Artificial intelligence (AI) has the power to transform many aspects of our lives. In recent years we’ve seen AI make the seemingly impossible possible, with the introduction of everything from self-driving cars to life-saving medical technology. And interest in the potential of AI has entered the public consciousness too, as increasing numbers of people begin to take note of what might be on the horizon.
TED Talks are known for providing cutting edge perspectives on topical issues, and AI has featured prominently in their catalogue. Some of the most popular AI Ted Talks have attracted millions of views from around the world.
We looked at which AI TED talks have been viewed by the largest audiences and what their key arguments were, so as to get a sense of the debate surrounding this transformative technology. Using data provided by the conference company, this is what we found:
The 25 most watched AI TED Talks
- Maurice Conti: The incredible inventions of intuitive AI: 7.4M
- Sam Harris: Can we build AI without losing control over it?: 6.1M
- Kai-Fu Lee: How AI can save our humanity: 4.1M
- Janelle Shane: The danger of AI is weirder than you think: 3.3M
- Grady Booch: Don’t fear superintelligent AI: 2.9M
- Kriti Sharma: How to keep human bias out of AI: 2.3M (2,390,625)
- Imran Chaudhri: The disappearing computer — and a world where you can take AI everywhere: 2.3M (2,388,884)
- Sylvain Duranton: How humans and AI can work together to create better businesses: 2.3M (2,387,236)
- Tom Gruber: How AI can enhance our memory, work and social lives: 2.2M
- Sal Khan: How AI could save (not destroy) education: 2.1M (2,199,410)
- Andrew Ng: How AI could empower any business: 2.1M (2,199,120)
- Rosalind Picard: An AI smartwatch that detects seizures: 2M (2,039,835)
- Lucy Farey-Jones: A fascinating time capsule of human feelings toward AI: 2M (2,016,795)
- Leila Pirhaji: The medical potential of AI and metabolites: 1.9M (1,981,073)
- Jim Collins: How we’re using AI to discover new antibiotics: 1.9M (1,980,282)
- Genevieve Bell: 6 big ethical questions about the future of AI: 1.9M (1,967,491)
- Jeff Dean: AI isn’t as smart as you think — but it could be: 1.9M (1,933,846)
- Kevin Kelly: How AI can bring on a second Industrial Revolution: 1.8M
- Shervin Khodabandeh: Why people and AI make good business partners: 1.7M
- Pratik Shah: How AI is making it easier to diagnose disease: 1.6M (1,698,337)
- Sebastian Thrun and host Chris Anderson: What AI is — and isn’t: 1.6M (1,693,104)
- Pierre Barreau: How AI could compose a personalised soundtrack to your life: 1.5M (1,595,173)
- Stuart Russell: 3 principles for creating safer AI: 1.5M (1,574,870)
- Yejin Choi: Why AI is incredibly smart and shockingly stupid: 1.5M (1,574,828)
- Max Tegmark: How to get empowered, not overpowered, by AI: 1.5M (1,525,526)
More About Our Top 10 AI TED Talks
The most watched AI TED Talk, with 7.4 million views, is Maurice Conti’s discussion of what happens when you give a design tool a digital nervous system. ‘The incredible inventions of intuitive AI‘ takes viewers on an intriguing tour of the Augmented Age.
In second place is a TED Talk by neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris, which considers whether we should fear superintelligent AI. ‘Can we build AI without losing control over it?’ has been viewed by 6.1 million people and counting.
A visionary TED Talk by Kai-Fu Lee entitled ‘How AI can save our humanity’ has been seen by 4.1 million viewers, putting it in third place. The talk focuses on how the US and China are driving a deep learning revolution using AI.
Over 3.3 million people have viewed Janelle Shane’s TED Talk, ‘The danger of AI is weirder than you think’. This fascinating talk discusses some of the more alarming antics of AI algorithms as they’re tasked with solving distinctly human issues.
Anxiety is common around new technology, but scientist and philosopher Grady Booch doesn’t think we should fear AI. His talk, ‘Don’t fear superintelligent AI’ has been seen by 2.9 million viewers.
With 2.3 million views, Sylvain Duranton’s TED Talk focuses on the paradox that businesses face as they begin to introduce AI technology. Watch ‘How humans and AI can work together to create better businesses’ for an in-depth discussion of the topic.
Ethics are the focus of Kriti Sharma’s AI TED Talk, ‘How to keep human bias out of AI’, which has been seen by 2.3 million people. Sharma discusses what happens when human biases are coded into AI, shining a light on how the lack of diversity in tech is affecting development, and what this could mean for AI technology in the future.
Imran Chaudhri’s talk on AI has been viewed by 2.3 million. In ‘The disappearing computer — and a world where you can take AI everywhere’, the former Apple designer and Humane cofounder looks to the future to discuss what might be next for AI, before giving a sneak peek at some of his company’s latest designs.
Another vision for the future is shared by Tom Gruber, co-creator of Siri. Gruber’s speech, ‘How AI can enhance our memory, work and social lives’ talks about realising our potential with AI. Gruber shares his vision for a future where AI helps humans achieve things we’ve never before thought possible. It has already been viewed 2.2 million times.
Sal Khan’s positive take on AI in education has been seen by 2.1 million viewers. The founder and CEO of Khan Academy discusses the potential AI has in education in ‘How AI could save (not destroy) education’. A central theme of the talk is the transformative nature of AI. Khan discusses the opportunities of AI in education, such as the possibility of AI teaching assistants and personal AI tutors for every student.
AI Speakers from VBQ
Here at VBQ, we’re able to offer the highest calibre of AI speaker for your event. Here is a small selection from our network:
Nick Bostrom is an Oxford-based philosopher and author of the seminal book on AI, Superintelligence.
Tom Chatfield is a tech philosopher offering fascinating insights on how AI could impact what it means to be human.
Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur and AI expert who specialises in using technology to help maximise human potential.
Kathryn Parsons is a pioneering entrepreneur in the space of digital skills. Currently based in Silicon Valley, she is focusing on all things AI and the implications for the global workforce.
Cat Posey is an innovator and entrepreneur with an impressive track record in both the public and private sectors. She speaks passionately on how we can build a world in which AI and machine learning work for the good of everyone.
Harper Reed is a hacker and engineer with a global reputation for building paradigm-shifting tech. He is an expert on the latest developments in AI.
Robert Riener is a pioneering roboticist, AI expert and founder of the Cybathlon.
Dan Sodergren is a futurist and broadcaster specialising in how AI is re-shaping the world of work.
Max Tegmark is a professor at MIT and author of the global bestseller, Life 3.0: Being Human In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence. He gave talk number 25 on the list.
Methodology
The most popular videos were found by analysing all the videos on the TEDTalk website that included the following tags: ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘AI’. All findings were then ranked accordingly based on the number of views.
The video views were correct as of August 2023.