AI is shaping every aspect of our lives — but only a handful of tech giants have a say in what this technology can do. So what's going on with world governments? Bilawal Sidhu, host of "The TED AI Show," sits down with geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer to unpack the UN's just-released plan for "Governing AI for Humanity," a report that focuses on the urgent need to guide AI towards helping everyone thrive, rather than just the powerful few. Together, they explore the complexities of AI's rapid growth on a worldwide scale and take a clear-eyed look at the pivotal decisions facing us in the very near future.

We're stuck in a bad news bubble, says Angus Hervey, founder of Fix the News, an independent publication that reports stories of global progress. He shares some of the compelling stories too often left out of our daily news — from a decline in AIDS deaths to decreased deforestation in the Amazon to more effective school feeding programs and greater acceptance of LGBTQ people in many countries. (This conversation with TED's Whitney Pennington Rodgers was recorded on September 5, 2024.)

"Memories are the architects of our identity," says technologist Pau Aleikum Garcia, but they're not permanent. Photos can be lost amid political unrest or natural disaster, while illnesses like Alzhemier's can rob people of their past. He puts forward a novel solution — "synthetic memories," or dreamlike visualizations of long-gone moments created through generative AI — and explores how it could reconnect families or even enhance cognitive abilities.

Can strawberries grown inside a building taste sweeter than those grown in a field? Farming entrepreneur Hiroki Koga explores how his team is combining solar-powered vertical farms with AI, robotics and indoor bee colonies to grow delicious strawberries year-round — and how this practice, if widely adopted, could deliver a harvest of benefits for the future of food.

There's a simple way to increase your cat's happiness, says animal behaviorist Nicky Trevorrow. She explains the importance of play for our feline friends — and for basically any species (looking at you, dog lovers!) — and shares specific, actionable strategies to boost your cat's mental and physical health.

We can blame capitalism for worsening the climate crisis, says journalist Akshat Rathi, but we can also use it to create the solutions we need for the mess we're in. He details how “climate capitalism” — the strategic use of market forces and government policies to make polluting the planet cost more than advancing climate solutions — can flip the script and actually make sustainability profitable.

What does food mean to you, your community and our planet? With ​​personal accounts from the kitchen to the operating room, chef and content creator Jon Kung and cardiologist Uma Valeti unpack how food cultivates creativity and offers opportunities to connect with and blend cultures. Exploring Valeti’s experiences developing a healthier meat alternative, they discuss what it takes to overcome the impossible — whether that’s saving a patient’s life or transforming ideas around traditional foods — and how we can all make steps towards more sustainable cooking.

The first step to saving nature is the rewilding of our own minds, says conservationist and former Patagonia CEO Kristine McDivitt Tompkins. With an unwavering commitment to protecting ecosystems, she and her late husband Douglas Tompkins created vast conservation parks across South America that allowed ancient flora and fauna to flourish once again. Now, she's carrying that legacy and mission forward with a bold plan to connect parks across geographic boundaries, creating a system of continental-scale wildlife corridors — before it's too late.

Animal behavior expert Philip Johns introduces us to the vibrant urban environments of Singapore, where city dwellers and skyscrapers coexist with a rich array of other species, including otters, hornbills and lizards — prompting the question: Can we design cities to be wildlife refuges?

What if AI could bring the past to life? Cartoonist Amy Kurzweil shares how she helped train an AI chatbot on her late grandfather’s archives, allowing her to connect with a family member she never met — and discover family history she never knew. Backed by her own original drawings, she reveals the profound impact art and AI can have in keeping memories alive.