Technophilia, AI, and space elevators: A love letter to the future | Jared Ficklin | TEDxKC

In this wildly original, funny talk, Jared Ficklin uses AI-generated Burning Man photos, a cosmic origin story, and a case for space elevators to make the argument for "technophilia" — a philosophy where technology amplifies humanity instead of replacing it, guided by love and intellect rather than raw capability. It's a vision for how we might finally take on humanity's largest, most intractable problems.

Jared is a Frog Design Fellow & former founding partner of argodesign. He believes experience is key to design and has spent more than two decades finding value for the user in innovative technology and bringing solutions to large organizations. He is currently the Chief Product & Design Officer for the Collaborative Intelligence startup SynthBee.

He is also a futurist and an interactive artist creating or participating in large-scale social experiments from SXSW to Burning Man with a focus on the intersection of humanity and technology. He spoke at TED. He is a maker. He is the co-director of the Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee. He was once a cowboy in 1867. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx