TED Talks Daily
The mission to create a searchable database of Earth's surface | Will Marshall artwork

The mission to create a searchable database of Earth's surface | Will Marshall

TED Talks Daily
06:13
Play episode

Show notes

What if you could search the surface of the Earth the same way you search the internet? Will Marshall and his team at Planet use the world's largest fleet of satellites to image the entire Earth every day. Now they're moving on to a new project: using AI to index all the objects on the planet over time -- which could make ships, trees, houses and everything else on Earth searchable, the same way you search Google. He shares a vision for how this database can become a living record of the immense physical changes happening across the globe. "You can't fix what you can't see," Marshall says. "We want to give people the tools to see change and take action." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from this show

More
  1. What makes a good game? | Eric Zimmerman

    What’s the best way to make a project more playful? Game designer Eric Zimmerman has a counterintuitive suggestion: a few good rules. Drawing on his experience making everything fr…

    14:16
  2. How to clean up the world's dirtiest industry | Joojin Kim

    Climate strategist Joojin Kim spent years convincing banks across South Korea to stop funding coal, and it worked. Now he's aiming that same playbook at a new target: maritime ship…

    13:20
  3. The secret to mastering life's biggest transitions | Bruce Feiler

    How do you navigate life's growing number of transitions with meaning, purpose and skill? Writer Bruce Feiler offers a powerful way to handle uncertain, painful and confusing times…

    22:21
  4. How tech will (and won't) replace your doctor | Zack Abbott and Dhruv Khullar

    There's more health advice available than ever before — and no easy way to tell what’s worth your time. From biotech breakthroughs to smarter cancer screening, physician Dhruv Khul…

    29:00
  5. How to make AI companies pay your energy bill | Ari Matusiak

    Climate expert Ari Matusiak spends his days working to rewire America's energy system, and he has an idea: instead of tech companies building new power plants for their AI data cen…

    15:10
  6. How to use tech to outsmart dictators | Leopoldo López

    In seven years as a political prisoner in Venezuela, activist Leopoldo López kept asking one question: Who holds the keys to freedom? Now the leader of an alliance of dissidents an…

    21:42
Now Playing