Whether it was the historic TED Talk from Pope Francis, a pregnant Serena Williams or Elon Musk’s plan for an underground tunnel network, TED 2017 offered inspiring and innovative ideas dotting a diverse list of topics. With the theme “The Future You,” the impact of artificial intelligence came up again and again. How will machines change what it means to be human? Can we trust these machines? How will we work with them and how will they change the way we are working today?
AI will profoundly shape our lives, but it remains unclear how. The exploration into how AI will change our relationships with one another, our homes and our work is underway. Some of this year’s TED Talks brought forth an air of concern. One session was titled “Our Robotic Overlords.” Other talks relayed optimism about how people and technologies will partner to create tremendous value for society.