We can build the future we want

Everything in our lives are made of building blocks.

From the smallest atoms and molecules invisible to the human eye, to the bricks and cement that construct our buildings.

From the tiniest structure of our neocortex, to the many inventions that we have brought to life.

We live in a world surrounded by man-made creations, so what makes us think that we are not capable of building a future that we want?

We live in a world of possibilities. Take a second to think about it. The world that we live in are filled with inventions that were once thought to be impossible: 3D printing a house, visiting Louvre Museum from home via a virtual tour, sharing your idea with the potential to reach tens and thousands of others within seconds, having your personal digital assistant to keep you on schedule, building websites and apps by writing codes — which of these are not once a concept or idea that reside in the brain of some amazingly talented being?

We experienced exponential change with the introduction of the Internet. We are entering a time of unprecedented change in technology and the way we live and work. For the first time in the recent history, people and I mean people at the bottom of the hierarchy — the mass, are more empowered than ever.

Thanks to the internet, an underdog will have a greater chance to flip his or her life for the better. There are now tons of platforms that will help a talented being to be discovered: from the early days of Blogger, YouTube and Twitter, to Instagram, Kickstarter and Medium. We have come to a time where, if we have the skills (and the will to succeed) there is a platform that is readily available for us to showcase our capabilities. Similarly, if we are highly motivated and have the will to succeed, there are a number of options that enable us to enhance and acquire new skills.

I believe that the few who have succeeded, are the ones who gave themselves a chance by taking an additional step forward when most people won’t. They are the ones who go to places where most people won’t. More importantly, while they are at it, they give it their best shot.

When we march into uncharted territories (environment and experiences that are new to us), even if we failed, it is still an accomplishment in itself for we challenged ourselves to step away from comfort zones. We are opening up doors to new possibilities when we make a conscious choice to challenge ourselves.

TedxKL 2014, The Open Future

Everyone has a story to tell. Behind every faces, there is a great story waiting to be discovered. And each story, has the potential to inspire and change our lives forever.

TedxKL, an independently organised TED event, is one such platform that presents impactful stories and ideas to inspire change.

Held at Calvary Convention Centre, the highlight for TedxKL 2014 “The Open Future” was the distinctive stories the 18 presenters from various professional backgrounds and interests brought to stage.

“How to Read” by Umapagan Ampikaipakan

A personality that is no stranger to print, digital, radio and TV (and no doubt very well read), Umapagan shared his view on how to read.

In the increasingly connected world, as the algorithm gets better at understanding what our likes and dislikes are, we are getting more personalised content curated by machines.

For instance, once a purchase is made on Amazon, you’ll likely be recommended to check out another book that you may find interesting. When you are reading online, content marketing tools will promote paid content to you. When you are on Spotify, you’ll be recommended rock music because your personal playlist mainly consists of songs from the genre.

In such ecosystem where we are constantly being fed with self-curated content, Umapagan argued that we will gradually lose our sense of curiosity.

In the following clip, Umapagan summed it up of why he thinks we should actively consume content rather than settling for curated content.

“Robots, Emotions and Empathy” by Dr Angelica Lim

A future where evil robots take charge and held human as captive is a future that many do not wish to materialise.

For Dr Angelica Lim, she is hopeful that a future with robots is a beautiful one: robots can be smart and fun. Angelica is a computer scientist and researcher specialising in artificial intelligence, robotics and emotion. Her latest work involves programming robots to have human-like emotion and empathy, a new breed of robot emotion system developed based on the knowledge of human infant development.

In the video that follows, she explains the biggest challenge in developing artificial intelligence and to elaborate on what she meant by building robots that has the ability to emphatise.

“Higher Education: The Next Frontier” by Kenn Ross

Minerva School is set to change how we perceive education.

According to Kenn Ross, there is a need to reimagine education model of higher education to ensure bright students to achieve their full potential.

The following video encapsulates the key areas that differentiate Minerva School’s education model from existing school systems.

“A Journey to Space” by Fabien Bouhier

Some of us look at the starry sky wondering what lies beyond the outer space. Some would spend considerable hours studying books written by Stephen Hawking to hopefully uncover the mysteries of the universe. And then some would debate about the existence of multi-verse.

For Fabien Bouhier, quantum physics fascinates him extensively. With a passion for science, Fabien built a social platform starnstuff.com to share his learnings with like-minded people.

A social media expert and quantum physics enthusiast, in the video that follows he shares his love for science and why he feels that the Internet offers an immense opportunity to achieve one’s dream, if we choose to go where our passion lies.