Sal Khan Will Become the Public Face of the TED Conference

The TED conference is changing hands, and education pioneer Sal Khan will be the new "vision steward" for the institution long headed by Chris Anderson. From a report: The move aims to ensure the future of the organization, while keeping it a not-for-profit entity. Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, will be the public face of TED, with Logan McClure Davda taking over as CEO.

Davda, who previously served as the organization's head of impact and was the co-founder of its fellows program, will run day-to-day operations. Khan remains CEO of Khan Academy while joining TED's board. Jay Herratti, who has served as CEO since 2021, will remain on TED's board. TED announced in February it was seeking new leadership and structure and put out an open call for proposals. The company held dozens of discussions, including some that would have transformed the organization into a for-profit venture. The organization's flagship conference is also headed for a big change, with 2026 being its last year in Vancouver, with plans to hold future events somewhere in California.

TED is lost

[RobinH]

If you really want to see how lost TED is, take a look at the story of Coleman Hughes who did a very reasonable and interesting TED talk [ted.com] and then they wouldn't publish it on their site due to bizarre ideological capture. Here's his story on the negotiation [youtube.com] he went through with TED to get them to actually put it on their site and not de-list it. Very strange stuff.

Re:

[kellin]

Wow. Total fud and easily debunkable. Its $2500 per seat, for the standard, and $5000 for donor.

Re:

[excelsior_gr]

That's not exactly cheap either. Just sayin'...

Getting rich off nonprofit salaries

[will4]

Lots of 1% getting wealthy off of nonprofit jobs at Ted Talks.

ProPublica nonprofit search https://projects.propublica.or... [propublica.org]

Ted Foundation, Inc. https://projects.propublica.or... [propublica.org]

Jay Herratti Paid By Ted Llc (Executive Director,) in 2023 made $646,000
Colin Helms Paid By Ted Llc (Head Of Media) in 2023 made $466,000
Rachell Morris Paid By Ted Llc (Head Of Hr) in 2023 made $420,200
Anna Verghese Paid By Ted Llc (Executive Director,) in 2023 made $411,000
Lindsay Levin Paid By Ted Llc (Head Of Impact & Par) in

Re: Getting rich off nonprofit salaries

[ToasterMonkey]

Whoa kid, it's a nonprofit, not a charity.

A nonprofit is just a business that spends profits on its mission, operations, salaries etc. If you don't like what reasonable compensation for executives looks like in the New York market, I don't know what to say... but they're absolutely not volunteers, and it's not a charity.

Re:TED is lost

[fropenn]

I despise most TED talks. From the self-congratulatory nature of most talks ("Look how smart and important I AM"), to the smarmy stories and half-baked jokes, to the exaggerated claims and stretching of the truth with no deep discussion or challenge to even the dumbest of ideas...and then add to that most speakers are either trying to sell a book or make a living on the professional speaker market...hard pass.

Re:

[alvinrod]

TED or TEDx? I haven't watched a TED talk in almost a decade, but even then it was apparent that there was a huge difference in quality between TED and TEDx. The latter was almost entirely midwits with an inflated sense of self-importance. The only one I ever saw that as worth watching was a comedian satirized and mocked the entire idea of and the sort of people who give TED talks [youtube.com] in his presentation.

Most of the proper TED (i.e., non-TEDx) talks I've seen were interesting if not also informative or enjo

Need a TedCAP (TM) for these

[will4]

Would really like a Ted talk recap which boils down the talk into a about 1,000 word list of the interesting points, subtracting out the vignettes, social topic poetics, my life story segments, and emotional extensional appeals.

A second truth in advertising rating for each topic along the lines of rating the promoting my book, my training course, my fee based consulting service, my startup company, my management style, ... is needed

Re:

[Local ID10T]

TED's dead. /confirmed

Re: TED is lost

[ToasterMonkey]

I'm sorry RobinH, you're saying TED has lost it because of some behind the scenes inside ball hand wringing over a controversial speaker and topic? THAT is how TED lost it? It's not all the shitty speakers like this guy...

This is just like conservatives complaining about being censored very loudly on all fucking channels constantly. In fact that's _exactly_ what this is. You point to a published TED talk and complain that people didn't like it. It's published. I'm reading/listening to it.

And... That guy is

Re:

[RobinH]

The point is that the speaker isn't controversial at all, and the fact-checking that TED did in advance confirmed this. A group within TED tried to silence his message simply because they disagreed with him, not because he said anything verifiably incorrect. As to the rest of your comment, it's so completely bonkers, you should put it in a TED talk. Please come back to reality.

What has happened to Slashdot?

[93 Escort Wagon]

I mean, come on. Where's

KKAAAAHHHHNNNNNNN!!!!!

Hurrah! Huzzah! TED needs new leadership!

[Felix Baum]

I participated in the TED AI Hackathon in SF, and it seems like the conference has become pay-to-play rather than being powered by the visions of the future, tech, design, and ideas that we all fell in love with. WELCOME ABOARD, Sal Khan!

Re:

[nonsenseponsense]

? It has literally always been pay-to-play. It has always been about allowing the ultra-wealthy access to cultural and scientific "elites". It has mostly functioned as a branding exercise for its attendees. See, poster child Elon Musk.

passe

[groobly]

Sorry, TED is passe. Very 90s, as they say.