Digest for 1/21/2026

We're building an artificial intelligence-powered dystopia, one click at a time, says techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci. In an eye-opening talk, Tufekci explains how the same algorithms companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon use to get you to click on ads are also used to organize your access to political and social information.

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, and even who goes to jail. Cathy O'Neil reveals how these models can encode human prejudice and affect political decisions.

Scared of superintelligent AI? You should be, says neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris -- and not just in some theoretical way. We're going to build superhuman machines, says Harris, but we haven't yet grappled with the politics and ethics of how best to contain and manage them.

Pia Mancini argues that our democratic systems are outdated for the digital age and presents a platform that allows citizens to propose, debate, and vote on legislation directly.

How can the US recover after the negative, partisan presidential election of 2016? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the morals that form the basis of our political choices. In conversation with TED Curator Chris Anderson, he describes the patterns of thinking and historical causes that have led to such sharp divisions in America -- and provides a vision for bridging the divide.

Larry Lessig examines how populism and division have eroded democracy and proposes reforms to restore representation.

What would you do if your job was to save the planet? When Christiana Figueres was tapped by the UN to lead the Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December 2015, she reacted the way many people would: she thought it would be impossible to bring the leaders of 195 countries into agreement on how to slow climate change. Find out how she turned 'impossible' into 'possible' -- and how you can, too.

Why is Al Gore optimistic about climate change? In this spirited talk, Gore asks three powerful questions about the man-made forces threatening to destroy our planet -- and the solutions we're designing to combat them.

Planetary scientist Johan Rockström shares a new way of thinking about the human impact on the climate and why swift action is needed to avoid environmental catastrophe.