TED Technology Talks By TED Talks [1 more lists]

Each year, the annual TED conference features a number of compelling presentations (in 18 minutes or less) about projects that leading minds are working on in technology, entertainment and design. The ideas introduced in the technology field are, not surprisingly, mind-blowing. These videos are just some of the incredible ideas that TED attendees have learned about - and now, you can too. This list is VoteRanked, so be sure to vote for your favorite videos and ideas!

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Eli Pariser

Author and organizer Eli Pariser discusses the potential pitfalls of web companies tailoring their services to visitors. He argues in this TED talk that such a narrow focus on personalized search may ultimately create online "filter bubbles." Instead of broadening our world view, it actually has the potential to limit us to a much smaller picture.
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Ed Boyden

In this talk from TED 2011, MIT Media Lab's Ed Boyden, leader of the Synthetic Neurobiology Group, demonstrates a way to potentially use "neural prosthetics." What does that mean? He explains that certain genes are inserted in the brain and then controlled (turned on or off) using special fiber-obtic implants.
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Aaron Koblin

In this TED talk from 2011, artist Aaron Koblin explores how modern technology can be used to show everything from cultural trends to travel and how we live our lives. His visually stunning images paint a portrait of how society functions.
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Anil Ananthaswamy

Author and former software engineer Anil Ananthaswamy explains how humans are working to understand the true workings of the universe, through the use of extreme astrophysics. He walks the audience through many of these highly-sophisticated instruments, detectors and telescopes, explaining how they are being used worldwide to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos.
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Patricia Kuhl

Do you ever wonder how babies learn language? In this TED talk, Patricial Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Brain and Learning Sciences at the University of Washington, offers some insights into how we, as infants, process and understand language.
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Dennis Hong

In this compelling TED talk from TED2011, Dennis Hong, founder of the Virginia-based robotics company RoMeLa, talks about building a vehicle for the visually impaired. Such a vehicle could allow a blind person to drive safely and independently, through the use of robotics, GPS and other mechanisms.
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Fiorenzo Omenetto

Biomedical engineer Fiorenzo G. Omenetto presents more than 20 remarkable new uses for silk in this TED talk from 2011. In his presentation, Omenetto explains how silk can be used to improve sustainability in the medical field. This 5000-year-old material is the basis for a film that can be used in all kinds of technology.
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Carlo Ratti

Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT SENSEable City Lab, demonstrates his unique approach to visualizing city life by studying how electronics (and sensors) relate to the constructed environment. The result? A way to literally monitor things like cars and buildings - a real-time control system of sorts.
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Eythor Bender

In this TED talk from 2011, Berkeley Bionics CEO Eythor Bender demonstrates two robots/exoskeletons that may eventually allow wheelchair-bound people to walk. These exoskeletons could also allow humans to carry incredible amounts of weight (up to 200 pounds) without fatigue for several hours.
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Lisa Gansky

In this 2011, TED talk, author Lisa Ganksy explains what she calls the "mesh" - the fundamental relationship between people and their "stuff." She discusses how this mesh will affect the f*ture of business in the years to come.
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Amit Sood

Google's Art Project head, Amit Sood, explains a truly unique idea in this TED talk from 2011: Building a virtual museum on the web that allows anyone, anywhere, access to some of the greatest works of art in history.
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Susan Lim

Surgeon Susan Lim discusses the issue of transplantation in this talk at the INK Conference in 2010. Lim, who performed the first-ever liver transplant in Asia, explains that the problem with transplants isn't necessarily the procedure - it's the lack of donor organs for the process. Through her research, Lim says it may be possible to transplant actual healing cells, not organs, successfully.
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Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg discusses why we don't have enough women leaders in the corporate world in this 2010 TEDWomen talk. She offers some sage advice to women who want to make it to the top of their profession, explaining how choices made can affect all f*ture career paths.
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Charles Limb

Physician Charles Limb is also a musician. In this TED talk, Limb discusses how the brain works during musical improvisation. What happens in the brains of those creative minds during the process? Lim offers some fascinating insight into how our brains work when we're playing literally off the tops of our heads.
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Damon Horowitz

In 2011, Damon Horowitz gave a TED talk that discussed the limits - and the limitless - possibilities for technology. Horowitz talks about the moral ramifications of having so much power through technology, emphasizing how society can develop a 'moral operating system' to keep things in check.
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Mick Ebeling

Not Impossible Foundation founder and entrepreneur Mick Ebeling presents a remarkable invention that he and his team developed that allows a graffiti artist to communicate - even though his body is ravaged by ALS.
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Janet Echelman

Artist Janet Echelman explains the unusual material she uses to create building-sized sculptures: fishnet. She came up with the idea when she traveled to India to paint - and realized that her paints were missing. She explains her fishnet sculptures in this TED talk from 2011.
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Mike Matas

Software developer Mike Matas demonstrates the first feature-length, interactive digital book for iPad. In this talk from 2011, Matas explains how the book allows users to interact with the book ("Our Choice" by Al Gore) in ways that they can't currently. Users can see photos with audio and maps, allowing for a complete experience.
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Wadah Khanfar

In this 2011 TED talk, Wadah Khanfar, the Director General of Al Jazeera, explains what is happening with unrest and uprisings in the Middle East, including events in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Khanfar offers his unique perspective on why events are unfolding now, and how the young people in these countries, empowered by technology, are setting a new course for history.
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Ralph Langner

German security consultant Ralph Langner explains how he and his team helped to analyze the Stuxnet computer worm in this 2011 TED talk. Among other things, he helped to determine how the cyber weapon could be used - and why.
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Marcin Jakubowski

Marcin Jakubowski, technologist and founder of Open Source Ecology, explains his open-source (DIY) set of blueprints for approximately 50 different farming tools in this 2011 TED talk. Each one of these tools can be constructed relatively inexpensively. This low-cost hardware, "blueprints for civilization," could allow anyone to become a self-sustaining farmer.
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Harvey Fineberg

In this 2011 TED talk, medical ethicist Harvey Fineberg explains ways that humans can be "better than they are" via neo-evolution. Fineberg lays out three different paths for evolution in this presentation, and explains how genetic modifications could allow us to be "smarter, faster, better."
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AnnMarie Thomas

AnnMarie Thomas, director of the University of St. Thomas' UST Design Laboratory, explains in this 2011 TED talk how something as simple as homemade play dough can be used to teach students about electronics. Did you know that play dough conducts electricity? It does.
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Bruce Schneier

Computer security expert Bruce Schneier addresses our concept of security in this 2010 TED talk. Are we as safe as we think we are? Schneier says 'no.' He also thinks that we're not emphasizing security in the right places - we're overdoing it in some areas and totally neglecting others.
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Suzanne Lee

In this talk from TED2011, fashion designer Suzanne Lee demonstrates a truly innovative idea: A way to grow materials in a lab that can later be used to make clothes. Lee teamed up with a biologist to come up with a recipe for the clothing - forming small threads that can later be used to make all kinds of clothes.