TED Talks for techies 
From: Computerworld - 09/25/2015

These inspiring, sometimes frightening presentations detail how technologies
from bionics to big data to machine learning will change our world for good
or ill - and sooner than you might think.

View the videos at:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2975866/emerging-technology/10-ted-talks-for-techies.html


#2 - Hugh Herr: New bionics let us run, climb, and dance (19:00)
Hugh Herr is a bionics designer at MIT who creates bionic extremities that
emulate the function of natural limbs. A double leg amputee, Herr designed
his own bionic legs -- the world's first bionic foot and calf system called
the BiOM.

Herr's inspirational and motivational talk depicts the innovative ways that
computer systems can be used in tandem with artificial limbs to create bionic
limbs that move and act like flesh and bone. "We want to close the loop
between the human and the bionic external limb," he says. The talk closes
with a moving performance by ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost
her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. She dances beautifully
wearing a bionic leg designed by Herr and his colleagues. 

Links:
Hugh Herr
https://www.media.mit.edu/people/hherr

BiOM
http://www.biom.com

Adrianne Haslet-Davis
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/04/28/marathon-survivor-adrianne-haslet-davis-dances-across-finish-line-prosthetic-leg/TfsmZp5bhU9P3OaMuHsNSI/story.html


#8 - Rana el Kaliouby: This app knows how you feel — from the look on your
  face (11:04)
Technology has been blamed for lessening social and emotional connections
among millennials, but what if it could sense emotion? In this talk, computer
scientist Rana el Kaliouby, cofounder and chief strategy & science officer of
Affectiva, outlines her work designing algorithms for an application used on
mobile phones, tablets and computers that can read people's faces and
recognize positive and negative emotions.

What good is that? el Kaliouby gives a few examples: Wearable glasses armed
with emotion-sensing software could help autistic children or the visually
impaired recognize particular emotions in others. A learning app could sense
that the learner is confused or bored, and slow down or speed up accordingly.
A car could sense a driver's fatigue and send an alert. "By humanizing
technology," el Kaliouby concludes, "we have this golden opportunity to
reimagine how we connect with machines, and therefore how we, as human
beings, connect with one another."

Links:
Rana el Kaliouby
https://www.ted.com/speakers/rana_el_kaliouby

Affectiva
http://www.affectiva.com