It’s an exciting time to be alive. Innovations are everywhere and new breakthroughs are just around the corner. Here is our list of some of the best TED Talks about computer technology.

 Andrew Blum: What is the Internet, Really?

What does the internet look like, physically? It’s a strange question that few give much thought to. Technically it’s just a connection of networks, but really it’s much more than that. Underground cables, giant databases, and secret switches are just a part of what makes up the internet.

Avi Rubin: All Your Devices Can Be Hacked

Anything is hackable. Your devices are never safe, whether it’s your phone, your car GPS, or even your heart pacer. In this TED Talk, Avi Rubin talks about hacking and why it’s important to keep an open mind about security.

Margaret Gould Stewart: How YouTube Thinks About Copyright

In this short TED Talk, Margaret Stewart briefly goes over copyright law and how YouTube deals with and responds to copyright infringement. It’s a delicate process, with YouTube trying to respect the rights of copyright owners and give them a choice in how copyright infringement is played out.

Michael Anti: Behind the Great Firewall of China

Michael Anti discusses how the censorship of the Chinese internet is used to keep the Chinese in more than to keep people out and how it creates an online ecosystem unique to China. The manner in which it is done, however, is interesting and the unintended consequences are surprising.

Eli Pariser: Beware Online “Filter Bubbles”

As web technologies become more and more advanced at figuring out what we want to see, everything else is dimmed down. Eli Pariser warns of the future internet where the average consumer is trapped in a filter bubble where the information coming in becomes increasingly narrower.

Jer Thorp: The Weight of Data

Jer Thorp is out to show people stuff. The stuff he wants to show people is the type of stuff that most people don’t want to look at. What’s his solution? He’s innovating the way data visualization is created and making dull information into beautiful works of art.

Gary Kovacs: Tracking the Trackers

Millions of people are unknowingly being spied on. Every day information is gathered from the links you click on, to the products you buy online. Gary Kovacs speaks about his new web browser app that watches the watchers and returns power to the average internet user.

Mikko Hypponen: Three Types of Online Attack

Most don’t realize just how much the government interferes in their daily lives. In this short TED Talk, Mikko Hypponen goes over how some western governments are using tactics similar to communist Eastern Germany to control its citizens.

Shimon Schocken: The Self-Organizing Computer Course

Shimon Schocken starts a conversation about the future of education. He explains how the future of free online education is in open source teaching and how that future is a bright one.

Misha Glenny: Hire the Hackers!

Who is the average hacker? This is a question Misha Glenny set out to fulfill and has come to a conclusion that’s rather surprising. He suggests that companies shouldn’t be suing their hackers, they should be hiring them instead.