TED Tech

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 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...

“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...

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...

With data centers popping up throughout the country, what does accountability look like for local governments? In this episode, Sherrell is in conversation with New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez discussing the role policy can play in the development –or lack thereof– of data center constructio...

Every time you run an AI query, a pump turns on somewhere. In Memphis, Tennessee, that pump draws from one of the purest aquifers in the world. That same water supply is already threatened by a century of industrial pollution. Community organizer Sarah Houston shares what xAI's five-million-gallon-a...

Imagine if one day, your quiet neighborhood came alive with a steady hum… and it never went away? All throughout the United States, data centers are popping up next door and in your backyards. These buildings guzzle millions of water, cause noise pollution, and are raising homeowners’ utility bills....

Wildlife conservationist Maya Higa did something extraordinary – and surprising. In only 21 hours, Maya reached over a million people and raised more than half a million dollars to fund a wildlife sanctuary – by livestreaming on Twitch.  Following her talk at TED2026, Maya sat down for a specia...

If you’ve tried AI and felt underwhelmed — or if the constant pressure to “just play around with it” makes you want to throw your laptop across the room — you’re not alone. But according to Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart and one of the most practical thinkers on this technology, you might be cl...

Electric vehicles have a surprisingly long history. Battery-powered cars have existed since 1881. So why did the world choose to spend over a century investing in fossil fuels? Sherrell explores this question with a talk from engineer Doreen Orishaba. Doreen built Africa's first electric vehicle and...

Did you know every time you fill up your gas tank, you’re paying two prices? In this episode, Sherrell shares two talks about what Big Oil has built, what it buried, and what this discovery means for our future.  Talks featured How to power the world 24/7 — without oil | Cindy Taff What the oil...

Will progress in artificial intelligence continue to accelerate, or have we already hit a plateau? Computer scientist Jennifer Golbeck interrogates some of the most high-profile claims about the promises and pitfalls of AI, cutting through the hype to clarify what's worth getting excited about — and...

“In climate tech, we don’t like talking about money,” says TED Tech host Sherrell Dorsey, but what if avoiding money talk is hurting the planet more than we realize? In this episode, Sherrell is sharing two talks on the past and future of farming and sustainability. Entrepreneur Yi Li speaks on why ...

What if we live in a world where infrastructure maintenance is regenerative? Roads, bridges, and buildings won’t have to rely on taxes or tolls to finance repair, but are constructed with materials capable for self-repair? In this episode, Sherrell is sharing two talks on how two engineers are rethi...

From its life-sustaining energy to its explosive geomagnetic storms, the Sun has many mysteries, says astrophysicist Nour E. Rawafi. He sheds light on NASA's latest endeavor to better understand our fiery neighbor and its impact on the future of society: sending the cutting-edge Parker Solar Probe d...