Tech evangelist Mick Ebeling redefines what ’ s possible in addressing “ absurdities .”

BY RUSS BANHAM

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“ When you see things in the world that are just not right and should not be that way , the absurdity of it gets under your skin .”

— Mick Ebeling , founder and CEO , Not Impossible Labs

“ When you see things in the world that are just not right and should not be that way , the absurdity of it gets under your skin ,” says Mick Ebeling , founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs . “ We have these amazing technologies today at our disposal , but they ’ re typically developed to make bazillions of dollars and not with the more important goal of helping another person in need . That ’ s what we start with . And we run with it until we figure something out .”

Ebeling , named by Fortune as one of the Top 50 World ’ s Greatest Leaders , is best known for the Eyewriter , an AI-assisted device enabling the Los Angeles graffiti artist Tony “ Tempt1 ” Quan — who was diagnosed with ALS in 2003 and became unable to move , speak , and breathe — to communicate and create art after seven years of immobility . The Eyewriter tracked the movements of Tempt ’ s eyes to produce words and brushstrokes . Time magazine named the device one of the 50 best inventions of 2010 , and it is now in the permanent collection at New York ’ s Museum of Modern Art .

Other projects followed , all focused on what Ebeling and his team call “ absurdities ” that result in one person ’ s not having abilities that everyone else takes for granted . For each project , Ebeling reaches out to his universe of friends — software coders , engineers , designers , and artists — who are eager to join him in making the world a fairer bargain .

These team members have been engaged for the past two years in two Not Impossible projects , each one inspired by a single person or group of people with the same condition . Memory : Not Impossible

PHOTOS ( LEFT ) COURTESY OF NOT IMPOSSIBLE LABS ; ( RIGHT ) BY MAGGIE STEBER / VII / REDUX