Kat Haber/Courtesy image
On Sunday, April 28, a group gathered at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards for the 2024 TEDxVailLive event.
Attendees watched speeches from 11 experts about artificial intelligence, or AI, and the different areas, present and future, in which it exists or is heading. TEDxVail organizer Kat Haber curated the talks from the 2024 TED conference that took place in Vancouver from April 14-19, with a theme of “The Brave and The Brilliant.”
“I have a whole week of talks, but I have chosen the ones that I think will be the most interesting, entertaining and relevant to you in our community,” Haber said.
Speakers shown during the TEDxVailLive screening were roboticists, researchers, artists, photographers and more. Topics ranged from teaching robots to dance and creating universes using artificial intelligence-crafted art, to a new form of technology that minimizes screen use and the making of U2’s virtual concert décor at the Sphere.
Attendees were encouraged to converse, amongst themselves and in front of the group, about their reactions to the videos.
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“Feel free to be brave and brilliant, which is the theme of this year’s (TED) event,” Haber said.
A unique feature of this year’s event was its focus on artificial intelligence. “I’ve done TEDxVailLive before, but never with a singular focus on AI, as this one has had,” she said.
The decision to focus on artificial intelligence was twofold. AI was mentioned 330 times throughout the week of events at the TED conference this year, Haber said, and it is clearly a topic at the forefront of the minds of many.
“I just felt like AI was something that I’ve heard a lot of people (are) curious about,” Haber said. “These talks were very future-focused, and I think it’s good to think about: What is the future that we’re headed toward?” she said.
“A lot of people have fear about AI, think that it’s going to bring the end of the world, and so I felt like it would be good to also understand what the benefits (are),” Haber said.
How TED came to Vail
Haber first learned about TED in 2009. That year, she brought 150 teens and young professionals to the ninth World Wilderness Congress in Merida, Mexico. One of her teammates suggested they take an approach similar to TED.
“I said, ‘what’s TED? Who is TED?’” Haber said. “So I signed up and attended TEDActive in Palm Springs, and found it to be such an engaging, amazing experience,” she said.
“And then a month after I attended that event in Palm Springs, they sent us kind of a cryptic email, and before I’d even finished reading the paragraph that was offering us to try to organize this sort of thing in our own community, I’d already responded, ‘yes,’” Haber said.
Since then, Haber said, she has produced around 400 TEDx talks, coaching many, and has hosted dozens of events through TEDxVail, capitalizing on every opportunity offered by TED.
The TEDxVail events change every year depending on what TED provides access to, and have included TEDxVailYouth, and TEDxVailWomen, among several other programs.
TEDxVailYouth is organized by young people, for young people, who serve as the speakers, come up with the ideas, and are coached throughout most of the school year in preparation for the event. The 2024 TEDxVailYouth took place earlier this month.
This year, for the first time, TEDxVailYouth students were asked to use artificial intelligence to generate a first draft based on the big idea they developed for their TED talk.
Preparing for this year’s event
To prepare for this year’s TEDxVailLive screening, Haber watched all of the 2024 TED conference talks during the event itself. Then she selected those she thought would be most important to those in Eagle County, for an early viewing that simulated attending the TED conference itself.
“None of these (TED talks) have been released yet, so our community is getting them hot off the press. None of these talks have been edited, they’re not online,” Haber said.
TED is a very expensive event to attend, Haber explained, with some tickets costing $12,500. The TEDxVail screening included the equivalent of three out of 11 sessions, Haber explained. Haber said she tries to make the events accessible, charging a small amount of money to ensure people show up.
During the TEDxVail event, Haber shared some of the insights gained from her 15 years of experience working with TED.
In July 2023, Haber was one of 15 TEDx organizers invited to attend the TED Countdown Summit, a four-day conference in Detroit focused on solutions for building a better future. Haber said she sat next to Al Gore throughout the conference.
“It was so powerful. Really, the world’s most practical, already-proven solutions were presented,” Haber said.
“The caliber of speakers was just really profound,” Haber said. “The art, the science, the innovations, the practical solutions just gave me so much hope that we’re on the right track, we’re getting there. Will we get there in time? I don’t know, but I’m doing everything I can with the resources of TEDxVail to bring that here to our community,” Haber said.
The next TEDxVail event is TEDxVailWomen, which will take place virtually on Oct. 6.