TEDxTilburgUniversity

TEDxTilburgUniversity 2014 revolves around the idea of Living Limitless.

Living, because the current social, cultural and economical developments combined with the new, ubiquitous nature of information technology will change and improve our society in ways we wouldn’t dare to dream of a mere decade ago. Limitless, because recent developments offer seemingly endless possibilities especially within the TED domains of Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

In the field of technology we see concepts such as ‘the internet of things’, ‘wearable devices’ or ‘enhanced reality’ on the rise. Such concepts challenge the notion of what is possible. What can human beings achieve using these technologies to the fullest?

As for entertainment, we see artists creating music and paintings using alternative methods, museums show collections digitally rather than physically, music albums and even Hollywood movies are being realized through crowdfunding. Moreover social media channels are quickly becoming major news platforms and we see that younger generations have a more graphical focus than their parents. These new generations will have opportunities and experiences unique to them, but how will they cope with these new opportunities? And how will this influence our society?

Finally design. Within the scope of our theme, design encompasses the realization of new ideas and projects which help determine the future of our society. Even the current economic crisis is an example of a warning related to limitless living. Perhaps the current economic crisis or the global depletion of fossil resources is how we pay the price for living above what is sustainable, but how will our society adapt to this new reality?