Pope Francis makes surprise TED talk appearance to give a wonderful message - Watch

Toronto: Pope Francis made a surprise appearance at a TED talk conference on Tuesday, urging harmony over division.

In a surprise papal TED talk delivered via 18-minute video to the annual TED 2017 conference in Vancouver, the pope urged powerful leaders "to act humbly" and said he hoped technological innovation would not leave people behind.

The video was shot in Vatican City.

"The more powerful you are, the more your actions will have an impact on people, the more responsible you are to act humbly," said the pontiff, while seated at a desk, in Italian with subtitles.

"If you don`t, your power will ruin you, and you will ruin the other."

He further urged solidarity to overcome a "culture of waste" that had affected not only food but people cast aside by economic systems that rely increasingly on automation.

Francis embraced the theme of this year`s conference - `The Future is You` - saying it was relations and connections between people that would shape society going forward.

Watch the video here:

TED Talk lectures have grown in popularity, having been viewed cumulatively over 4.6 billion times since going online in 2006.

(With Reuters inputs)