TED Tech

TED Tech

From the construction of virtual realities to the internet of things to the watches on our wrists—technology's influence is everywhere. Its role in our lives is evolving fast, and we're faced with riveting questions and tough challenges that sit at the intersection of technology and humanity. Listen in every Friday, with host, journalist Sherrell Dorsey, as TED speakers explore the way tech shapes how we think about society, science, design, business, and more.


Follow Sherrell on Instagram @sherrell_dorsey and on LinkedIn @sherrelldorsey


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What sitting all day does to your brain and body | Keith Diaz | Your Body on Tech
TED TechSeptember 11, 202647:1943.33 MB

What sitting all day does to your brain and body | Keith Diaz | Your Body on Tech

Can a five-minute walk change how you feel all day? Exercise scientist Keith Diaz shows how your body is built for the kind of movement that modern life has quietly erased — and suggests something refreshingly doable: making time for small doses of movement sprinkled throughout the day, as a way to ...

Why living online is leaving us exhausted — and what actually helps (with Manoush Zomorodi and Elise Hu) | from TED Talks Daily
TED TechSeptember 04, 202642:4139.08 MB

Why living online is leaving us exhausted — and what actually helps (with Manoush Zomorodi and Elise Hu) | from TED Talks Daily

Manoush Zomorodi, host of TED Radio Hour, takes over as guest host ofTED Talks Daily this week to answer a timely question: What does it mean to be human right now, as technology reshapes everything around us? She brings together seven thinkers — scientists, doctors, parents, an artist — to wrestle ...

Alternative Future (#1): AI is changing how we talk and think. How can we stop it? with Adam Aleksic and Advait Sarkar
TED TechAugust 31, 202634:0631.22 MB

Alternative Future (#1): AI is changing how we talk and think. How can we stop it? with Adam Aleksic and Advait Sarkar

Algorithms and AI don’t show us reality, but that doesn’t stop people from treating ChatGPT and online bots as our personalized therapists, travel planners, and editors. In this episode, Sherrell is sharing two talks on how AI is changing the way we’re influenced. From shaping our language to becomi...

Alternative Future (#2): What Earth in 2125 could look like | Iseult Gillespie
TED TechAugust 31, 20267:597.32 MB

Alternative Future (#2): What Earth in 2125 could look like | Iseult Gillespie

Faced with the realities of current crises, it’s easy to assume our world is headed in a bleak direction. But there’s good reason to be hopeful— with developments in science and technology, a positive future is more viable than ever before. So, what if the future was awesome? Iseult Gillespie explor...

Alternative Future (#3): How to build in space for life on Earth | Ariel Ekblaw
TED TechAugust 31, 202614:1513.06 MB

Alternative Future (#3): How to build in space for life on Earth | Ariel Ekblaw

Is space the “final frontier” — or the perfect place to revolutionize life on Earth? Space architect Ariel Ekblaw reveals how self-assembling structures could build orbiting real estate in space dedicated to solving humanity’s greatest dilemmas on Earth, leading to scientific and medical breakthroug...

Alternative Future (#4): The food that fertilizes itself | Giles E.D. Oldroyd
TED TechAugust 31, 202614:4613.53 MB

Alternative Future (#4): The food that fertilizes itself | Giles E.D. Oldroyd

Could the key to a sustainable food system already be growing in the world’s farms? Plant scientist Giles E.D. Oldroyd explores how a special quirk of soybean plants allows them to naturally partner with networks of fungi and bacteria to access essential nutrients in the air and soil — eliminating t...

Alternative Future (#5): Who owns the internet of the future? | Ordinary Things
TED TechAugust 31, 202621:1219.42 MB

Alternative Future (#5): Who owns the internet of the future? | Ordinary Things

The emergence of data-driven mass surveillance "is threatening to turn privacy into a relic of the 20th century," says the anonymous YouTube creator known as Ordinary Things. Meanwhile, state-funded troll farms are spreading disinformation and curating chaos on platforms meant to connect us and revo...

Why humans should merge with AI | D. Scott Phoenix
TED TechAugust 28, 202633:3730.79 MB

Why humans should merge with AI | D. Scott Phoenix

Deep tech entrepreneur D. Scott Phoenix spent years building AI — now, he believes we're on the cusp of a profound merger between humans and machines. Reframing the AI debate through the lens of evolutionary biology, he shifts the question from whether we should fear or embrace AI to whether we unde...

Why AI isn't going to become conscious | Anil Seth
TED TechAugust 21, 202619:3717.97 MB

Why AI isn't going to become conscious | Anil Seth

We see consciousness in AI the same way we see faces in clouds, says neuroscientist Anil Seth. He explores the all-too-human tendency to project inner life onto machines that are brilliant mimics, not sentient beings, and gives a definitive answer to the urgent question: Will AI ever gain consciousn...

How to parent in the age of AI with Stephen Remedios and Avni Patel Thompson
TED TechAugust 14, 202627:3125.2 MB

How to parent in the age of AI with Stephen Remedios and Avni Patel Thompson

Outsourcing parenthood can feel like the ultimate life hack. Less noise. Fewer interruptions. But at what cost? In today’s episode, Sherrell shares two talks on parenting in the age of AI. First, a father who handed the job to AI and learned something no algorithm could teach him. Then, a founder wh...

Exploring the ocean through whales with Eric Stackpole
TED TechAugust 07, 202615:4314.4 MB

Exploring the ocean through whales with Eric Stackpole

What if you stuck a camera onto a whale’s back before it dives underwater? What would you discover and what would you hear? In this episode, Sherrell shares a talk from an ocean explorer who captured something no one had ever seen. Then, she shares a TED-Ed lesson that explains the mechanics of whal...

The hidden health benefits of wearables technology with Michael Snyder
TED TechJuly 31, 202628:1825.91 MB

The hidden health benefits of wearables technology with Michael Snyder

Michael Snyder is a professor and genomicist who wears eight pieces of wearable technology every day: four smartwatches, two rings, and two hearing aids. These devices give him a personal data dashboard to help him understand his health in real time. In this interview, Michael joins Sherrell to disc...

Sherrell's Top 5 (#1): How we built Watch Duty, the lifesaving wildfire alert app with John Mills
TED TechJuly 24, 202611:5310.88 MB

Sherrell's Top 5 (#1): How we built Watch Duty, the lifesaving wildfire alert app with John Mills

After finding himself alone in an unreported wildfire in the woodlands of California, John Mills decided to take matters into his own hands. Hear the incredible story of how he rallied fire survivors and retired first responders to create Watch Duty, the nonprofit emergency alert system that’s beati...

Sherrell's Top 5 (#2): Inside India's astonishing solar revolution with Kanika Chawla
TED TechJuly 24, 202613:2412.28 MB

Sherrell's Top 5 (#2): Inside India's astonishing solar revolution with Kanika Chawla

In 2014, the world’s second largest coal consumer made a bold promise: to increase its solar capacity from three gigawatts to 100 gigawatts in just eight years. Many people called it overly ambitious, but energy expert Kanika Chawla saw the opportunity of a lifetime. She tells the story of how India...

Sherrell's Top 5 (#3): How one of China’s biggest tech companies is tackling carbon removal with Xu Hao
TED TechJuly 24, 202623:4121.69 MB

Sherrell's Top 5 (#3): How one of China’s biggest tech companies is tackling carbon removal with Xu Hao

Tencent is one of China’s biggest tech companies, running the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat and the world’s largest video game vendor. Now, it’s also an up-and-coming force in the field of carbon removal. Xu Hao, the vice president of Sustainable Social Value at Tencent, oversees two of those...

Sherrell's Top 5 (#4): The multidimensional magic of modern maps | Peter Wilczynski
TED TechJuly 24, 20269:408.86 MB

Sherrell's Top 5 (#4): The multidimensional magic of modern maps | Peter Wilczynski

Maps have long helped us understand the world — now, they can help us shape it. Digital cartographer Peter Wilczynski introduces the Living Globe: a real-time, data-rich digital twin of Earth that fuses satellite imagery, sensor data and AI. Watch for a glimpse of the future of maps — and learn how ...

Sherrell's Top 5 (#5): How to pull the emergency brake on global warming with Mohamed A. Sultan
TED TechJuly 24, 202617:0815.7 MB

Sherrell's Top 5 (#5): How to pull the emergency brake on global warming with Mohamed A. Sultan

Landfills across African cities are catching fire and releasing methane, an invisible greenhouse gas with more short-term warming potential than CO2. Sustainable strategist Mohamed A. Sultan reveals how local communities are turning this crisis into opportunity, diverting hundreds of tons of waste f...

How to power the world – and accelerate clean energy with Kimiko Hirata
TED TechJuly 17, 202620:2718.73 MB

How to power the world – and accelerate clean energy with Kimiko Hirata

How much electricity does humanity use? And how can we ensure that the energy we need in the future is also clean?  In this episode, Sherrell shares two talks on how one climate advocate in Japan is convincing the country to adopt renewable energy, and a TED-Ed lesson that dives into the comple...

How to pick the right path forward with AI with Alvin W. Graylin and Manoush Zomorodi
TED TechJuly 10, 202622:3820.73 MB

How to pick the right path forward with AI with Alvin W. Graylin and Manoush Zomorodi

“Entry-level hiring has collapsed — because Agentic AI is now doing the work that used to train junior developers, researchers, and analysts,” says TED Tech host Sherrell Dorsey. In this episode, Sherrell shares two talks on the future of AI. First, Alvin W. Graylin is in conversation with TED Radio...

Is your electric bill about to go up? with Asim Z. Haque
TED TechJuly 03, 202646:5342.92 MB

Is your electric bill about to go up? with Asim Z. Haque

The grid powering millions of homes and businesses on the East Coast was never built to handle the surging demand from data centers and the AI boom. So what happens when the system designed to carry that load starts falling behind and consumers start seeing rate hikes? In this miniseries finale, She...