We asked Peter Gabriel what TEDTalks he thinks will still be making waves in 25 years, like his classic 1986 album, "So." Here are his picks, from printing a human kidney to the learning revolution.
Modern technology lets neuroscientists peer into the human brain, but can it also read minds? Armed with the device known as an electroencephalogram, or EEG, and some computing wizardry, our intrepid neuroscientists attempt to peer into a subject's thoughts.
Imagine an original recipe for every meal that takes into consideration dietary restrictions, personal preferences, and what is in your fridge at that moment? Meet Chef Watson, the world's first cognitive cooking application, and its head software engineer: Florian Pinel. Florian explores some of the implications for society once computers catch...
Computers have gotten a lot smarter and faster, but only now are they gaining the ability to see, hear, and feel, igniting a whole new generation of interactivity between man and machine. Achin Bhomik demonstrates how the technology is advancing.
What happens when we teach a computer how to learn? Technologist Jeremy Howard shares some surprising new developments in the fast-moving field of deep learning, a technique that can give computers the ability to learn Chinese, or to recognize objects in photos, or to help think through a medical diagnosis. (One deep learning tool, after watchin...
It’s all about understanding. These talks explore perspective -- looking past the stereotype and learning who people are, what they do and why they do it to build new cultural understandings.
The most important infrastructure we have is educated minds, says former Tunisian government minister Amel Karboul. Yet too often large investments go to more visible initiatives such as bridges and roads, when it's the minds of our children that will really create a brighter future. In this sharp talk, she shares actionable ideas to ensure that...
Since humanity first imagined the reality of intelligent machines, we've been afraid that they'll overpower us one day. Bruno Michel shares a more optimistic view: by investing in our mental fitness -- through studying Latin, doing yoga or even tap dancing -- we can increase our likelihood of staying competitive with sophisticated AI.
Tanmay Bakshi realized that in order to prevent suicide, we need a better way of detecting patterns. For the last 3 years, Tanmay and his team have been developing an app that can pick up on irregularities in a person's online behavior to build an early warning systems for at-risk teens. His hope is that this app will help get teens in distress ...
Once a year, thousands of logicians descend into the desert for Learning Man. At the center of that gathering is the world's most exclusive club, where under the full moon the annual logician's rave takes place. The entry is guarded by the Demon of Reason, and the only way in is to solve one of his dastardly challenges. Can you get into the rave...
Imagine an extra brain that knows us better than we know ourselves, that exists "with us, beside us, experiencing our world with us ... always connected, always processing, always watching." Nivruti Rai believes that AI systems could become these kinds of guardian angels, if given the chance. In this future-forward talk, Rai explains how machin...
How does one find authentic creativity? In his last talk before passing away, Malcolm McLaren tells remarkable stories from his own life, from failing school to managing the Sex Pistols. He argues that we're living in a karaoke culture, with false promises of instant success, and that messiness and failure are the key to true learning.
AI will take our jobs—and that is a good thing, argues Tomer Garzberg. He tells how intelligent robots are already supplanting people, freeing us to imagine new roles for ourselves, and also surveys endeavors that are likely to remain human for some time to come.
The fourth industrial revolution is upon us: machines infused with intelligence. This transformation will change how manufacturing works today, making it faster and cheaper because a machine will know when it makes a mistake and correct itself. Markus Lorenz estimates that the next generation of industrialization could save the food industry alo...
All over the world, there's growing consensus that our education systems are broken. These educators share big ideas on how we might re-imagine school.
People have been grappling with the question of artificial creativity -- alongside the question of artificial intelligence -- for over 170 years. For instance, could we program machines to create high quality original music? And if we do, is it the machine or the programmer that exhibits creativity? Gil Weinberg investigates this creative conund...
English is fast becoming the world's universal language, and instant translation technology is improving every year. So why bother learning a foreign language? Linguist and Columbia professor John McWhorter shares four alluring benefits of learning an unfamiliar tongue.
Machine learning isn't just for simple tasks like assessing credit risk and sorting mail anymore -- today, it's capable of far more complex applications, like grading essays and diagnosing diseases. With these advances comes an uneasy question: Will a robot do your job in the future?
2013 was a year of hype for MOOCs (massive open online courses). Great big numbers and great big hopes were followed by some disappointing first results. But the head of edX, Anant Agarwal, makes the case that MOOCs still matter -- as a way to share high-level learning widely and supplement (but perhaps not replace) traditional classrooms. Agarw...
Onstage at TED2013, Sugata Mitra makes his bold TED Prize wish: Help me design the School in the Cloud, a learning lab in India, where children can explore and learn from each other -- using resources and mentoring from the cloud. Hear his inspiring vision for Self Organized Learning Environments.
For foreigners, learning to speak Chinese is a hard task. But learning to read the beautiful, often complex characters of the Chinese written language may be less difficult. ShaoLan walks through a simple lesson in recognizing the ideas behind the characters and their meaning -- building from a few simple forms to more complex concepts. Call it ...
2013 TED Prize winner Sugata Mitra is an educator who helps kids learn to teach themselves. Here are 5 talks that align with his vision of education's future.