An epic day 5 of TED2025

As the curtain falls on TED2025: Humanity Reimagined, a week spent at the intersection of innovation and introspection comes into focus. This year’s conference wove together themes reflecting our complex, rapidly evolving world — from the awe-inspiring potential and sobering risks of artificial intelligence to nature-inspired solutions for the world’s most challenging problems. More than […]

Apr 12, 2025 - 23:13

TED’s Chris Anderson and Helen Walters host Session 11 of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined on April 11, 2025, in Vancouver, BC. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)

As the curtain falls on TED2025: Humanity Reimagined, a week spent at the intersection of innovation and introspection comes into focus. This year’s conference wove together themes reflecting our complex, rapidly evolving world — from the awe-inspiring potential and sobering risks of artificial intelligence to nature-inspired solutions for the world’s most challenging problems. More than eighty speakers and performers challenged us to reimagine established systems, harness the power of community and navigate the delicate balance between technological progress and ethical responsibility. One final session on day 5 revealed how our collective wisdom and action have never been more crucial in shaping the future we want to see. Below, a few highlights:

Head of TED Chris Anderson and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speak at Session 11 of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined on April 711, 2025, in Vancouver, BC. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)

The AI revolution is here to stay, says Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. In a probing conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson — now available to watch in full on TED’s YouTube channel — Altman discusses the astonishing growth of AI and shows how models like ChatGPT could eventually, over the course of our lifetimes, become extensions of ourselves. He also touches on the prospect of AGI — which won’t arrive in a singular moment, he says, but rather through a gradual evolution — and explores the rise of agentic AI, stressing the importance of designing guardrails to mitigate potential risk. He also addresses questions of safety, power and moral authority, reflecting on the world he envisions, where AI will almost certainly outpace human intelligence.

Dan Taberski speaks at Session 11 of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined on April 711, 2025, in Vancouver, BC. (Photo: Jason Redmond / TED)

The unconscious ways we influence each other. Documentary podcaster Dan Taberski investigates a case from 2011, when a group of high school girls in LeRoy, New York, suddenly developed tics like those present with Tourette syndrome. As panic spread, so did the symptoms, leading experts to diagnose it as a case of mass psychogenic illness. Taberski explores what this disorder reveals about the power of stress and trauma, showing that mass hysteria isn’t just a historical phenomenon — it still happens today.

Xiye Bastida speaks at Session 11 of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined on April 11, 2025, in Vancouver, BC. (Photo: Jason Redmond / TED)

Hope isn’t just a feeling — it’s a tool for action. Climate activist Xiye Bastida shares how learning from nature’s resilience, trusting Indigenous knowledge and using imagination to build a better future can ignite meaningful change. By keeping the fire in our hearts strong and embracing the leadership of those who’ve protected the planet for generations, Bastida shows how to turn fear and despair into momentum.

Pico Iyer speaks at Session 11 of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined on April 11, 2025, in Vancouver, BC. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)

Our universal medicine: silence. In a moving, personal talk to close the conference, author Pico Iyer reflects on the death of his father and how, in the midst of overwhelming grief and responsibility, he found clarity and strength in a few hours of deep silence by the ocean. In a noisy world, Iyer says, silence is a powerful, living presence that any of us can tap into to reconnect with ourselves and those around us.

Attendees gather in the TED Theater before Session 11 of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined on April 11, 2025, in Vancouver, BC. (Photo: Gilberto Tadday / TED)