TED2024: On Monarch Butterflies, Aliens, AI, and Everything in Between

As some of you know, last week I was at TED2024 titled The Brave and the Brilliant. Many friends have asked me about it, so I thought I’d give you all a little glimpse into the exciting world that is TED Conferences .

It wasn’t my first TED conference*, but it was my first flagship one which is held annually in Vancouver, British Columbia. And it was an experience I will not soon forget. Over the course of the week, we listened to a variety of talks grouped into sessions with names like Dreamers, Mind Expanders, System Changers, Illuminators, Provocateurs, Bridge Builders, Trailblazers, and Shapeshifters. I got to meet and talk to so many brilliant, inspiring people. And then there were also Discovery Sessions (more on that below)! The best part—it was surprisingly refreshing to emerge from my localization-only bubble for a change and be immersed in a bigger world of ideas and innovations.

I attended the conference as part of a 10-person TED Translators delegation, an organization that’s been very near and dear to my heart for many years now. I got involved with them very early on when I was fresh out of grad school and their translation program was still young and relatively small. Fast forward to today, they now have a robust global community of volunteers who translate TED, TEDx, and TED-Ed videos into 100+ languages. During the conference, the team also announced an exciting update – TED’s collaboration with Panjaya for dubbing and voice-cloning to make TED talks even more accessible to people around the world. I literally had goosebumps when watching some early previews, and I’m so excited to see what this technology will help TED achieve. Being in loc, I’ve seen many similar demos over the last year or so, but I think it was the combination of TED’s captivating content, flawless lip sync, and the speakers’ own voices that truly made it feel like magic.

?

Often referred to as the playground for the curious, any TED event is a multifaceted experience that includes both work and play. The work (or more intellectual) part includes talks, panels, interviews, and tech demos, and the play (or fun) part is represented by a plethora of activities (aka Discovery sessions) to choose from. I cannot possibly describe all of it here, but I’ve attempted to gather some highlights below (with links where available).

Some talks that fascinated me, resonated with me in some way or piqued my curiosity—in no particular order:

-??????????? Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon. How Israel and Palestine Can Find Hope

-??????????? Thomas Dohmke (CEO of GitHub). AI Co-pilots**

-??????????? Jaime Rojo. Saving the Monarch Butterfly

-??????????? Scott Galloway (NYU). The Theft of Generational Wealth

-??????????? Pete Stavros. The Power of Employee Ownership

-??????????? Mustafa Suleyman (CEO, Microsoft AI). New Frontiers of AI

-??????????? Avi Loeb. The Search for Aliens

-??????????? Jason Rugolo. The Future of Audio Computing

-??????????? Lily Yeh. The Transformative Power of Art

My main discoveries in the art/entertainment space:

-??????????? Xiuhtezcatl, a Xochimilca artist who fuses his Indigenous and Mexican roots with a passion for social justice to produce music that pushes boundaries and sparks change. I think I held my breath throughout his entire performance. Out of this world. If you want a little taste, watch this music video.

-??????????? Niceaunites, an artist who creates a surreal, dream-like universe where your aunties are not only nice but are also empowered and are doing crazy insane things, like taking a bath in a bowl of ramen. The talk is here, and this is their Instagram.

-??????????? Cai Guo-Qiang, a gunpowder and fireworks artist who quite literally “blew” my mind, especially with his Sky Ladder project. Fun fact: Cai presented in his native Chinese, and his interpreter was introduced and shown on the big screen in the TED theater (her picture is below; unfortunately, I didn’t write down her name—if you know her, please let me know so I can credit her). She interpreted live and, with the use of voice-cloning tech, the translation was played back to us in Cai’s own voice with virtually zero delay. I was completely geeking out to this and giddy with excitement.

The list of discovery sessions was also long and glorious, making it almost impossible to make a choice. In the end, I went on a Lynn Canyon hike, marveled at the indigenous artistry at the Bill Reid Gallery, had delicious dinner at the Vancouver Aquarium while breathtakingly beautiful marine life floated by, and went on a 5K run in Stanley Park with a group of other athletically-inclined TEDsters.

The conference was incredibly intellectually and mentally stimulating but also provided a break from my regular routine, which I sorely needed. It shook me awake and broke the comfortable mold I had been living in lately.

It was also my first time in Vancouver, and not only did the city sweep me away with its beauty, its snowy peaks, and blooming trees, but also filled me with awe at its history. Vancouver is located on the unceded ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh?peoples, and their heritage, languages, art, and stewardship of the land are seen and felt everywhere. I felt just unbelievably humbled. I am now compiling a reading list to educate myself on the indigenous history of the Americas of which I know very little—please share your suggestions with me, if you have any.

By Friday, my head was whirling with ideas, new connections, and friendships forged, and yet, I was not able to completely stay away from my localization people after all. A few hours before getting on the plane back to California, I met up with Paula Hunter who sweetly took time out of her day to come and have coffee with me, walk along the seawall, and chat about everything from kids and dogs to prompt engineering and AI use in Quality workflows.

And, in the end, that’s what it all comes down to—COMMUNITY. It is the thing that matters and the thing that endures. Monarch butterflies know it, Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon know it, Musqueam and Xochimilca know it, and you and I know it. Community is what gives us strength, gives us wisdom, and carries us forward.

Until we meet again, TED!

Photos by Ryan Lash, Jason Redmond, Gilberto Tadday, and my own

?

* I also went to the TED Summit 2019 in Edinburgh.

**The talks without links have not been published yet at the time of this writing but should be available soon on ted.com.