GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) – On September 27, TEDxGrandJunction gave the community a chance to hear new ideas from speakers on topics from technology to personal growth, all tied to this year’s theme of what it means to be Monumental.
“I really hope that people just feel like they can ask for help. I think it’s really important, it’s a skill that we all have. Especially now with all the AI disruption, it really makes us human to ask other humans to help. So, I hope that I’ve created some space to give people permission to do that,” said Brenda Gleason, a Colorado native who presented How Asking for Help Unlocks Real Change.
For some, that message meant focusing on the different ideas and opinions of advancing technology.
“The main point was that we see severe division in our society where half of the world is against AI and the other half is very pro-AI. So, I was proposing and talking about the middle way, on why it’s important to learn how to use the tool that’s not going to lead to your brain atrophy. But on the opposite, amplify your greatness,” said Dmitry Chislov-Starkin, who spoke on AI Isn’t Neutral: It’s What We Make It.
Others shared personal stories that reshaped how they see the world and how they hope others will too.
“It was like the first conversation I had with a homeless person. He started telling me all of these really specific things and he recommended all of these books to me and I realized that he was really smart. Then I realized that I thought that he wasn’t smart just because he was homeless. I think that was like a monumental moment of me understanding, here’s a person, here’s how I viewed him, and that is wrong,” said Kuiper Curtis, a Grand Junction resident who discusses Making Toilet Equity Impossible to Ignore.
While their topics were different, all three speakers said the true value of TEDxGrandJunction gives people a platform to share and an audience a chance to grow.
“It’s very important to have events like this because it not only gives a platform for people to express themselves, but for the audience to learn new things, expand on their life, and get better at different things,” said Chislov-Starkin.
From learning to ask for help, to finding a balance with new technology or even breaking down bias, the ideas shared weren’t just talks. For speakers and audience members alike, they were a chance to learn, grow, and challenge their thinking.
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