What will a TED talk look like in 2023? [Video]

“Ideas worth spreading”. That’s the motto of the TED conferences. But what kind of ideas will be worth spreading in 2023, for instance?

Ridley Scott offers a hint of what might on offer in a promotional video for his new film Prometheus. The film is intended as a prequel to his 1979 hit Alien. The plot reportedly follows the crew of the spaceship Prometheus in the year 2085, as they explore an advanced alien civilisation in search of the origins of humanity.

TED partnered with Scott for the promotional video, even providing a biography for Guy Pearce’s character Peter Weyland:

Peter Weyland has been a magnet for controversy since he announced his intent to build the first convincingly humanoid robotic system by the end of the decade.
Whether challenging the ethical boundaries of medicine with nanotechnology or going toe to toe with the Vatican itself on the issue of gene-therapy sterilization, Sir Peter prides himself on his motto, “If we can, we must.” After a three-year media blackout, Weyland has finally emerged to reveal where he’s heading next. Wherever that may be, we will most certainly want to follow.

The film counts the likes of Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green and Charlize Theron among its stars.

In an interview with MTV, Scott said the ideas tackled in Prometheus “are unique, large and provocative”.