In an incredible session, speakers and performers laid out the biggest problems facing the world -- from political and economic catastrophe to rising violence and deepfakes -- and some new thinking on solutions. The event: TEDSummit 2019, Session 3: The Big Rethink, hosted by Corey Hajim and Cyndi Stivers When and where: Tuesday, July ...

People and businesses routinely use five techniques to get us to do what they want, says presenter and broadcaster Alexis Conran. Here's  how to recognize them. This post is part of TED’s “How to Be a Better Human” series, each of which contains a piece of helpful advice from someone in the TED community; browse through all the posts here. M...

Meet the new class of TEDGlobal 2017 Fellows! Representing 18 countries -- including, for the first time in our program, Somalia, Uruguay, Liberia and Zimbabwe -- this class clears a high bar of talent, creativity and eccentricity. Among those selected, you'll find a Somali computer scientist catalyzing the tech scene in Somalia and Somalila...

There’s a lot of news to share from the TEDizens of the world in the past month. Just a few highlights: Monica Lewinsky inspires Caitlyn Jenner. As Caitlyn Jenner introduces herself to the world, and navigates the media frenzy surrounding her new life, she has Monica Lewinsky’s TED Talk in the back of her mind. In Vanity Fair’s much-discussed p...

This year has been marked by upheaval on a global scale -- and many of us are wondering: What will happen next? Satellite archaeologist and TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak shares three examples from the ancient past that offer lessons for today. 2016 has been a bruising year. We’ve had the highly contentious election in the US, the divisive Brexi...

When taxpayer money goes to companies with murky ownership, it may put lives in danger and support shady actors. The watchdog group Global Witness shows what can happen when a government ends up working with anonymous companies. In February 2017, President Trump proposed a $54 billion increase to the annual defense budget. His proposal raised e...

In his TED Talk, The kill decision shouldn't belong to a robot, Daniel Suarez described the rise of drones, automated weapons and AI-powered intelligence-gathering tools. Here, he goes further, describing no less than a coming “automation revolution.” Drones are in the news these days. More than any other technology, they capture the zeitgeis...

From artists to scientists, mothers, mathematicians and business visionaries, people in every corner of the world are dreaming up solutions to our most pressing problems. Whether tackling war and peace or the principles of machine learning, ingenuity starts with one thing: a spark. And regardless of where the spark takes hold, inspiration...

Neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris describes a scenario that is both terrifying and likely to occur. It’s not, he says, a good combination. I'm going to describe how the gains we make in artificial intelligence could ultimately destroy us. And, in fact, I think it's very difficult to see how they won't destroy us or inspire us to destroy...

Some inventions are about solving a need. Others are about opening up our understanding of the world. Still others are motivated by a sense of whimsy or adventure. At TED@IBM, 14 speakers shared ideas that fit into all of these categories. Themed “Necessity & Invention,” the second edition of TED@IBM challenged the often-repeated trui...

TED@NYC is not your usual TED event. Hosted in a New York City club, speakers here—many of whom responded to an open audition call—give rapid-fire, five-minute talks. Below, a recap of each speaker who took the stage last night during this inspiring evening. The internet can be a place of intelligent conversation, or a place of rumors and...

Our office might be closed for summer vacation, but the TED Fellows are hard at work at the very first TED Fellows Retreat, happening now  in Whistler, British Columbia. Because the Fellows have proliferated since the program officially launched in 2009, many of these extraordinary thinkers have never had a chance to meet and conspire. And t...