, Advanced Voice Mode, allows users to speak out loud and converse with a chatbot as they would with another human — but is it really as seamless as a chat with a friend? Bilawal runs a series of experiments with Advanced Voice Mode to test the limits of this new technology and its potential uses, from weighing the pros and cons of a cross-country move to coaching an intense personal workout. He and producer Dominic Girard discuss the potential benefits and dangers of this new advancement, and ask perhaps the most important question of all: Can ChatGPT pronounce Bilawal’s name?  For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Can strawberries grown inside a building taste sweeter than those grown in a field? Farming entrepreneur Hiroki Koga explores how his team is combining solar-powered vertical farms with AI, robotics and indoor bee colonies to grow delicious strawberries year-round — and how this practice, if widely adopted, could deliver a harvest of benefits for the future of food. After the talk, Sherrell dives deeper into the impact of vertical farming.

We’ve had conversations about AI’s online influence on politics, from deepfakes to misinformation. But AI can also have profound effects on hardware – especially when it comes to national security and military capabilities like weapons and stealth technologies. Kathleen Fisher is an office director at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency tasked with the research and development of emerging technologies for use by the U.S. military. Despite its bureaucratic name, DARPA is anything but conventional – and they’re solving problems that are thrillingly complex. Kathleen shares how her team employs nimble thinking to understand the state of AI across the globe. Then, she and Bilawal discuss the strategies needed to embrace the possibilities –and challenges– of AI now, and what we need to do to build a sustainable future. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Stars have cores hot and dense enough to force atomic nuclei together, forming larger, heavier nuclei in a process known as fusion. In this process, the mass of the end products is slightly less than the mass of the initial atoms. But that “lost” mass doesn’t disappear — it’s converted to energy ... a lot of energy. So, can we harness this energy to power the world? George Zaidan investigates. This TED-Ed lesson was directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio, narrated by George Zaidan and the music is by Cem Misirlioglu and Brooks Ball.

Many people associate innovation with secrecy—privately toiling away on a project until you're ready to share it with the world. While that may work for some, there's a benefit to putting all your cards on the table. Bilawal sits down for a conversation with Thomas Wolf, whose company Hugging Face pivoted from privately building an AI chatbot to sharing all of its knowledge with a growing online community. Thomas discusses the history of Hugging Face, why embracing open source development has shifted the trajectory of AI, and how open source can challenge existing power structures in the AI world. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

“Memories are the architects of our identity,” says technologist Pau Aleikum Garcia, but they’re not permanent. Photos can be lost amid political unrest or natural disaster, while illnesses like Alzhemier’s can rob people of their past. He puts forward a novel solution — “synthetic memories,” or dreamlike visualizations of long-gone moments created through generative AI — and explores how it could reconnect families or even enhance cognitive abilities.

From vetting resumes to screening candidates, many employers are using AI tools to identify top talent. But what happens when companies start relying on AI to help them decide who to hire or promote…and who to fire? Bilawal speaks with journalist Hilke Schellmann, whose research on the rapidly growing use of AI in the workplace highlights where algorithms are helping – and hurting – business. Hilke shares the surprising (and not surprising) ways AI works in the hiring process, and argues that transparency, regulation, and oversight are essential if AI is going to actually benefit employees and employers. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

What if AI could bring the past to life? Cartoonist Amy Kurzweil shares how she helped train an AI chatbot on her late grandfather’s archives, allowing her to connect with a family member she never met — and discover family history she never knew. Backed by her own original drawings, she reveals the profound impact art and AI can have in keeping memories alive.

Llama is Meta’s Large Language Model trained on over 15 trillion tokens of publicly available information. It’s available to anyone – from people making custom fan-made entertainment on a smartphone… to, potentially, complex projects that may not have the public’s well-being in mind. So if Llama is such a widely available and powerful product, why is Meta releasing it – for free? Bilawal chats with Meta’s own Vice President of Product, Ragavan Srinivasan, to discuss the pressing questions around Llama’s benefits and risks. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

The basic infrastructure that controls plumbing, electricity and more is vital to your individual agency, says engineering professor Deb Chachra. She offers a crash course on how these systems connect to shape our lives — and suggests some key improvements for providing long-term, sustainable energy to everyone. After the talk, Sherrell reflects on how these solutions, if widely implemented, could transform lives across the world.

Whether finding a restaurant or fact-checking a new claim, search engines are one of the main avenues we use to navigate the world. So why are modern engines so clunky and frustrating – and how is AI already changing the infrastructure we use to access information on the internet? Bilawal sits down with CEO of Perplexity AI Aravind Srinivas to discuss how we got to a world with too many links, and what the future may hold for your experience on the web.

“A new reality has emerged, one where ambitious Africans are writing their own stories as builders and as innovators,” says business storyteller Peace Itimi. Taking us inside Africa’s booming tech scene, she highlights the trailblazing entrepreneurs and startups reshaping Africa's economy through innovation and ambition.

If you've ever cringed at a poorly-dubbed film, you are not alone. That's why Scott Mann founded Flawless, a company that’s transforming the world of dubbing using AI. He talks with Bilawal about why good dubbing is essential for movie making and shares the mind-blowing technology that not only lets Robert DeNiro speak perfect Spanish, but radically changes how films might get made. The two also discuss what to keep in mind as creativity, industry, and AI technology continue to intertwine -- and what we need to protect artists' rights.

The clean energy transition has a major blind spot, says energy equity expert Sheila Ngozi Oparaocha: it ignores millions of people without access to energy. Highlighting grassroots women's organizations leading the charge towards universal access, she makes a powerful call to prioritize gender equality in energy policies — and to create a sustainable future where no one is left in the dark.

AI is shaping every aspect of our lives — but only a handful of tech giants are having a say in what this technology can do. So what’s going on with world governments? Bilawal sits down with geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer to unpack the UN’s just-released plan for “Governing AI for Humanity,” a report that focuses on the urgent need to guide AI towards helping everyone – rather than the powerful few – thrive. Together, they explore the complexities of AI’s rapid growth on a worldwide scale and take a clear-eyed look at the pivotal decisions facing us in the very near future.  For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

In 2022, physicist Tammy Ma and the team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a scientific breakthrough decades in the making: fusion ignition, or the combining of two atoms to generate more energy out of a reaction than was put in — recreating on Earth the same process that powers the Sun. She explains how they used a giant laser (way, way bigger than you're thinking) to catalyze this reaction and shares a vision for how this technology could change the world by creating limitless clean energy.

2024 is the biggest election year in modern history, with over 50 countries going out to the polls across the globe. And artificial intelligence has fully seeped into global politics – from deepfakes to AI bots that can ingest thousands and thousands of documents to make policy decisions. Bilawal talks with journalist Vittoria Elliot, who’s been leading on WIRED’s AI Elections Projects, to discuss how AI is reshaping the political landscape in surprising ways. The two explore the good, the bad, and the downright bizarre – and share what the U.S. can learn from other countries to adapt and critically engage with "the new normal." For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Meet MethaneSAT: the satellite circling Earth right now to track global emissions from methane: a highly potent, short-term greenhouse gas. Environmental advocate Millie Chu Baird details the heat-trapping side effects of a planet full of methane — and explains why understanding where it comes from and taking steps to reduce it is the single most important thing we can do to affect climate change in our lifetimes. MethaneSAT is part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change. After the talk, Sherrell expands on what this powerful tech could mean for humanity.

Imagine a world where your thoughts are no longer private – where employers, friends, and even companies can see, hack, or exploit your thinking. According to ethicist Nita Farahany, that reality is closer than you think. Nita and Bilawal discuss the rapidly advancing field of neurotechnology and its potential to completely transform our everyday lives, from tools that could help you deeply understand your health to tech that could manipulate your dreams. Nita also shares why we need to protect our "cognitive liberty" and how to exercise our rights to think freely in an age of mind-reading technology. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Quantum computers obtain superpowers by tapping into parallel universes, says Hartmut Neven, the founder and lead of Google Quantum AI. He explains how this emerging tech can far surpass traditional computers by relying on quantum physics rather than binary logic, and shares a roadmap to build the ultimate quantum computer. Learn how this fascinating and powerful tech can help humanity take on seemingly unsolvable problems in medicine, sustainable energy, AI, neuroscience and more.

Cutting-edge technology and vast amounts of data are revolutionizing climate modeling with unprecedented accuracy. So could AI be the crystal ball we need to predict —and even control— Earth's climate? Bilawal sits with Dion Harris, the head of data center product marketing at NVIDIA, and climate physicist Tapio Schneider to discuss how technology could reshape our approach to climate change and influence global decision-making. The three also dive into how AI could help us make hyper-local climate predictions -- and debate the ethical dilemmas of geoengineering. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

While language models may help generate new ideas, they cannot attack the hard part of science, which is simulating the necessary physics," says AI professor Anima Anandkumar. She explains how her team developed neural operators — AI trained on the finest details of the real world — to bridge this gap, sharing recent projects ranging from improved weather forecasting to cutting-edge medical device design that demonstrate the power of AI with universal physical understanding.

Cheating has never been easier with the rise of AI like ChatGPT. It's definitely something to worry about, but what do we know about the upsides of AI in education? Khan Academy founder Sal Khan says education won't destroy our kids' brains, but we have to integrate AI the right way. After launching a new chatbot, Khanmigo, Sal's found that AI opens up opportunities for students to learn in ways they couldn't before, leaving room for more creativity, deeper thinking, and gained perspective. Sam and Bilawal discuss why AI seeping into the classroom is inevitable, and how to use it to our advantage. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Would you tango with a robot? Inviting us into the fascinating world of dancing machines, robot choreographer Catie Cuan highlights why teaching robots to move with grace, intention and emotion is essential to creating AI-powered machines we will want to welcome into our daily lives.

Would you swallow a micro-robot? In a gutsy demo, physician Vivek Kumbhari navigates Pillbot, a wireless, disposable robot swallowed onstage by engineer Alex Luebke, modeling how this technology can swiftly provide direct visualization of internal organs. Learn more about how micro-robots could move us past the age of invasive endoscopies and open up doors to more comfortable, affordable medical imaging. After the talk, Sherrell reflects on how these kinds of innovations could impact the future of diagnostics for everyone.

For AI to achieve its full potential, non-experts need to contribute to its development, says Rumman Chowdhury, CEO and cofounder of Humane Intelligence. She shares how the right-to-repair movement of consumer electronics provides a promising model for a path forward, with ways for everyone to report issues, patch updates or even retrain AI technologies.

Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen. This week we're revisiting a talk where 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 for their educational chatbot, Khanmigo.

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 can't govern it. She shows how we can make smart policies to regulate this technology even as we struggle to predict where it's headed — and why the right actions, right now, can shape the future we want. After the talk, Sherrell expands on what’s needed to ensure that AI aligns with the best interests of humanity, without stifling innovation.

Techno-optimist Vinod Khosla believes in the world-changing power of "foolish ideas." He offers 12 bold predictions for the future of technology — from preventative medicine to car-free cities to planes that get us from New York to London in 90 minutes — and shows why a world of abundance awaits.

AI has the power to bring your favorite fictional characters to life, says technologist Kylan Gibbs. Introducing Caleb, an "AI agent" with personality and internal reasoning, he demonstrates how AI-powered characters can interact with people in novel ways, generate unique video game outcomes and augment our ability to tell stories, opening up new worlds of possibility.

Are we mistaking the remarkable skills of tools like ChatGPT with genuine intelligence? AI skeptic Gary Marcus pulls no punches when he warns that believing in the hype of generative AI models might be distracting us from building the type of AI future we actually want. Bilawal and Gary delve into the nuanced perspectives beyond the AI hype cycle, and try to find the common ground between healthy skepticism and techno-optimism. This is an episode of The TED AI Show with Bilawal Sidhu. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

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 disappearing — and creating software is becoming as simple (and joyful) as building LEGO. In a mind-blowing live demo, he introduces Copilot Workspace: an AI assistant that helps you create code when you speak to it, in any language.

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? Bilawal and Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub, explore the soaring possibilities and discuss the lingering concerns as “AI eats software.” Whether you are a coder or a tech enthusiast, think AI will supercharge programmers or fear it will render human coders obsolete, this episode will have your mind racing about the future of tech. Come back on Friday for a TED Tech episode to hear Thomas’s talk from TED2024. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

When it comes to artificial intelligence, what are we actually creating? Even those closest to its development are struggling to describe exactly where things are headed, says Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, one of the primary architects of the AI models many of us use today. He offers an honest and compelling new vision for the future of AI, proposing an unignorable metaphor — a new digital species — to focus attention on this extraordinary moment. (Followed by a Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson)

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 bots can actually help improve mental health. Bilawal talks with Dr. Alison Darcy, the founder of mental health app Woebot, and Brian Chandler, an app user, to learn what chatbots reveal about our inner lives and what they can (and can’t) do when it comes to emotional wellness.  Check out the 99% Invisible episode we reference in the show here: For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

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. This week we are revisiting a talk by energy policy analyst Ksenia Petrichenko who has a three-tiered strategy for thinking differently about buildings, transforming them from passive users to active players in the energy system and bringing us closer to our climate targets.

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 of Zelda. But interactions with NPCs were always limited to a pre-written script. Until now. Purnendu Mukherjee is the CEO of Convai, a platform that enables developers to create NPCs with human-like conversational abilities. He joins Bilawal to chat about our evolving relationship with "AI characters” and what we gain and lose when our digital relationships are so life-like, it almost doesn’t matter who (or what) is on the other end. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Can AI help us answer life's biggest questions? In this visionary conversation, Google DeepMind cofounder and CEO Demis Hassabis delves into the history and incredible capabilities of AI with head of TED Chris Anderson. Hassabis explains how AI models like AlphaFold — which accurately predicted the shapes of all 200 million proteins known to science in under a year — have already accelerated scientific discovery in ways that will benefit humanity. Next up? Hassabis says AI has the potential to unlock the greatest mysteries surrounding our minds, bodies and the universe.

Technology is supposed to make our lives better – but who gets to decide how that improvement unfolds, and what values it upholds? Tech ethicist Patrick Lin and Bilawal dig into the hidden -- and not so hidden -- biases in AI. From historically inaccurate images to life-and-death decisions in hospitals, human biases reveal how AI mirrors our own flaws…But can we fix bias? Lin argues that technology alone won't suffice...

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. What's the next step forward? Particle physicist Alex Keshavarzi digs into the first results of the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab in Chicago, which found compelling evidence of new particles or forces existing in our universe — a finding that could act as a window into the subatomic world and deepen our understanding of the fabric of reality.

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, Claire Silver, an anonymous AI collaborative artist, sits down with Bilawal to talk about how AI has revolutionized her own mixed media practice, and why she thinks that AI may be an inextricable part of human creativity in the near future. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

Can AI help catch oceanic outlaws? From drug smugglers to modern-day pirates, maritime crime fighter Dyhia Belhabib introduces Heva: an AI-powered tool that aggregates international criminal records to detect and stop crime that might otherwise get swept away in the tide. After the talk, Sherrell dives deeper into how technology can help us keep our oceans safe.

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 policy expert Helen Toner joins Bilawal to discuss the existing knowledge gaps and conflicting interests between those who are in charge of making the latest technology – and those who create our policies at the government level. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

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 technologist Bilawal Sidhu shows how anyone can use AI-powered tools — like 3D scans that let you redesign the physical world in real time — to expand the possibilities of artistic expression, often within just minutes. After the talk, join Sherrell in conversation with Bilawal — and learn about our new podcast he’s hosting, the TED AI Show, which can be found anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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 first episode, Bilawal and Sam Gregory, a human rights activist and technologist, discuss how to protect our sense of reality. This is an episode of The TED AI Show, TED's newest podcast. Sure, some predictions about AI are just hype – but others suggest that everything we know is about to fundamentally change. Creative technologist Bilawal Sidhu talks with the world’s leading experts, artists, journalists, and more to explore the thrilling, sometimes terrifying, future ahead. Listen to The TED AI Show on this feed every Tuesday -- or follow The TED AI Show wherever you get your podcasts. For more, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/the-ted-ai-show

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, roboticist Ken Goldberg sheds light on the clumsy truth about robots — and what it will take to build more dexterous machines to work in a warehouse or help out at home.

As companies introduce AI into the workplace to increase productivity, an uncomfortable paradox is emerging: people are often responsible for training the very systems that might displace them. AI ethics advocate Madison Mohns presents three leadership principles to embrace technological progress while prioritizing your coworkers' well-being — paving the way for a future where AI enhances human potential.

Modern life runs on wireless technology. What if the energy powering our devices could also be transmitted without wires? This week we are revisiting a talk by electrical engineer Ali Hajimiri, where he 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 technology could power everything — and light up our world from space.

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 people helped retrain one of the world's most powerful AI models on a constitution they wrote — and offers a vision of technology that aligns with the principles of democracy, rather than conflicting with them.

Is cybercrime getting easier? Cybersecurity expert Ryan Pullen dives into his work investigating massive digital breaches and testing security blindspots — which led to him gaining access to the software controls of a well-known building in London. Learn more about how cybercriminals exploit human vulnerabilities and hear the latest on how to recognize and protect yourself from scams.

Is AI about to change everything? Whether you’re optimistic, pessimistic, or somewhere in between about the power of artificial intelligence, join host Bilawal Sidhu and the world's leading experts, artists, journalists, and beyond, as they guide you through this fast-moving world on TED’s latest podcast, The TED AI Show. Find The TED AI Show wherever you get your podcasts.

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 Christy Haynes describes her team's work designing nanoparticles that could protect plants from disease and crop loss, helping farmers reap abundant harvests and grow food that will make its way to markets and dinner tables. After the talk, Sherrell shares thoughts on the possibilities of precision agriculture.

What if you could own more clothes without crowding your closet or growing your carbon footprint? Introducing the dematerialized future of your wardrobe, digital fashion entrepreneur Karinna Grant talks about the brands selling pixelated clothes via NFTs and augmented reality — and explores the creative and sustainable potential of fashion that transcends physical constraints.

Researcher Jim Fan presents the next grand challenge in the quest for AI: the "foundation agent," which would seamlessly operate across both the virtual and physical worlds. He explains how this technology could fundamentally change our lives — permeating everything from video games and metaverses to drones and humanoid robots — and explores how a single model could master skills across these different realities.

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, visit ted.com/generosity Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is one of the top ten richest people in the world. But since 2008, he has traded his day-to-day role with Microsoft to focus full-time on his foundation's work to expand opportunity around the world. Chris interviews Bill about his philanthropy philosophy and digs into the opportunities and challenges that face one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world. The two also discuss The Giving Pledge, the movement Bill co-founded with Warren Buffet, which encourages wealthy individuals to commit the majority of their wealth to charitable causes within their lifetimes. Chris and Bill examine the importance of solving the world’s most pressing problems efficiently, talk about why meaningful change requires scale, and compare notes on how to best encourage collective excitement about giving back. If you enjoy this, listen to The TED Interview wherever you’re getting this.

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’s stopped feeling motivated and wants to start carving out time to pursue the artistic projects that actually inspire her. Needing to feel both invigorated and financially secure, In this episode of Fixable, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective, Delaney turns to Anne and Frances for advice. Through a challenging conversation, they map a plan for Delaney to leave every workday energized and ready to chase her passions. Fixable is TED’s business call-in advice show. Frances Frei is a Harvard Business professor. Anne Morriss is a CEO and best-selling author. Anne and Frances are two of the top leadership coaches in the world. Oh, did we mention they're also married to each other? Together, Anne and Frances move fast and fix stuff by talking to guest callers about their workplace issues and solving their problems – in 30 minutes or less. Both listeners and guests will receive actionable insights to create meaningful change in the workplace – regardless of their position on the company ladder. If you want to be on Fixable, call our hotline at 234-Fixable (that's 234-349-2253) to leave Anne and Frances a voicemail with your workplace problem or email fixable@ted.com You can get Fixable wherever you get your podcasts.

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 benefits of building smaller AI systems trained on human norms and values. (Followed by a Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson)

Demis Hassabis is one of tech's most brilliant minds. A chess-playing child prodigy turned researcher and founder of headline-making AI company DeepMind, Demis is thinking through some of the most revolutionary -- and in some cases controversial -- uses of artificial intelligence. From ​​the development of computer program AlphaGo, which beat out world champions in the board game Go, to making leaps in the research of how proteins fold, Demis is at the helm of the next generation of groundbreaking technology. In this episode of The TED Interview, which will be back for a new season next week, Demis gives a peek into some of the questions that his top-level projects are asking, talks about how gaming, creativity, and intelligence inform his approach to tech, and muses on where AI is headed next. If you like this, listen to The TED Interview wherever you get your podcasts.

Google's chief diversity officer Melonie D. Parker joins journalist and host of the "TED Tech" podcast Sherrell Dorsey for a conversation on fostering belonging and opportunity in the workplace. Learn more about how companies can sustainably promote diversity, equity and inclusion — and why you should aim to "add in," not "fit in." After the interview, Sherrell digs deeper into what it means to feel valued in the workplace.

"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 social media to defend democracy, Ongele invites us to identify our own creative superpowers — whether it's community organizing, making music or telling stories — and use them to cause a ruckus and bring movements to life.

Just weeks before the management shakeup at OpenAI rocked Silicon Valley and made international news, the company's cofounder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever explored the transformative potential of artificial general intelligence (AGI), highlighting how it could surpass human intelligence and profoundly transform every aspect of life. Hear his take on the promises and perils of AGI — and his optimistic case for how unprecedented collaboration will ensure its safe and beneficial development.

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 human health. (Think: breathing in air pollution from gas stoves, furnaces and water heaters.) If we're going to fix this problem, we need to retrofit millions of buildings with all-electric equipment, says energy upgrader Donnel Baird. Hear about his ambitious plan to rip the fossil fuel infrastructure out of aging buildings and upgrade it with smarter, cleaner, healthier technology.

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 world, even if it means starting without all the answers.

We're fast approaching a world where widespread, hyper-realistic deepfakes lead us to dismiss reality, says technologist and human rights advocate Sam Gregory. What happens to democracy when we can't trust what we see? Learn three key steps to protecting our ability to distinguish human from synthetic — and why fortifying our perception of truth is crucial to our AI-infused future.

We can produce abundant, sustainable and cheap energy — for everyone, says physicist Julio Friedmann. He explores the infrastructure, innovation and investment needed to supply energy to 10 billion people, offering case studies from Chile's refurbished supply chain, built in partnership with Japan, to Namibia's budding clean hydrogen production, inviting us to envision a greener, more equitably powered world.

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 on the cusp of developing new technologies that could entirely change the way people live— and could contribute to unprecedented levels of existential risk. Explore how the decisions we make now might have a major impact on humanity's future. This TED-Ed lesson was directed by Jon Mayes, AIM Creative Studios, narrated by George Zaidan and the music was made by André Aires.

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 pioneer Emma Nehrenheim. While batteries are fundamental to powering a sustainable future, their production is surprisingly harsh on the environment. She lays out the science behind a breakthrough in recycling a battery's core elements, offering a manufacturing solution that could vastly reduce the industry's environmental impact and demand for new materials from mining.

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 study with Columbia University researcher Keith Diaz. He shares the surprising — and encouraging — initial findings from more than 20,000 listeners who tried to incorporate movement breaks into their day.

In the multitude of metaverses that exist there are infinite possibilities for inclusivity and creativity. As we revisit a talk that invites us to craft our own digital universes, Minecraft's game director Agnes Larsson shares how the experience of building and sharing metaverses can foster dialogue, friendship and trust — pointing to the meaningful impact virtual worlds can have on the real world. Following the talk, Sherrell explores how these safer metaverses have the power to spill beyond the digital realm and positively impact our entire society.

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and violist Matthew Garcia thinks one way to remove barriers is to create free, virtual education programs that connect talented young minds to the resources they need to thrive in their future careers. Learn more as we revisit this talk about the power of virtual nonprofits to overcome geographic borders and deliver opportunity -- and how you can help every kid reach their dreams.

When it comes to technology, we're often presented with two contrasting visions of the future: one where technology fulfills all our desires, and another where it leads to chaos and conflict. Sociologist Ruha Benjamin is here with a more radical vision of the future — one where humanity isn't saved or slayed by technology, but rather uses it to uplift ordinary people and make things like health care and housing for all a reality. After the talk, Sherrell expands on how tech improves individual lives, and communities at large.

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 Luccioni thinks we need to focus on the technology's current negative impacts, like emitting carbon, infringing copyrights and spreading biased information. She offers practical solutions to regulate our AI-filled future — so it's inclusive and transparent.

When technologist Luis von Ahn was building the popular language-learning platform Duolingo, he faced a big problem: Could an app designed to teach you something ever compete with addictive platforms like Instagram and TikTok? He explains how Duolingo harnesses the psychological techniques of social media and mobile games to get you excited to learn — all while spreading access to education across the world.

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 enrolling participants in human trials, as well as how it could help restore dignity to those with disabilities — and transform the future of communication. Stay tuned after the talk to hear our host Sherrell talk about the promise and potential of technology when it comes to serving one of humanity's greatest needs: connection.

From exoskeletons and robotic arms to the mass adoption of remote work, economist Piyachart Phiromswad explores what seniors need to overcome the physical, mental and societal barriers to employment, a necessary shift in our rapidly aging world. Learn more about how these tools could empower elderly workers and better the world — for everyone. After the talk, Sherrell explores the ethical considerations of keeping aging populations in the workforce for the sake of productivity.

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. Frances recounts the time when she was brought in to help Uber fix their huge trust breakdown. Using Uber as a case study, they explain the three pillars of trust — authenticity, empathy and logic — and actionable solutions to strengthen each leg when they’re on shaky ground.

“AI can be a transformational tool in our fight against climate change," says Sims Witherspoon, a leader at the AI research lab Google DeepMind. Using wind power as her case study, she explains how powerful neural networks can help us better predict Earth's changing ecosystems and accelerate the breakthrough science needed to create a carbon-free energy supply.

From health-tracking wearables to smartphones and beyond, data collection and computer modeling have become a ubiquitous part of everyday life. Advancements in these areas have given birth to "digital twins," or virtual models that evolve alongside real-world data. Aerospace engineer Karen Willcox explores the incredible possibilities these systems offer across engineering, climate studies and medicine, sharing how they could lead to personalized medicine, better decision-making and more.

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 lab builds: soft-bodied robots that imitate natural movements with artificial, silent muscles. He lays out his vision for machines that take on mesmerizing new forms, made of softer and more lifelike materials — and capable of discovering unknown parts of the world.

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 Alexandr Wang. He explores why data will be the secret weapon in this uncharted landscape and emphasizes the need to consider national security when developing new tech — or potentially face all-out AI warfare.

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, conservation technology researcher Karen Bakker takes us through a sound bath of animal noises that are far outside humanity's range of hearing, demonstrating how artificial intelligence has translated the incredible complexity of nature's soundtrack. She asks us to consider the moral weight of such transformative technology and explores the futuristic opportunities presented for conservation, interspecies communication and more. The TED team is saddened to share that Karen Bakker passed away in August 2023. We’re grateful for the opportunity to uplift her work.

Megafires, or fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are becoming more frequent worldwide, wreaking havoc on landscapes and communities -- and fire experts say the problem is only going to get worse. George T. Whitesides is focused on fighting these devastating natural disasters through innovative technologies and intentional changes to how we build communities. He presents three emerging solutions to this blazing dilemma, calling for us to redefine our relationship with fire in order to build a more resilient and sustainable future. After the talk, Sherrell highlights the importance of looking to Indigenous practices when it comes to curbing wildfires.

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 relationship between our technology and our bodies and asks: How are we physically adapting to meet the demands of the Information Age? Why do so many of us feel utterly drained after a day spent attached to our devices? Part one kicks off with an exploration into how economic eras have shaped the human body in the past with author Vybarr Cregan-Reid. Then, Columbia University researcher and exercise physiologist Keith Diaz and Manoush discuss his findings and propose a challenge to listeners: Let's see if we can end this cycle of type, tap, collapse together. Click here to find out more about the project: npr.org/bodyelectric

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

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 organization to regulate the tech for the sake of democracy and our collective future. (Followed by a Q&A with head of TED Chris Anderson)

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.

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 Bayerlein onto the TED stage to fly a mind-controlled drone by using a biosensing headset.

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 the creative potential of this hyperreal content (often referred to as "deepfakes") as well as its risk for exploitation and the new legal rights we'll need in order to maintain control over our photorealistic AI avatars.

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 Watch is making it freely available to the world so conservationists, researchers and the public can help protect precious aquatic habitats. (This ambitious idea is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

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 technology could power everything -- and light up our world from space.

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 time and money.

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 commentary from climate tech founder Donnel Baird on advocating for underserved communities.

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 the way we interact with tech and the world around us. Witness a stunning vision of the next leap in device design. After the talk, Sherrell points to a few potential unintended consequences of sleeker tech.

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 and weaknesses, warning that the fight for a free internet is a fight for our collective future.

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 world, even if it means starting without all the answers.

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 for their educational chatbot, Khanmigo.

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 far, far away – and not everyone’s happy about it. This is an episode of another podcast from the TED Audio Collective: The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks, hosted by Dylan Marron. If you like what you hear, find The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks wherever you get your podcasts.