I worked for big tech—now I’m worried about AI | Dex Hunter-Torricke | TEDxBerlin

Dex Hunter-Torricke, a former communications leader at Google DeepMind who advised tech CEOs and political leaders, argues that humanity has about ten years to change course on artificial intelligence. He contends that AI, the most powerful technology in human history, is colliding with a global order already under strain, and that societies, economies and the international system need deliberate reinvention now. The talk is presented at TEDxBerlin, an independently organized TEDx event. He describes leaving Big Tech in October 2025 not out of lost faith in technology, but because of concerns about how powerful institutions were responding to AI's impact. He now leads the Center for Tomorrow, a nonprofit launched in 2026, and serves as a non-executive board member at HM Treasury in the UK.

• Argument that humanity has about ten years to change course on AI
• Concern that AI could amplify climate breakdown, inequality and democratic fragility
• Call for intentional, systemic solutions rather than treating AI as inevitable
• Speaker's background advising tech and political leaders and founding the Center for Tomorrow

Humanity has ten years to change course - or face disaster. AI is the most powerful technology in human history, and it is colliding with a world order already breaking down. Dex Hunter-Torricke makes the case that the radical reinvention of our societies, economies and international order must begin now, so we can build a future that is more just, humane and sustainable. After nearly two decades advising some of the world's most influential leaders - from Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg to the UN Secretary-General - and most recently leading communications for Google DeepMind, Dex Hunter-Torricke walked away from Big Tech in October 2025. Not because he'd lost faith in technology, but because he'd seen firsthand how the world's most powerful institutions were sleepwalking into AI's transformation of society. The son of a refugee from Burma and an immigrant from Malaysia, and the first in his family to earn a degree, Dex developed an outsider's perspective on power that shaped his entire career. Throughout his time advising tech CEOs and political leaders, he witnessed the dangerous gap between Silicon Valley's promises and the cascading crises - climate breakdown, economic inequality, democratic fragility - that AI threatens to amplify rather than solve. Now focused on public service, Dex is Founder and President of the Center for Tomorrow, a new global nonprofit launched in 2026 dedicated to building the ideas, communities, and leadership capacity the world urgently needs as AI reshapes our societies. He also serves as a non-executive board member at HM Treasury, the UK's economic and finance ministry. Through his research and public advocacy, he's building a movement that refuses to treat AI as inevitable fate and instead fights for intentional, systemic solutions to our interconnected planetary challenges. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx