The pandemic spurred an unprecedented reclamation of urban space, ushering in a seemingly bygone era of pedestrian pastimes, as cars were sidelined in favor of citizens. Highlighting examples from across the United States, environmental designer Kevin J. Krizek reflects on how temporary shifts -- like transforming streets into places for dining,...
It's the question of our generation: Can we find a sustainable alternative to oil? Scientists, inventors and activists present stern warnings and visionary solutions for the energy of tomorrow.
Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of more than 60 women, fill the TED World Theater with a rhapsodic performance of "The Rich Man's House" and "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed on Freedom)." They show us how joy can be an act of resistance.
"An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but rather one where even the rich use public transport," argues Enrique Peñalosa. In this spirited talk, the mayor of Bogotá shares some of the tactics he used to change the transportation dynamic in the Colombian capital... and suggests ways to think about building smart cities of the ...
The danger of artificial intelligence isn't that it's going to rebel against us, but that it's going to do exactly what we ask it to do, says AI researcher Janelle Shane. Sharing the weird, sometimes alarming antics of AI algorithms as they try to solve human problems -- like creating new ice cream flavors or recognizing cars on the road -- Shan...
Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of womxn and non-binary singers, bring their infectious energy to the TED stage with a performance of "I Hope" and "DAWN."
It seems as though Uber upended the taxi industry in less time than it takes to drive across Manhattan at rush hour. How did they do it, and what can legacy companies learn from their example? Business transformation expert Stefan Gross-Selbeck distills the unique qualities of today's most successful start-ups and shares strategies for replicati...
Is there an equation for intelligence? Yes. It's F = T ∇ Sτ. In a fascinating and informative talk, physicist and computer scientist Alex Wissner-Gross explains what in the world that means.
What's a company's purpose? It's not the same as mission or vision, which change when leadership changes. Strategist Ashley M. Grice explains the power of purpose to push boundaries of innovation and bring clarity to every aspect of an organization, from the top floor to the shop floor.
Too often, people feel checked out of politics — even at the level of their own city. But urban activist Alessandra Orofino thinks that can change, using a mix of tech and old-fashioned human connection. Sharing examples from her hometown of Rio, she says: "It is up to us to decide whether we want schools or parking lots, recycling projects or c...
What happens when purpose and passion overshadow fear? Follow in the steps of these outstanding women who let their ferocity, fortitude and wisdom guide them in living -- and speaking -- their truth.
What do you get when you give a design tool a digital nervous system? Computers that improve our ability to think and imagine, and robotic systems that come up with (and build) radical new designs for bridges, cars, drones and much more -- all by themselves. Take a tour of the Augmented Age with futurist Maurice Conti and preview a time when rob...
Ten years ago, researchers thought that getting a computer to tell the difference between a cat and a dog would be almost impossible. Today, computer vision systems do it with greater than 99 percent accuracy. How? Joseph Redmon works on the YOLO (You Only Look Once) system, an open-source method of object detection that can identify objects in ...
¿Cómo impacta el marketing en los medicamentos que nos receta nuestro médico? Pablo Santa Cruz describe los incentivos muchas veces inconcientes de los doctores y nos sugiere cómo conversar con nuestros médicos para mejorar el cuidado de nuestra salud.
People around the world are demanding clean air -- and cities are starting to respond, says electrification advocate Monica Araya. She takes us on a world tour of urban areas that are working to fully electrify their transportation systems over the next decade, shifting to emission-free motorcycles, cars, buses, ferries and beyond. See what a fu...
What if we could form meaningful relationships with AI? IBM designer Adam Cutler argues that we're already doing this -- we name our cars and mourn our iPhones when they break -- but imagine if we could develop a deeper emotional bond with our machines. By interpreting intent through language and pairing it with tone and semantic analysis in rea...
Can we use less energy from fossil fuels while also meeting our transportation needs? Enter shared electric micromobility: the transition away from dependence on cars and towards lightweight transport options like electric scooters, which release a fraction of the carbon emissions of conventional transport. Helping people get around on the world...