av Mikael Winterkvist | jan 14, 2025 | Bluesky, Mastodon, TED, Threads
The clock is ticking on social media giant TikTok, which faces a nationwide ban in the United States unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells it by January 19.
Social media theorist Clay Shirky unpacks why the US is trying to ban TikTok, what it means for the app’s users and creators and the implications for national security, freedom of speech, US-China relations and more. (This interview, hosted by TED’s Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was recorded on January 8, 2025.)
av Mikael Winterkvist | jan 10, 2025 | Bluesky, Mastodon, TED, Threads
Megafires, or fires that burn more than 100,000 acres, are becoming more frequent worldwide, wreaking havoc on landscapes and communities — and fire experts say the problem is only going to get worse.
George T. Whitesides is focused on fighting these devastating natural disasters through innovative technologies and intentional changes to how we build communities. He presents three emerging solutions to this blazing dilemma, calling for us to redefine our relationship with fire in order to build a more resilient and sustainable future.
av Mikael Winterkvist | jan 7, 2025 | Bluesky, Mastodon, TED, Threads
Open-source software is the darling of the tech world, but the open-source branding used by today’s AI companies is inconsistent and confusing.
Delving into the complexities of differentiating AI from conventional software, open-source expert Heather Meeker explains the importance of a collaborative approach to AI development, emphasizing its potential to address global challenges — as long as it’s grounded in transparency and public trust.
av Mikael Winterkvist | jan 2, 2025 | Bluesky, Mastodon, TED, Threads
There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world — and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think?
Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language — from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words for blue in Russian — that suggest the answer is a resounding yes. ”The beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is,” Boroditsky says. ”Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000.”
av Mikael Winterkvist | dec 31, 2024 | Bluesky, Mastodon, TED, Threads
With his signature resolve, former US President Jimmy Carter dives into three unexpected reasons why the mistreatment of women and girls continues in so many manifestations in so many parts of the world, both developed and developing. The final reason he gives? ”In general, men don’t give a damn.”
av Mikael Winterkvist | dec 29, 2024 | Bluesky, Mastodon, TED
In a scorching talk, marketing professor and podcaster Scott Galloway dissects the data showing that, by many measures, young people in the US are worse off financially than ever before. He unpacks the root causes and effects of this ”great intergenerational theft,” asking why we let it continue and showing how we could make it end. (Note: This talk contains mature language.)
