Clouds. We think of them as light and fluffy, sometimes a touch menacing. But TED Fellow Camille Seaman sees something even deeper in the clouds above her. Seaman, who is known for her stunning images that give personality to icebergs, was raised as a Shinnecock Indian, in a culture that taught her that everything is interconnected. “When I […]
Moving images and hidden systems — Session 2 moved into the world of the unexplored. Listen for an exploration into the secrets of cities, find out how the elusive giant squid was caught on film and hear a case for the virtue of ignorance. The speakers who appeared this session. Click their name to read […]
In 2005, the TED Prize was given to Bono. Eight years later, Chris Anderson asks, has there been any progress? The U2 frontman is here to tell us. But first, some good-natured Anglo-Irish joshing. “Chris Anderson asked me if I could put the last 25 years of of anti-poverty campaigning into 10 minutes. That’s an Englishman asking […]
Chances are, what you’re doing at this very minute is killing you. That’s right, sitting down is killing you. As Nilofer Merchant tells us today at TED, people sit 9.3 hours a day, more than they even sleep. As you sit, you don’t burn fat, and inactivity causes 10 percent of colon and breast cancer. […]
Sometimes, it feels like your smartphone is your friend. But if Keller Rinaudo has his way, your phone may be more like a pet. Rinaudo, the co-founder and CEO of Romotive, has created Romo, a smartphone robot. Your phone docks into a robotic base that looks a bit like a powdery blue tank. When you download the Romo app, […]
We’ve heard a lot about robots at TED over the years. Demos of amazing specialized robots … talk about what robots can and can’t do … and will they take jobs from humans and is that a good or a bad thing? What’s missing is a concrete example of a multi-purpose robot that can indeed […]
“He is simply one of the best musicians in the country,” says TED music advisor Bill Bragin of Pedrito Martinez, who’s just taken the TED stage to air a traditional Afro-Cuban bata drum solo. “As a musician’s musician, he leaves other musicians’ jaws on the ground.” Wearing a bright yellow Pittsburgh Pirates cap, a red waistcoat, […]
TED Curator Chris Anderson opened this morning’s first session, Progress Enigma, with a provocative question: What is the future of work? He asked the audience: According to your worldview, is the growth of innovation accelerating? Not surprisingly, the overwhelming majority of the audience answered yes. But is the answer so simple? Economist Robert J. Gordon […]
Erik Brynjolfsson says growth is not dead. To make his case in session 1 of TED2013, he points out two moments in the past — one that took place 120 years ago and the other that took place about 15 years ago. One hundred and twenty years ago, the Second Industrial Revolution began. But while the tools […]
Could US economic growth be over? That’s the provocative question that economist Robert J. Gordon begins with. And it’s a big question. He points to travel: In 1900 travel was via the open buggy, at 1% the speed of sound. Sixty years later we travelled at 80% of the speed of sound in a Boeing […]
At TED University, members of the TED audience get a chance to step on stage and give a talk — about their work, about their passion, about their life. The talks are always incredible. At TED Universities past, Nina Tandon shared how tissue engineering could potentially lead to personalized medicine, Graham Hill urged us to have less stuff […]
The world’s cities are on pace to balloon from 3.6 billion inhabitants today to more than 6 billion by midcentury. As a result, we face both a dire emergency and a tremendous opportunity. At their best, our modern cities are hubs of human connection, fountains of creativity and exemplars of green living. Yet at the […]
Kicking off the TED conference would be a daunting prospect for most, but Jennifer Granholm has tackled both nastier challenges and less friendly audiences in her time. After all, she is the former governor of Michigan, a state that, as the blurb to her book A Governor’s Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future puts it, was “synonymous with […]
[ted id=1677] In session 1 of TED2013, we are meeting many new robots. First, we watched the amazing clip above of a troupe of tiny humanoid Nao robots dancing intricate choreography in unison. (They were presented by Bruno Maisonnier of Aldebaran Robotics at TEDxConcorde and beamed straight to the TED stage.) Next, Rodney Brooks unveiled Baxter, […]
The TED2013 stage might make you want to climb. Inspired by a treehouse, the spectacular stage brings together huge, winding tree limbs and structures that evoke the Swiss Family Robinson. The stage features multiple levels which speakers can utilize for their talk. We’ve given up the red carpet this year, yes, but added a new […]
As we assembled TED2013’s lineup of speakers from around the world, talked with the TED brain trust, and listened to online conversations, one theme emerged: What is the future of work? Technology and new business practices are, in many ways, putting an end to the classic “good job,” the kind that millions of people once […]