TED (if you somehow live on a rock away from all the other rocks and haven't ever heard of it before) is a series of conferences that constists of presenters sharing their ideas. Held annually since 1990, it has had several celebrity speakers like Bill Clinton,Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, Bono, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners.

In this year's edition, they featured a surprise appearance from Edward Snowden, the ex-NSA contractor who was responsible for the leak of classified information and the PRISM scandal. Speaking via telepresence robot from Russia, Snowden spoke about the issue of privacy vs security, and about government transparency. In totality, it was a fairly interesting talk to listen to.

Now this is great. We desperately need discussion on this issue, which underlies the structure of our communications. This is also a major trust issue between the people and the government. How can people continue to trust the government when they have no guarantee that the goverment itself is operating within the confines of the law.
Have such a crucial figure in the revelations share their views and ideas in "person" is a great step forward in the discussion.

What happened next, was even better.

TED then also had a representative from the NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett speak in counter-view to the previous discussion.

This is equally critical to ensuring a resolution to this issue, because unilateral discussion and circle-jerking benefit no one. Only through bilateral discussion, and eventually, action, will this issue be resolved.

But kudos to TED for showcasing both parties and their views. Such outreach by the NSA and the government in general is the first step towards progress.