20 Best Technology TED Talks That Will Inspire You

There is currently an increasing pace of technological progress. Technology is getting us closer to most realities we dreamt of and some that we never even dreamt about. In the next decade, our lives might look a lot like the science-fiction books we read as kids due to the advancement. So, in a bid to stay sane amid this, we’ve compiled some of the best Technology TED Talks that will inspire you.

Since its inception, several TED events have been held in order to keep spreading worthy ideas. From the main TED conferences to the TEDx (an independent event), several experts and thought leaders have taken the stage and given talks that have inspired and encouraged many people.

In the same vein, with an emphasis on spreading worthy techno ideas, tech TED talks have been presented by various experts on different stages of TED and TEDx events.

This article, therefore, aims at providing you with the necessary information on the 20 best Technology TED Talks that will inspire you. Also, you will get to know more about TED talks, and what you stand to benefit from by listening to one.

Here is a table of what to expect:

What You Need To Know About TED

With its headquarters in the USA, TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks.

TED began in February 1984 as a conference conceived by Richard Saul Wurman, where Technology, Entertainment, and Design converged. Today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues in more than 110 languages.

In addition to the TED talks and conferences is the TEDx. TEDx is an independently run event that helps share ideas in communities around the world.

TED is owned and curated by Chris Anderson, a British-American businessman, through the Sapling Foundation.

What Is A TED Talk?

A TED talk is a video created from a presentation at the main TED conference or one of its many satellite events around the world. TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, technology, and creativity, with subtitles in 100+ languages.

Basically, TED talks are limited to a maximum length of 18 minutes, but maybe on any topic.

What Is The Purpose of TED Talks?

The main purpose of TED Talks is told in its motto: “Ideas worth spreading”.

According to Mark Lovett, Former Organizer at TEDxSanDiego, the purpose of the TED Conference, from which TED Talks are produced, is to bring thought leaders and subject matter experts onto the stage and share their “Idea Worth Spreading”.

Still, from him, the brilliance of this model is that attendees hear the talks live, while videos produced from the presentations are posted online for anyone in the world to access free of charge.

He went further to say that the hope is that the ideas/perspectives/insights contained within these talks broaden/challenge the perspectives of the attendees/viewers. This may result in direct action to help a cause, a change in personal behavior, or a new way to consider problems that are affecting society – a new outlook/understanding.

In summary, the purpose of Ted talks is to spread ideas and inspire and motivate its audience. 

Benefits of TED Talks

Here are what you stand to gain from the talks given at TED conferences:

What Is A Technology TED talk?

A technology TED talk is a type of TED talk with a focus on tech topics and techno ideas.

What Are The Best Technology Ted Talks That Can Inspire Me?

Over the years, several TED talks that focus on techno ideas have been presented in both the main TED conferences and TEDx events. However, through our research, we’ve made a compilation of some Tech TED talks that we think are relevant and will inspire you.

So in no particular order, here are the 20 best technology Ted talks ( including some Tech TEDx talks) that will inspire you:

How we can bring AI personalities to life – Mariana Lin

Here, Mariana Lin, an AI persona and one of the principal writers for the voice of Siri, shares what she’s learned designing artificial personalities and calls on tech companies to get more creative when bringing AI to life in all its messy, complicated glory.

WATCH HERE

The importance of emotional tone in the digital age – Kareem Yusuf

Technology, as we know it, can be dehumanizing. Even our day-to-day personal interactions conducted in digitally show the risk of losing the heart of who we are.

Here, Kareem Yusuf shows how people have aimed to embed emotional “tone” into their digital lives, from text messages to data. He also explores why, in today’s fully digitized and globalized world, we must strive to incorporate tone into everything we do.

WATCH HERE

Why we should archive everything on the planet – Chris Fisher

The climate crisis could destroy our entire cultural and ecological heritage in a matter of decades. So, how can we document everything before it disappears?

In this technology TEDxMileHigh talk, Archaeologist Chris Fisher explains how we could scan the surface of the Earth, not just as a record for future generations but as a tool to fight climate change.

WATCH HERE

How your personal narrative limits your future – Andrew Peeks

Everyone loves to tell personal stories of adversity and triumph. However, the question is how do they prepare us to navigate an unpredictable future?

According to Entrepreneur Andrew Peek, he believes that our life stories limit us. “Are we wrapped in the warmth of the story we’ve been writing for decades? The further we are into a story, the less likely we are to want to rewrite it.”

So in this TEDxToronto talk, Peek suggests that we “let go of what should be for what is” and allow ourselves to grow without self-imposed constraints.

WATCH HERE

What makes technology so habit-forming? – Nir Eyal

Basically, about 40% of what you do, day in and day out, is done purely out of habit. Nir Eyal decodes how technology companies, the masters of “habit-forming” products, design the tech products we can’t put down.

In this TED partnership with IBM, he talks about how it isn’t all negative manipulation and that it can and should be used for good.

WATCH HERE

An app that predicts the impact of global climate change – Sarvesh Subramanian

After being deeply affected by devastating floods in his family’s home state of Kerala, India, high school student, Sarvesh Subramanian decided to dive headfirst into the fight against climate change.

In this passionate TEDxClearBrookHighSchool talk, Subramanian explains how he developed an app that can predict the impact of climate change on human health.

WATCH HERE

Thriving in an overconnected world – Leslie Perlow

We will all agree that email and mobile technology have greatly accelerated the way we do business. However, Leslie Pernow argues that the always “on” mentality can have a long-term detrimental effect on many organizations.

In her sociological experiments at a TED conference in partnership with BCG and other organizations, Pernow found that if the team, rather than just individuals, collectively rallies around a goal or personal value, it unleashes a process that creates better work and better lives.

WATCH HERE

Three types of online attack – Mikko Hypponen

In this TEDxBrussels, Cybercrime expert Mikko Hypponen talks us through three types of online attacks on our privacy and data. However, only two are considered crimes.

He also asked: “Do we blindly trust any future government? Because any right we give away, we give away for good.”

WATCH HERE

How light technology is changing medicine – Sajan Saini

It’s an increasingly common sight in hospitals around the world: a nurse measures our height, weight, and blood pressure and attaches a glowing plastic clip to our finger. Suddenly, a digital screen reads out the oxygen level in our bloodstream. How did that happen?

In this TED-Ed, Sajan Saini shows how pairing light with integrated photonics is leading to new medical technologies and less invasive diagnostic tools.

WATCH HERE

Could future devices read images from our brains? – Mary Lou Jepsen

As an expert on cutting-edge digital displays, Mary Lou Jepsen studies how to show our most creative ideas on screens. Also, as a brain surgery patient herself, she is driven to know more about the neural activity that underlies invention, creativity, and thought.

In this TED Conference, she meshes these two passions in a rather mind-blowing talk on two cutting-edge brain studies that might point to a new frontier in understanding how (and what) we think.

WATCH HERE

An open-source database to create “guardian angel” AI – Nivruti Rai

So, imagine an extra brain that knows us better than we know ourselves, that exists “with us, beside us, experiencing our world with us … always connected, always processing, always watching.” 

Naruto Rai is one of those who believes that AI systems could become these kinds of guardian angels if given a chance. In this future-forward TED talk, Rai explains how machine learning could flourish once it’s able to analyze complex traffic patterns.

WATCH HERE

A world without waste – Kate E. Brandt

Generally, every Google search or YouTube upload costs the global network both energy and resources. So, as Google’s head of sustainability, it’s Kate E. Brandt’s job to strategize solutions that cut the cost on our environment and our economy.

In this innovative TED talk, she dives into her plan to green up Google by creating a circular economy that reuses, recycles, and eliminates waste altogether.

WATCH HERE

The incredible inventions of intuitive AI – Maurice Conti

What do you get when you give a design tool to 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 robots and humans will work side-by-side to accomplish things neither can do alone.

WATCH HERE

Your health depends on where you live – Bill Davenhall

Where you live typically impacts your health as much as diet and genes do, but it’s not part of your medical records.

At this TEDMED, Bill Davenhall talks about how overlooked government geo-data (from local heart-attack rates to toxic dumpsite info) can mesh with mobile GPS apps to keep doctors in the loop. Call it “geo-medicine.”

WATCH HERE

How to spark your curiosity scientifically – Nadya Mason

Physicist Nadya Mason advises that you do a hands-on experiment at home if you are curious about how stuff works.

In this tech TED talk, she shows how you can demystify the world around you by tapping into your scientific curiosity. She performs a few onstage experiments of her own using magnets, dollar bills, dry ice, and more.

WATCH HERE

Simple, effective tech to connect communities in crisis – Johanna Figueira

Even as the world is more connected than ever, some communities are still cut off from vital resources like electricity and health care.

So, in this solution-oriented tech TED talk, activist Johanna Figueira discusses her work with Code for Venezuela, a platform that gathers technologists to address Venezuela’s needs for information and medical supplies, and shares ideas for how it could be used as a model to help other communities in need.

WATCH HERE

The first secret of design is … noticing – Tony Fadell

Generally, as human beings, we get used to “the way things are” really fast. However, for designers, the way things are is an opportunity … Could things be better? How?

In this funny, breezy tech TED talk, the man behind the iPod and the Nest thermostat, Tony Fadell, shares some of his tips for noticing — and driving — change.

WATCH HERE

A glimpse of the future through an augmented reality headset – Meron Gribetz

The question here is: What if technology could connect us more deeply with our surroundings instead of distracting us from the real world?

So, with Meta 2, an augmented reality headset that makes it possible for users to see, grab, and move holograms just like physical objects, Meron Gribetz hopes to extend our senses through a more natural machine.

Join Gribetz as he takes the TED stage to show the reality-shifting Meta 2 for the first time.

WATCH HERE

Hackers: the internet’s immune system – Keren Elazari

Keren Elazari, a cybersecurity expert, is of the belief that we actually need hackers in today’s day and age. The beauty of hackers, says Keren Elazari, is that they force us to evolve and improve. “They just might be the immune system for the information age”, she says.

Yes, some hackers are bad guys. However, many are working to fight government corruption and advocate for our rights. So, by exposing vulnerabilities, they push the Internet to become stronger and healthier, wielding its power to create a better world.

Join Keren in this interesting tech TED talk as she throws more light on this.

WATCH HERE

Will automation take away all our jobs? – David Autor

Here’s a paradox you don’t hear much about: despite a century of creating machines to do our work for us, the proportion of adults in the US with a job has consistently gone up for the past 125 years. The question is, Why hasn’t human labor become redundant and our skills obsolete?

In this TED talk about the future of work, economist David Autor addresses the question of why there are still so many jobs and comes up with a surprising, hopeful answer.

WATCH HERE

FAQs On 20 Best Technology Ted Talks That Will Inspire You

TED is a nonpartisan nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks.

A TED talk is a video created from a presentation at the main TED conference or one of its many satellite events around the world.

TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, technology, and creativity, with subtitles in 100+ languages.

The main purpose of TED Talks is told in its motto: “Ideas worth spreading”.

Basically, TED talks are limited to a maximum length of 18 minutes but maybe on any topic.

Here are what you stand to gain from the talks given at TED conferences:

1. A TED talk helps you to find your purpose.
2. It helps you to recognize yourself.
3. It helps you to recognize your dreams and gives you the potential to fulfill them.
4. TED talks aim at making you a better you.
5. Knowledge gathered from TED talks helps you to live beyond your limits.
6. It also helps you to find love in your work and to enjoy it.
7. It encourages you to stand alone wherever needed.

A technology TED talk is a type of TED talk with a focus on tech topics.

Here is a list of some tech Ted talks that will inspire you:

1. How we can bring AI personalities to life – Mariana Lin
2. The importance of emotional tone in the digital age – Kareem Yusuf
3. Why we should archive everything on the planet – Chris Fisher
4. How your personal narrative limits your future – Andrew Peeks
5. What makes technology so habit-forming? – Nir Eyal
6. An app that predicts the impact of global climate change – Sarvesh Subramanian
7. Thriving in an overconnected world – Leslie Perlow
8. Three types of online attack – Mikko Hypponen
9. How light technology is changing medicine – Sajan Saini
10. Could future devices read images from our brains? – Mary Lou Jepsen
11. An open-source database to create “guardian angel” AI – Nivruti Rai
12. A world without waste – Kate E. Brandt
13. The incredible inventions of intuitive AI – Maurice Conti
14. Your health depends on where you live – Bill Davenhall
15. How to spark your curiosity, scientifically – Nadya Mason
16. Simple, effective tech to connect communities in crisis – Johanna Figueira
17. The first secret of design is … noticing – Tony Fadell
18. A glimpse of the future through an augmented reality headset – Meron Gribetz
19. Hackers: the internet’s immune system – Keren Elazari
20. Will automation take away all our jobs? – David Autor

Conclusion

Generally, TED talks are given with the purpose of spreading worthy ideas. In line with this, technology TED talks are presented to spread worthy techno ideas.

The Tech TED talks above have been compiled to give you knowledge that will help you live beyond your limits, as well as become a better version of yourself, among other benefits.

I, therefore, encourage you to take your time and watch the technology TED talks above to get the desired inspiration you’ve been looking for.

Good Luck and Success!!!

References

• Ted.com – TED Talks (Technology)
• Ted.com – Ideas about Technology – TED Talks
• Wikipedia – TED (conference)
• Quora – What is the purpose of the TED Talks?
• TheEnterprisersProject – 8 TED Talks on emerging technologies to watch
• Plesk – Three TED Talks On Technology That Will Blow Your Mind

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