PACE: Impact Beyond Speed | An origin story
Written by TEDxCalgary , Published in News
Pace... the concept surrounds us daily, in many forms. How do we explore it?
Our 2025 theme of PACE: Impact Beyond Speed has its origin story in a discussion about what a dominant word was for this time and place in our society. Thanks to an esteemed and wise friend, Carolyn H., the theme of "PACE" was born, and our team added the "Impact Beyond Speed" component to signify that keeping up a fast pace isn't always the best approach, and that pace (or speed) without adequate direction is not effective.
Societal conditions right now exemplify the theme. We're in an ever-hurried world that demands our attention and cognition at levels never before experienced by humanity. News cycles bombard us continually -- often bearing negative news -- and in most workplaces the dominating word is "productivity", which has it's own dimensions of pace, speed and impact. We have political and economic turmoil all around us, and a growing list of volatile environmental factors that are very quickly disrupting our complacent sense of the natural systems that surround us. On a personal level, the demands for our attention from a host of factors contributes to a sense of overwhelm for many, leaving us precious little time to step out of the race so that we can recharge and continue to grow as humans.
In other contexts, such as athletics, pace is the yardstick by which many competitive athletes build their capabilities. In many places in life, we need to "keep pace" in order to not fall behind with our learning, personal growth, and many other contexts.
And then there is AI...
For many of us as TEDx organizers and humans, AI represents one of the most profound shifts in our society -- not just for the 21st Century, but for humanity itself. For 2025, TED's main theme was "Reimaging Humanity", recognizing that AI is very quickly surpassing us in terms of it's ability to mimic powerful capabilities like memory and synthesis, leaving us to wonder how we'll interact with it when it starts to massively displace many types of jobs. This could either be a great moment where the main role of we humans is to "human" while the technology does the big and menial tasks we give it. Or, it could completely transform our human relationship with technology, especially as quantum levels of computing take hold.
In engaging with prospective speakers, we've had several different talks on AI. Some, like us, prefer to term it AUGMENTED intellengence for the time being, ensuring that the paradigm extends human capabilities, not replace it. Others, with a nod to their storytelling background, like to call it "authentic interaction", which is yet another viewpoint on what we tend to miss out on when "pace" overwhelms.
How do you interpret the theme? For this year, we'll be launching a number of interpretation challenges, asking our community to contribute their perspectives. You will be able to interpret with words in the form of poems or short stories, with photos or videos, and even animations. Stay tuned for more, as there will be a number of special VIP ticket prize packages to be claimed!
Mark October 25th in your calendars for PACE: Impact Beyond Speed!
Go to event page for ticket sales!
