Here is the definitive TED talk on the subject:

Net negative and it’s not particularly close in my view

It’s weird because I think my answer is that the average contribution of YouTube as a whole is bigger than TED. YouTube has all the nazi and antivax shit, but it genuinely has a lot of deep, useful learning material. I really think TED doesn’t teach anyone: it just makes them feel superior

Given all of YouTube, you stand a chance of coming out the other side better off than you started. Given all of TED? Nope: you’ll be flattered to no end and not have a chance to really engage with the material. Now that I think of it, TED is the sycophant ChatGPT of video lectures

That's a good question. I think they started out great but devolved into too much junk.

Negative

Slightly negative.

I think this captures the value of TED talks very well. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkGM...

Neutral.

we have a disagreement! mastodon.social/@jawnsy/1150...

Negative. Big contributor to the delusion that with the right ideas and technology, we could lift societal issues outside the realm of politics. In the short-term encouraged Obama-style nudge interventions; in the long-term encouraged the right-wing tech swerve.

Like this was just a total embarrassment of a punt: web.archive.org/web/20150709...

And this was in 2014/2015 - things have only become worse since then - as can be seen in the NY mayor race. Talking about these issues is verbotten according to the well heeled elites.

unfortunately, it seems to me, it devolved into ultimate meaning entrepreneurship for secular audiences which could not then coordinate to overcome their radically divergent notions of the sacred. a net negative.

eh, i am being too much of a curmudgeon because i am frustrated i can’t get my boat motor to start.

perhaps you are being accurately informed of the broad state of things by your motor, in the only language it has available.