Today's Trending Digest

We're building an artificial intelligence-powered dystopia, one click at a time, says techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci. In an eye-opening talk, Tufekci explains how the same algorithms companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon use to get you to click on ads are also used to organize your access to political and social information.

Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, and even who goes to jail. Cathy O'Neil reveals how these models can encode human prejudice and affect political decisions.

Artificial intelligence is getting smarter by leaps and bounds -- within this century, research suggests, a computer AI could be as 'smart' as a human being. And then, says Nick Bostrom, it will overtake us: 'Machine intelligence is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make.'

Journalist Carole Cadwalladr investigates how data analytics and targeted ads on Facebook influenced the Brexit vote and the 2016 US election, highlighting the dangers of AI-driven misinformation in democratic processes.

Fake news can sway elections, tank economies and sow discord in everyday life. Data scientist Sinan Aral demystifies how and why it spreads so quickly -- citing one of the largest studies on misinformation -- and identifies five strategies to help us unweave the tangled web between true and false.

Researcher Renée DiResta reveals how online influence campaigns run by 'digital mercenaries' are undermining trust in institutions and sowing division -- and explains how social media platforms enable these operations. She proposes concrete ways to combat this threat and rebuild a more trustworthy information ecosystem.

What would you do if your job was to save the planet? When Christiana Figueres was tapped by the UN to lead the Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December 2015, she reacted the way many people would: she thought it would be impossible to bring the leaders of 195 countries into agreement on how to slow climate change. Find out how she turned 'impossible' into 'possible' -- and how you can, too.

In this brand-new slideshow (premiering on TED.com), Al Gore presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists recently predicted. He challenges us to act.

Climate change is unfair. While rich countries can fight against rising oceans and dying farm fields, poor people around the world are already having their lives upended -- and their human rights threatened -- by killer storms, starvation and the loss of their own lands. Mary Robinson asks us to join the movement for worldwide climate justice.