By EMERSON SUTOW

Tedx Club Vice President Daniel Melero stands alongside invited speakers Caleb Rothe, Samir Chattergee and Michael Estrada as Tedx Club Co-Presidents William Zhao and Abhirim Balakrishnan stand to their left following the event. (Wei Zhao/ WZ Photo)

On August 16, a Tedx event—a showcase for speakers presenting well-formed ideas in under 18 minutes—was held at Citrus Valley High School and featured three speakers.

Dr. Michael Estrada, the program director for the University of La Verne, discussed the importance of drive and shared a personal success story on the matter.

Samir Chatterjee, a professor and Fletcher Jones Chair of Technology Management and Design at Claremont Graduate University, spoke about the significance of design and artificial intelligence and its projected impact on the future.

Caleb Rothe, an instructional technology coach for the Redlands Unified School District, touched on the shift of the future and new ways of teaching that will ease the change of the new society.  

Estrada shared the story of his upbringing, describing how he was raised by his mother, grandmother and aunt who all worked at hospitals and it gave him a positive view on health care professionals. But what really made him want to pursue medicine were the doctors who helped him when he needed surgery at a young age. The compassionate bedside manner of the doctors and nurses left such an impact on him that he wanted to become a doctor no matter what people told him. His success as a physician can be credited to his self-driven and hardworking personality.

Featured speaker Michael Estrada, the program director at the University of La Verne, poses after his discussion of the importance of tenacity and compassion. (Wei Zhao/ WZ Photo)

Chatterjee brought up the point that design and artificial intelligence are the path of the future. He gave examples of large companies and industries centered around design, such as Uber, which took over the taxi industry without owning a single car. Or Netflix, which put businesses like BlockBusters out of business since its online presence gives viewers access to hundreds of movies. Chatterjee posisted that A.I. is a step toward the future since scientists want to find ways for machines to be free-thinking and self-functioning, but this development will be at the cost of eliminating many labor intensive jobs.

Finally, Rothe discussed how the future is experiencing an “exponential change,” meaning that the future is changing faster than many people can understand. To combat this, some schools in the Redlands Unified School District have integrated more technology into teaching. This has sparked more interest in technology, which Rothe argued is the view of the future. Giving children the opportunity to pursue an interest in technology could not only benefit young students, but also drive the present towards the future. 

Together, the speakers covered many bases such as the future and the changing expectations for younger generations. The event was mostly science and technology based, but the speakers touched on business and future of the job market with the ongoing development of technology.