TED Tech

What if AI could think and adapt like a real brain? TED Fellow and AI scientist Ramin Hasani shares how liquid neural networks — a new, more flexible AI technology inspired by physics and living brains — could transform how we solve complex problems.

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In an astounding sonic experience, creative director Felipe Sánchez Luna takes you on a journey through the universe as told in sound. Take a deep breath, listen closely and discover the power of sound to provide you with a new emotional understanding of the world.

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From its life-sustaining energy to its explosive geomagnetic storms, the Sun has many mysteries, says astrophysicist Nour E. Rawafi. He sheds light on NASA's latest endeavor to better understand our fiery neighbor and its impact on the future of society: sending the cutting-edge Parker Solar Probe deep into the Sun's atmosphere in humanity's closest-ever approach to a star.

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This is an episode of ReThinking with Adam Grant, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. Nathan Myhrvold may be the closest thing we have to a modern-day Renaissance man. A co-founder, inventor, chef, photographer, dinosaur hunter, author, and former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, Nathan infuses creativity and innovation in everything he does. Nathan and Adam dive into the science behind the creative process, discussing what it takes to spark imagination and fight groupthink. Nathan also shares his experience working with Stephen Hawking, and why he believes that an idea is only as good as its execution.

As an organizational psychologist, Adam Grant believes that great minds don’t think alike; they challenge each other to think differently. In ReThinking with Adam Grant, he has lively discussions and debates with some of the world’s most interesting thinkers, creators, achievers, and leaders —from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Brené Brown to Mark Cuban, and Olympic medalists to Nobel laureates to Oscar winners. By diving inside their minds, Adam is on a mission to uncover bold insights and share surprising science that can make us all a little bit smarter. Tune in to Re: Thinking with Adam Grant. You might just be inspired to let go of some old ideas and embrace some new ones.

Listen to ReThinking with Adam Grant wherever you are listening to this.

Available transcripts for ReThinking can be found at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

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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. This week we're revisiting an episode where 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.

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This is an episode of Fixable, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective. The evidence is clear that hybrid work is good for both people and organizations. So why are companies as big as Amazon now asking employees to come into the office all five days of the work week? Could “magical hallway conversations” actually make teams better — or is this a leadership play based on nostalgia and wishful thinking? In this provocative "Unsolicited Advice" episode, Anne Morriss and Frances Frei debate what Amazon’s new return-to-office mandate means for the company’s future.

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? On Fixable, 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.

You can listen to Fixable wherever you're listening to this.

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.

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As AI technology advances, it’s becoming harder and harder to distinguish between work done by humans and work done by computers. But is AI becoming more human, or are we becoming more digital? Synthesia is a video platform that uses AI to generate lifelike video avatars, further blurring the lines between humans and their digitized lookalikes. In this episode, Bilawal sits down with Synthesia’s CEO, Victor Riparbelli, to discuss the benefits of having your own AI avatar, how companies are using this tool to improve communication, and why media literacy is more important than ever in a world of ever-thinning lines between real and fake. They dissect the risks that come with making this technology available to the public, the strict rules Synthesia has in place to protect their users, and question the ethics of having a digital clone. Tune in to see if you’ll be sending your own AI avatar to your boring meetings in the near future.

For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

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Is it possible to meet the world's seemingly infinite demand for data storage while also caring for the natural environment? Biomedical researcher Keolu Fox and professional surfer and scientist Cliff Kapono believe that Indigenous knowledge combined with the science of genetics may offer such a solution: using the DNA of plant cells (like those found in sugar cane) as mini data warehouses. Learn more about the incredible potential of this technology — and how it could help foster ecosystem resilience in a high-tech world. After the talk, Sherrell reflects on the economic and environmental benefits this technology could reap.

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Human brains are often described as computers — machines that are “wired” to make decisions and respond to external stimuli in a way that’s not so different from the artificial intelligence that we increasingly use each day. But the difference between our brains and the computers that drive AI is consciousness – our inner world, defined by experience and awareness. Anil Seth is a professor of cognitive and computational neuroscience at the University of Oxford. He studies human consciousness and he’s concerned about the way we’ve come to think about AI as conscious minds rather than useful tools. Anil and Bilawal sit down to discuss the differences between intelligence and consciousness, the possibility of AI becoming self-aware, and the dangers of assigning human-like traits to our AI assistants. For transcripts for The TED AI Show, visit go.ted.com/TTAIS-transcripts

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. This week we're revisiting a talk by tech and human rights ethicist Aarathi Krishnan who points to the dangers of digitization —  like sensitive data getting into the hands of the wrong people — and lays out five ethical principles to help inform humanitarian tech innovation. After the talk, our host Sherrell shares a practical way to assess the costs and benefits of digitizing aid using Krishnan's principles.