Theme: The Brave and the Brilliant

Meet some of the speakers for TED2024, with many more on the way. Listed in alphabetical order, they represent everything from the dazzling cutting edge of AI to boundless creativity.

Vinschool Smart City
2P3Q+MJG, Tây Mỗ, Từ Liêm, Hà Nội, Việt Nam
2P3Q+MJG, Tây Mỗ, Từ Liêm, Hà Nội, Việt Nam
Ha Noi, Ha Noi, 00000
Vietnam

ANIMA ANANDKUMAR

Professor, AI and science innovator

Caltech professor Anima Anandkumar has done pioneering work on AI algorithms that have revolutionized weather forecasting, drug discovery, scientific simulations and more — towards the goal of building AI that has universal physical understanding. She developed the first AI-based high-resolution weather model that can actually compete against current standards, and the neural operators she invented extend deep learning to help create machines that can model multi-scale processes. A widely recognized researcher, she previously held senior roles at Amazon Web Services and NVIDIA.

AZIZ ABU SARAH

Peacemaker, entrepreneur

Aziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian author, peacemaker and entrepreneur with a background in conflict resolution and tourism development. To date, he has implemented transformative education and peace initiatives across more than 65 countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, Israel and Palestine. His journey from seeking revenge for his brother's death at the hands of Israeli soldiers to becoming a peacemaker underscores a decades-long mission to foster cross-cultural understanding. The cofounder of InterAct International and MEJDI Tours and former executive director at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, Abu Sarah has pioneered innovative approaches to tourism and education that promote empathy, sustainability and bridge-building between communities. He is a TED Fellow. At TED2024, he will be speaking alongside Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon.

Bill Ackman

Founder and CEO, Pershing Square Capital Management

Bill Ackman is founder and CEO of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management and a storied activist investor. He is the chairman of Howard Hughes Holdings, a real estate development and management company based in Texas, and a member of the board of Universal Music Group. He is also the co-trustee of The Pershing Square Foundation, a family foundation supporting those tackling important social issues worldwide. At TED2024, Ackman will be interviewed by business professor Alison Taylor.

JIMMY CHIN

Filmmaker, photographer, climber

As an athlete, Jimmy Chin has notched historic climbing and ski mountaineering achievements, including the first ski descent from the summit of Mount Everest by an American and the first climb of the notorious Shark’s Fin, a granite wall on India’s Meru mountain range. As a storyteller and artist, he has photographed expeditions for National Geographic and partnered with some of the greatest explorers of his generation. Together with his wife, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Chin directed the Academy Award-winning film Free Solo. Most recently, the pair worked on their first scripted feature, about Diana Nyad’s swim from Cuba to Florida, starring Jodie Foster and Annette Bening.

KELLY CORRIGAN

Writer, podcaster

As curious as she is funny, Kelly Corrigan has written four New York Times-bestselling books about her life and family in the last decade, including Tell Me More and Glitter and Glue. She brings that same spirit to her podcast, Kelly Corrigan Wonders — where she talks to people who “know things worth knowing” — and her PBS interview series Tell Me More.

MILLIE CHU BAIRD

Environmental advocate

Vice president in the Environmental Defense Fund’s Office of the Chief Scientist, Millie Chu Baird spearheads science- and technology-driven initiatives aimed at addressing global environmental challenges. She has led collaborations that involve universities, tech companies and community organizations to innovate solutions for air pollution and methane emissions, including using Google Street View cars to track underground methane leaks. She is currently focused on MethaneSAT, the world’s most sophisticated methane-tracking satellite, which will enable unprecedented global monitoring of methane emissions.

RUMMAN CHOWDHURY

CEO and cofounder, Humane Intelligence

Rumman Chowdhury helps develop transparent AI systems that embed humanism in their core algorithms. In addition to her work at Humane Intelligence, a nonprofit focused on the safety and ethics of developing generative AI, Chowdhury is the head of the AI consulting firm Parity Consulting and a Responsible AI Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard. She has advised the UK House of Lords Parliamentary Group on AI and was named in TIME's "100 Most Influential People in AI" list in 2023.

RUPAUL CHARLES

Emmy-winning drag icon

Artist, producer and author RuPaul Charles is a drag icon who oversees one of the world’s largest television franchises, RuPaul’s Drag Race. In addition to holding the Guinness World Record for most Emmy wins (as outstanding host for a Reality/Competition program), he's also won multiple Billboard and Tony Awards. Following his 1993 breakout song, "Supermodel (You Better Work),” Charles has written and recorded 18 studio albums and has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows. He has published four books including his memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings, which was published in 2024.