Digest for 11/18/2025

What will a future with intuitive AI look like? Futurist Maurice Conti offers a look at technology that augments human creativity and intelligence, from generative design to augmented reality.

We're on the edge of a new frontier in art and creativity — and it's not human. Blaise Agüera y Arcas demos new, astonishing imagery created by neural networks.

What happens when machines learn to make art? Artist Refik Anadol trains AI on vast datasets to create mesmerizing, dynamic installations that redefine human creativity.

Bill Gates unveils his vision for the world's energy future, describing the need for 'miracles' to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he's backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The essential goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050.

Climate action is picking up speed -- and it could accelerate even faster with an injection of stubborn optimism, says climate champion Christiana Figueres.

Allan Savory has devoted his life to stopping desertification. He now believes -- and his work so far shows -- that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.

As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other? Sherry Turkle studies how our devices and online personas are redefining human connection and communication -- and asks us to think deeply about the new kinds of connection we want to have.

Adam Alter shares his research on how time spent looking at screens is increasing -- and how it's affecting our well-being and happiness.

A handful of people working at a handful of tech companies steer the thoughts of billions of people every day, from running elections to what we see and think. Tristan Harris argues that technology is hijacking our attention and what we can do about it.

Economist Andrew McAfee suggests that, yes, probably, droids will take our jobs -- or at least the kinds of jobs we know now. In this far-seeing talk, he thinks through what future jobs might look like, and how to educate coming generations to hold them.

Will machines replace humans? Economist Daniel Susskind confronts this question and three misconceptions we have about our automated future, suggesting we ask something else: How will we distribute wealth in a world when there will be less -- or even no -- work?

As the popularity of remote working continues to spread, workers today can collaborate across cities, countries and even multiple time zones. How do companies ensure that remote employees are productive and that a separation of space doesn't lead to a separation of company goals and vision? Matt Mullenweg, the founder of Automattic (the company behind WordPress), shares his secrets.

Sustainability provocateur Leyla Acaroglu shares surprising facts about the environmental impact of some common items and encourages rethinking our daily choices for a more sustainable future.

Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs — to offer a healthy, accessible alternative to fast food and rethink urban living.

Majora Carter redefined the field of environmental equality, starting in the South Bronx by pulling her community out of decline with green initiatives and rethinking sustainable urban development.