TED2025 Provides Fresh Insights on the Future of the SDGs

Ten Data-Driven Lessons for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

As usual, TED2025 convened a diverse array of thinkers — from conservation biologists to AI pioneers — to grapple with understanding the world we live in. In a year marked by unprecedented technological breakthroughs, it was a chance to assess the future of our planet and find our place in it.

With a keen eye on how these changes will impact the international development community, our team utilized our virtual access and paid attention to all eleven sessions, identifying ways the speakers demonstrated how data-driven tools and emerging technologies can accelerate — or derail — progress toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From advancements in food stability to AI-powered geospatial tools, there is a lot to be excited about.

These talks offer more than inspiration; they provide concrete use cases and cautionary lessons that reveal where to invest effort, forge partnerships and design governance frameworks.

Below are ten insights that map TED2025’s most actionable ideas onto specific SDG pathways:

1. AI and bioacoustic research can help monitor environmental targets
2. Real-Time Planetary Dashboards Empower Sustainable Cities Planning
3. AI-Designed Biology Will Transform Health and Agriculture
4. Edible Coatings Slash Post-Harvest Waste
5. Lifestyle Medicine Reverses Chronic Disease
6. Inclusive Finance Unlocks Refugee Potential
7. Manufacturing Must Lead the Climate Charge
8. Protecting Communities in Digital Infrastructure Debates
9. Strengthening Discourse as a Peacebuilding Tool
10. Global AI Governance Must Keep Pace with Innovation

At the time of writing, these talks are only available through TED Live (paid content). We expect they will be made widely available in the coming months, but we found the content worth the price.

TED2025

1. AI and bioacoustic research can help monitor environmental targets

“We’ve found five functions for different types of howls, including one used in the context of distress.”
— Jeffrey T. Reed, Session 2: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

Linguist-turned-bioacoustician Jeffrey T. Reed revealed how machine-learning can decode the “grammar” of wolf vocalizations — distinguishing mating calls, territory howls and distress signals. Integrating machine-learning analyses of species’ “languages” with remote-sensing data could revolutionize our ability to detect ecosystem distress before it appears in traditional biodiversity surveys.

Implications for SDG 15 (Life on Land):

• Real-time monitoring: Continuous acoustic sensors feed AI models that flag spikes in distress howls, potentially signaling poaching, disease or habitat disruption before visible damage occurs.
• Integrated alerts: Fusing bioacoustic outputs with satellite imagery (see “living globe” discussion next) enables combined dashboards that alert conservation teams to illegal logging or human-wildlife conflict hotspots.
• Proactive stewardship: Automated thresholds can trigger targeted patrols or remediation efforts — shifting from reactive field deployments to anticipatory interventions.

2. Real-Time Planetary Dashboards Empower Sustainable Cities Planning

“This ‘living globe’ is not just a mirror of our planet; it’s a canvas to build a better future.”
— Peter Wilczynski, Session 3: “I, Robot”

Peter Wilczynski, technical product leader, unveiled Maxar’s Living Globe — a dynamic “digital twin” of Earth that layers real-time satellite imagery, AI-driven change-detection and urban analytics. Unlike traditional static maps, this platform continuously ingests new data — flood extents, heat-island intensity, air-quality readings — and fuses them with socioeconomic metrics such as population density or income levels. We were pleased to see how geospatial data can improve the world take the stage as it is a technology we are convinced has immense potential to realizing the SDGs.

Implications for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities):

• Interactive accountability: Municipal governments can publish live dashboards, enabling residents and NGOs to explore neighborhood-level indicators on green-space access, transit equity or disaster risk.
• Data-driven planning: Urban planners can run “what-if” scenarios — testing the impact of tree-planting schemes on heat-island reduction or modeling flood-mitigation investments in high-risk wards.
• Community engagement: By democratizing access to hyperlocal data, citizens can advocate for precise interventions — whether a new storm-water basin or bus route — grounded in transparent evidence.

3. AI-Designed Biology Will Transform Health and Agriculture

“AI will be able to generate new life as this technology improves… Biology will shift from discovery to design.”
— Eric Nguyen, Session 6: “Wild at Heart”

Stanford computer scientist Eric Nguyen demonstrated Evo and HyenaDNA, foundation models that read and write long DNA sequences with human-level fluency. Instead of waiting for nature to reveal therapeutic or agricultural candidates, researchers can now ask AI to design custom enzymes that break down persistent pollutants or engineer microbial consortia that boost crop nutrition and resilience. This “design first” paradigm could compress vaccine development from years to weeks, tailor probiotic treatments to individual microbiomes and create biodegradable plastics on demand.

Implications for SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger):

• Precision therapeutics: AI-generated gene editors and synthetic proteins accelerate development of targeted treatments, reducing time-to-clinic for rare diseases.
• Resilient agriculture: Designer microbes can improve soil health, increase drought tolerance and enhance nutritional profiles in staple crops, directly addressing hunger and malnutrition.
• Governance by design: As biology transitions to an engineering discipline, biosafety protocols, data-sharing agreements and ethical review boards must evolve — public-private consortia can convene to pilot transparent safety frameworks that scale alongside these breakthroughs.

4. Edible Coatings Slash Post-Harvest Waste

“You’re losing a third of everything you grow before it’s eaten.”
— Jenny Du, Session 9: “Inside Out”

Jenny Du is co-founder of Apeel Sciences and their plant-based coatings keep fruits and vegetables fresh for weeks by slowing spoilage and moisture loss. Applied at critical nodes — wholesale markets, distribution centers — they can turn leaky supply chains into stable food corridors. With food security being a persistent global concern, any advancements that make food more accessible has substantial potential.

Implications for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger):

• Reduced food loss: Coatings cut spoilage by double-digit percentages, boosting effective supply without expanding production.
• Climate co-benefits: Less waste means lower methane emissions and water savings across the system.
• Data-driven deployment: Pair spoilage-prediction models with coating stations to target high-risk batches and measure impact in real time.

5. Lifestyle Medicine Reverses Chronic Disease

“It’s here today, but it’s not a drug. It’s lifestyle medicine, and the only side effects are good ones.”
— Dean Ornish, Session 8: “Vertigo”

Best selling author and medical doctor Dean Ornish showcased decades of clinical trials demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes — whole-food, plant-based diets, stress reduction techniques and community support — can not only halt but reverse conditions like coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. By treating diet, exercise and social connection as core therapies, health systems can shift from costly hospital interventions to sustainable, patient-centered prevention.

Implications for SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being):

• Preventive care at scale: Digital coaching platforms and peer-support cohorts can deliver lifestyle interventions to millions, reducing incidence of non-communicable diseases.
• Outcome-driven analytics: Tracking biomarkers alongside patient feedback creates evidence loops that refine program design and demonstrate ROI.
• Policy realignment: Pooled meta-analyses can inform health ministry guidelines, shifting funding from acute treatment to cost-effective prevention.

6. Inclusive Finance Unlocks Refugee Potential

“Displaced entrepreneurs are just as investable as any other.”
— Julienne Oyler, Session 5: “The Incredibles”

Julienne Oyler co-founded Inkomoko — Africa’s largest investor in refugee entrepreneurs. Her work demonstrates that refugees — when provided with capital, training and market access — launch businesses that perform on par with native entrepreneurs. These ventures not only generate income but also foster community resilience and local job creation. Addressing business development opportunities while targeting historically marginalized communities represents multi-pronged progress.

Implications for SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) & SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities):

• AI-driven underwriting: Credit-scoring models built on alternative data (mobile-money transactions, social networks) can assess risk accurately in underbanked populations.
• Economic empowerment: Scaling microloans and mentorship across refugee camps and host communities boosts entrepreneurship, reducing dependency on aid.
• Impact measurement: Pilot platforms should track metrics — revenue growth, employment rates, loan repayment — to quantify economic uplift and inform policy.

7. Manufacturing Must Lead the Climate Charge

“Our future isn’t just coded; it’s built. Let’s roll up our sleeves and build it.”
— Lauren Dunford, Session 8: “Vertigo”

Lauren Dunford, CEO of Guidewheel, argues that decarbonizing manufacturing — the source of roughly one-third of global greenhouse-gas emissions — is the next frontier for climate innovation. By embedding AI into operations, factories can predict equipment failures, optimize energy use and minimize waste across complex supply chains. Industrial progress and environmental concerns can often be aspects of the Global Goals that are at loggerheads with each other, but this proves they can be complementary.

Implications for SDG 13 (Climate Action) & SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production):

• Smart factories: Real-time emissions monitoring and AI-driven process control enable continuous improvement in energy efficiency and material usage.
• Circular supply chains: Predictive analytics can identify by-product reuse and remanufacturing opportunities, reducing raw-material demand.
• Benchmarking progress: The development community can create composite sustainability indices that compare facilities by emissions intensity, guiding investment toward the cleanest operations.

8. Protecting Communities in Digital Infrastructure Debates

“When elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers.”
— Nanjira Sambuli, Session 5: “The Incredibles”

Nanjira Sambuli uses her perspective as a research and policy analyst to warn of the high-stakes tussles between tech giants and governments over data control, platform policies and market share. In these battles, it is often vulnerable populations — rural users, informal workers and marginalized groups — who lose out on access, privacy and economic opportunity. This is essential if we want to ensure we leave no one behind.

Implications for SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) & SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities):

• Data sovereignty: Craft licensing and interoperability agreements that keep local data under community governance rather than centralized monopolies.
• Digital inclusion: Invest in digital-literacy initiatives so that all demographics can leverage emerging platforms without exploitation.
• Open alternatives: Support open-source infrastructure projects to provide low-cost, transparent tools that empower grassroots innovation.

9. Strengthening Discourse as a Peacebuilding Tool

“Free speech is the best alternative to violence ever invented.”
— Greg Lukianoff, Session 6: “Wild at Heart”

Attorney and best selling author Greg Lukianoff argued that open dialogue — grounded in respect for differing views — serves as the first line of defense against conflict and unrest. In an era when social platforms can amplify extremism and misinformation, promoting transparent, data-driven moderation practices becomes essential to uphold SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Implications for SDG 16:

• Balanced moderation: Develop AI-forensic tools that detect coordinated disinformation without silencing legitimate dissent.
• Transparency frameworks: Require platforms to publish automated-moderation metrics and appeal outcomes, fostering public trust.
• Civic education: Support programs teaching critical media literacy, empowering users to engage constructively rather than reactively.

10. Global AI Governance Must Keep Pace with Innovation

“We’re playing with fire… machines smarter than us may one day have goals not aligned with ours.”
— Yoshua Bengio, Session 1: “Apocalypse Now”

As one of deep learning’s founding voices and Turing Award winner, Yoshua Bengio cautioned that, without clear international guardrails, superhuman AI could pursue objectives misaligned with human welfare. His warning elevates AI safety from niche debate to a core component of global development strategy.

Implications for SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals):

• International accords: Negotiate AI safety treaties that require regular model audits, red-teaming exercises and shared incident reports across borders.
• Inclusive governance: Ensure low- and middle-income countries have representation in AI standard-setting bodies to prevent a divide between tech-rich and tech-poor nations.
• Roadmap alignment: Develop a multi-stakeholder timeline linking AI development milestones to SDG targets — so that each advance in capability comes with commensurate safety and ethics assessments.

Conclusion

TED2025’s cross-disciplinary dialogues remind us that achieving the SDGs by 2030 will require more than lofty commitments — it demands data-driven experimentation, ethical guardrails and inclusive partnerships. These ten quotes offer both provocation and direction: our task is to translate their insight into metrics, pilots and policies that leave no community behind.

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Note: Generative AI tools were used in the creation of this article to assist with research, summarization, and editing.