Samiksha Mandava reveals the significant environmental impact of artificial intelligence. AI operations demand billions of gallons of water for data center cooling and generate carbon emissions

Samiksha Mandava reveals the significant environmental impact of artificial intelligence. AI operations demand billions of gallons of water for data center cooling and generate carbon emissions comparable to New York City. This staggering toll on the planet is often underestimated.

Mandava argues that individual choices, such as opting for greener AI alternatives, can collectively drive meaningful change. This critical discussion was presented at a TEDx event. Learn more about TEDx here.

Data centers are significant energy consumers. By designing them for flexibility, their power demand can align with the availability of clean energy on the grid. Non-urgent computing tasks can be

Data centers are significant energy consumers. By designing them for flexibility, their power demand can align with the availability of clean energy on the grid. Non-urgent computing tasks can be paused or accelerated, allowing data centers to slow down when renewables are scarce and speed up when abundant, transforming them into valuable grid assets.

Professor Ayse Coskun, Chief Scientist at Emerald AI and a Boston University professor, is a leader in this emerging field of flexible, grid-aware computing. Her research applies AI and machine learning to optimize cloud systems, making this innovative approach a real-world solution.

This talk was given at a TEDx event. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

Data centers are resource-intensive, requiring smart design and operation for efficiency. Our digital infrastructure must "work smarter, not harder." Simple changes, like refining AI prompts or

Data centers are resource-intensive, requiring smart design and operation for efficiency. Our digital infrastructure must "work smarter, not harder." Simple changes, like refining AI prompts or choosing sustainable locations, significantly reduce environmental impact. For example, a video generation request produces five times more carbon than a text query, and prompt optimization can halve resource demand.

PhD researcher Yankai (Luke) Jiang specializes in sustainable data center design, focusing on carbon and water tradeoffs in AI computing. His innovations, Water-Wise and Eco-Life, optimize workload scheduling and combine hardware to reduce sustainability costs. This research was presented at a TEDx event. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

Most purchases become waste within a year, an economic reality Tom Szaky terms "negative demand." He asserts this is fixable, as everything is recoverable if economics support the effort. Though

Most purchases become waste within a year, an economic reality Tom Szaky terms "negative demand." He asserts this is fixable, as everything is recoverable if economics support the effort. Though convenience led us to abandon reuse, modern systems globally prove large-scale reuse is achievable across many product categories.

Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, pioneered recycling for challenging items like cigarette butts and diapers. He also launched Loop, a platform for products in durable, reusable packaging from major brands. An author recognized by global organizations, his insights were shared at a TEDx event. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

This talk explores how Indonesia's frequent disasters reveal a critical gap: not in technology, but between awareness and action. Despite advanced tools for detection and risk analysis,

This talk explores how Indonesia's frequent disasters reveal a critical gap: not in technology, but between awareness and action. Despite advanced tools for detection and risk analysis, devastating losses persist. It argues that the most powerful technology lies not in artificial intelligence, but in the human conscience.

Through the Human–Technology–Nature triangle, the discussion emphasizes how education can empower the next generation to view technology as a responsibility shaped by empathy and courage. The speaker, a Gen Z ICT teacher and creative content creator, offers a fresh, relevant perspective on global issues and emerging trends.

This talk was given at an independently organized TEDx event. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx.

Judges increasingly use AI tools for critical decisions, from sentencing to risk assessment, fundamentally changing justice delivery. Public confidence in the fairness and legitimacy of

Judges increasingly use AI tools for critical decisions, from sentencing to risk assessment, fundamentally changing justice delivery. Public confidence in the fairness and legitimacy of AI-assisted court processes is paramount. Dr. Brian Barry's TEDx talk proposes a roadmap: just as judges follow conduct principles, AI tools must follow good design principles.

This roadmap involves three milestones: defining AI principles, translating them into technical guardrails, and rigorously testing for trust and procedural fairness before deployment. This ensures AI adoption enhances, rather than undermines, judicial legitimacy. Dr. Barry, an Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin, leads research on how AI design impacts trust in judicial processes, including his €2 million JUDGEASSIST project.

Dr. Jamie Sommer, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of South Florida, investigates what truly moves the needle in climate change activism. Her oral history research project,

Dr. Jamie Sommer, an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of South Florida, investigates what truly moves the needle in climate change activism. Her oral history research project, featuring female leaders globally, uncovers surprising findings about effective climate action.

Sommer's broader work examines how institutions and systems, including capitalism and patriarchy, shape global environmental inequality, often benefiting powerful groups. She also studies climate resilience and trauma through oral histories with communities facing extreme weather events in India and Guatemala, collaborating with the Climate Knowledge Collective.

This talk was given at a TEDx event. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx.

Each year, 500 billion petroleum-based cups are used for minutes then discarded, a problem too vast for recycling alone. The solution lies in durable reuse infrastructure: standardized, returnable

Each year, 500 billion petroleum-based cups are used for minutes then discarded, a problem too vast for recycling alone. The solution lies in durable reuse infrastructure: standardized, returnable packaging systems that treat containers as valuable assets, not waste. Such systems already thrive in countries like Colombia and France.

A global coalition, including concert venues, multinationals, and governments, is actively building standards and financing to scale these reuse systems worldwide. Amy Larkin, co-founder of PR3: Global Alliance to Advance Reuse, leads this effort. Her organization has united over 80 leaders to establish global reuse industry standards, championing reuse over recycling as the foundation for a sustainable packaging economy. This talk was given at a TEDx event. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

Billions of pounds of plastic packaging pollute our oceans annually. Seaweed offers a sustainable solution. Researchers are unlocking its potential as a scalable packaging material, growing

Billions of pounds of plastic packaging pollute our oceans annually. Seaweed offers a sustainable solution. Researchers are unlocking its potential as a scalable packaging material, growing without fresh water, fertilizer, or soil, and returning nutrients. Farmed globally, its expansion could create 100 million jobs.

Julia Marsh, CEO of Sway, leads this innovation. Sway's seaweed-based films perform like plastic, use existing infrastructure, and fully compost. Marsh champions ocean health and regenerative materials, proving nature's solution to plastic.

This talk was given at a TEDx event. Learn more at ted.com/tedx.

Artificial Intelligence is our present reality. In this talk, Prof. Amod Bhat explores how AI is transforming life, work, and thought. He unpacks its rapid evolution, stressing our need for

Artificial Intelligence is our present reality. In this talk, Prof. Amod Bhat explores how AI is transforming life, work, and thought. He unpacks its rapid evolution, stressing our need for adaptation, responsibility, and societal choices as the future becomes deeply intertwined with AI.

Are we ready for the future we are creating? Prof. Bhat offers a forward-looking vision for human-AI coexistence and collaboration. An educator and global advocate, his expertise from IIM Ahmedabad and Harvard informs discussions on responsible AI integration in education, reimagining classrooms as adaptive ecosystems. This TEDx talk invites rethinking resilience in education. Learn more here.