摘要：曾以18分钟演讲风靡全球的TED，正迎来创立41年来的重大转折。在信任危机与AI垃圾信息泛滥的时代，它并未选择卖身巨头，而是出人意料地邀请免费教育先驱可汗学院创始人萨尔·可汗共同掌舵。这场“强强联合”能否让精英化的TED在短视频与极化思潮的冲击下成功转型，并重

有趣灵魂说

译文为原创，仅供个人学习使用

The Economist ｜Business

经济学人｜商业

TEDucation TED教育

TED gets new bosses and changes direction

TED迎来新掌舵人并改变方向

The event organiser heads into ed tech

活动主办方进军教育科技领域

1984年，因苹果公司推出麦金塔电脑而在科技界具有里程碑意义。同年，首届TED大会——代表技术、娱乐与设计——也在加利福尼亚州的蒙特雷举行。正如麦金塔电脑成为数字桌面电脑的标志一样，TED也成为了精英活动领域最犀利、最酷的名字。

TED于2001年被杂志出版商克里斯·安德森以1400万美元的价格收购，当时在互联网泡沫破裂的背景下，它被认为已经彻底失败。 他将TED转变为一个慈善机构，激活了粉丝社区，并充分利用了互联网的力量 。尽管在疫情期间受到冲击，但它依然蓬勃发展。

在担任其"策展人"近25年后，安德森先生于今年二月呼吁寻找具备"资源和理念来掌管TED"的人选。大约有100家实体做出了回应，从基金会、大学到富有的个人和媒体公司。安德森先生表示，有些机构对TED的估值高达10亿美元。

然而在10月15日，TED公布的是一项管理层过渡计划，而非财务交易。它任命免费在线学习网站可汗学院的负责人萨尔·可汗为其"愿景掌舵人"（一个非常TED风格的头衔）。同时，提拔原"影响力主管"（同样风格的头衔）洛根·麦克卢尔·达夫达为首席执行官。这标志着延续多于变革：安德森先生将继续留任，但专注于筹款和慈善事业；可汗先生仍将留在可汗学院，且不从TED领取薪酬。

这两家组织计划展开合作。它们同处于教育科技行业的不同领域：一个面向儿童制作视频，另一个则面向成人。TED还有一个专注于为企业提供高管培训的部门（例如，将TED演讲模式应用于领导力、情商等方面的培训），该部门将得到进一步发展。这次联合被描述为两个可靠信息和批判性思维的主要推广者，共同应对信任危机和在线人工智能垃圾信息的一种方式。

有些人可能会嘲笑TED是空谈乌托邦主义的滑稽戏，但其影响深远。 它开创了让世界顶尖精英将宏大理念凝练成简短演讲的模式 。这些演讲在网上免费提供，且没有花哨的广告（而其年度旗舰活动的标准门票价格为12,500美元，VIP门票高达10万美元）。作为一个非营利组织，它利用全球志愿者社区翻译视频，以触达更多人群。它甚至反其道而行 MBA 的常规做法，将其品牌开源，允许他人在TEDx的标签下举办活动。其"大胆计划"项目与慈善家合作，每年为社会企业家提供约10亿美元的资金，支持他们具有可行性的计划。

在这个"行善全球主义"时代逐渐消退、让位于两极分化的民粹主义的时刻，TED的变革正值较为黯淡的时期。资助者们正从定义该组织精神的进步事业中退缩。线下活动业务正在蓬勃发展：许多经常在家工作的人利用会议来建立他们原本缺乏的人际联系。但从这些活动中产生的在线视频世界已经发生了变化。 TED需要为这个甚至更加简短、只有两分钟的TikTok视频时代，重新构思其紧凑的演讲模式 。

将免费在线学习的两大支柱联合起来，可能会放大它们的影响力。两者都同样提供乐观精神与教育内容。2013年，《经济学人》曾推测，萨尔·可汗先生很可能因其运营着史上最大的教育机构（每年有超过1亿人使用该网站）而获得诺贝尔和平奖。现在，就像任何成功的TED演讲一样，他需要创造一个圆满的结局。■

THE YEAR1984 is immortalised in tech circles for the introduction of Apple’s Macintosh computers. It was also when the first TEDconference—which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design—was held in Monterey, California. And just as the Mac became a totem of the digital desktop, TEDbecame the sharpest, coolest name in elite events.

TEDwas bought in 2001 for $14m by Chris Anderson (pictured below), a magazine publisher, when it was considered kaput amid the dot-com crash. He turned it into a charity, activated a community of fans and harnessed the internet. Though buffeted in the pandemic, it has flourished (see chart).

After nearly 25 years as its “curator”, in February Mr Anderson appealed for someone with “the resources and the ideas to oversee TED”. Around 100 entities stepped forward, from foundations and universities to rich individuals and media firms. Some valued TEDat $1bn, Mr Anderson says.

Yet on October 15th TED unveiled a management transition, not a financial one. It named Sal Khan, the boss of Khan Academy, a free online learning site, as its “vision steward” (a very TEDster title). It also promoted Logan McClure Davda, hitherto “head of impact” (ditto), to chief executive. This marks more continuity than change: Mr Anderson will stay on, but focus on fundraising and philanthropy; Mr Khan will remain at Khan Academy and not be paid by TED

The two organisations plan to work together. Both are in different parts of the education-technology business: one aiming videos at children, the other at adults. TEDalso has a division focused on executive training for companies (such as adapting TEDTalks on leadership, emotional intelligence and so forth), which it will develop further. The union is being presented as a way for two leading promoters of reliable information and critical thinking to combat a crisis of trust and AIslop online.

Some may mock TEDas a parody of gabby utopianism, but its impact has been profound. It pioneered having the world’s bright minds crystallise big ideas into pithy talks. These are offered free online without garish ads (while a standard ticket to the annual flagship event costs $12,500 and a VIPone $100,000). As a non-profit group, it tapped a global community of volunteers to translate videos to reach more people. It even defied the MBA playbook by open-sourcing its brand, allowing others to hold events under the TEDx label. Its Audacious Project works with philanthropists to funnel around $1bn a year to social entrepreneurs with practical plans.

TED’s changes come amid darker times, at a point when the era of do-gooder globalism ebbs into polarised populism. Funders are retreating from progressive causes that defined the organisation’s ethos. The business of in-person events is booming: people working from home a lot are using conferences to make human connections they would otherwise lack. But the world of online video that emerges from those events has shifted. TEDwill need to reinvent its compact talks for an age of even tighter, two-minute TikToks.

Drawing together two pillars of free online learning could amplify their impact. Both proffer optimism as much as education. In 2013 The Economistmused that Mr Khan might well be awarded a Nobel peace prize for running the largest educational institution in history (over 100m people use the site annually). Now, as in any successful TEDTalk, he needs to produce a happy ending. ■

来源：左右图史