Tim Urban

What’s Our Problem

In 2016, Tim Urban looked out at American society and knew something was off. Political tribalism was on the rise, anger was overflowing on social media, and productive discussions seemed impossible. Tim spent the next six years taking a deep-dive journey to explore the most pressing issues facing society. In What’s Our Problem?, his bestselling book published in February 2023, Tim shares the many answers he discovered.

In this talk, Tim zooms out on the American landscape, explaining how rapid changes in technology, geography, government, and media have had unforeseen consequences. Tim believes that our political thinking and conversations are constrained by the lens we use: the “horizontal” left-center-right political axis. He introduces the audience to a new way to visualize politics, using the core tool in his bestselling book: a vertical axis that can add a critical element of nuance into the picture. Tim trades the polarizing political “left” and “right” for two new, incredibly useful terms: “high-rung politics” and “low-rung politics.” As we move from high to low, nuanced spectrums simplify to rigid binaries; rich discussion gives way to conformity and groupthink; common-humanity activism becomes common-enemy activism. In short, our problem is that low-rung politics is spreading and high-rung politics is fading. 

The solution: We need to be more aware of the vertical story—the high rungs and the low rungs—and we need to be more courageous about speaking out for what we value and what we believe. The audience can use this lens to sharpen their own thinking, have better conversations, and ultimately, help set society on a better trajectory.

The AI Revolution and the Road to Superintelligence

Back in 2014, long before Artificial Intelligence became the subject that everyone is talking about, Tim Urban began some serious research. It hit him pretty quickly that what was happening in the world of AI is not just an important topic, but, by far THE most important topic for our future. After three years of diving deeply into the subject and all its future implications, Tim published “The AI Revolution and the Road to Superintelligence,” taking readers on a deep exploration of what AI is, how it works, and why it will dramatically change our lives. Vox dubbed this Tim’s “epic series on artificial intelligence” 

Instantly, Tim established himself as the ultimate explainer of AI to a wide range of audiences—including Silicon Valley thought leaders. Elon Musk shared “The AI Revolution” twice on Twitter, commenting, “Excellent and funny intro article about Artificial Superintelligence! Highly recommend reading.” Tim soon turned his fascinating exploration of AI into a gripping talk—one in which the head of Sweden’s Øredev conference called it “the best keynote in years.” After experiencing the same talk at Social Media Week in New York, conference founder Toby Daniels wrote that Urban “was brilliant, inspiring and terrifying at the same time, and left most of us speechless, breathless and in a mixed emotional state of wonder and awe at what the future holds.”

As AI races into nearly every industry, every company, and every part of our lives, Tim Urban remains the ultimate (and frequently entertaining) explainer of the most transformational shift in the way we live, work, and evolve as a society.

Procrastination: Overcoming the Greatest Barrier to Success

Procrastination is widely acknowledged as one of the top hindrances to success, growth, and confidence in oneself. Tips on how to stop procrastinating are plentiful and can be found easily, but implementing them without understanding “why” we procrastinate leads to short- term success and long-term hopelessness. In this hilarious, mind-tugging, and optimistically practical talk, Tim Urban shares why we procrastinate and how to stop. This keynote has enchanted over 65 millions of viewers as the third most-viewed (and ranked as one of the funniest) Ted Talk ever. Urban shares three key reasons we procrastinate, identifying them as “players” that vye for our attention, focus, and time. After establishing a “why,” he shares valuable tools that audiences can use to tackle procrastination in their own lives. The tools range from the Eisenhower Matrix to Urban’s set of six strategies for overcoming short- and long-term procrastination. This keynote is uniquely applicable to individuals and teams and catalyzes change and growth. Audiences walk away with side stitches from laughter and an inspired understanding of the greatest barrier to success.

Cooks and Chefs: What It Means to Be a True Original And Think Like an Innovator

When we think of great original thinkers such as Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, and others, we wonder why these world-changers were able to see possibilities that others didn’t. Are innovators born with an envious knack for genius? Or, do they work so hard that the new and innovative becomes inevitable? In this fascinating keynote, Tim Urban posits that the answer is “neither.” The world we live in was built by people no smarter and no more hardworking than most of us. The secret to their innovative thinking is their ability to view the world like chefs– experimenting with raw ingredients by reasoning from first principles and forming original ideas, concepts, and approaches that no one had thought of before. Others see the world like cooks, experimenting with raw ingredients while pulling from the recipes, ideas, and best practices of others. 

In exploring what it means to be a true innovator, Tim inspires audiences to re-think the way they think about thinking. Affirming that it is entirely within anyone’s power to rise above conventional thinking, be more creative, innovative, solve problems, and think differently, he shares how reasoning from first principles makes it possible. Audiences leave with a fresh and actionable understanding of original thinking that will have them looking at the world in a dynamic new way, bringing new ideas, and unconventional thinking to every aspect of their work and life.