Digital Planet

By BBC World ServiceTechnology

Digital Planet episodes

July 13, 2021 Fighting for the right to repair
US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order asking the Federal Trade Commission to “limit powerful equipment manufacturers from restricting people’s ability to use independent repair shops or do DIY repairs”. This could mean manufacturers can no longer require repairs only be offered by themselves or through authorised retailers. Gay Gordon-Byrne, CEO of The Repair Association in the US, has been speaking about the impact this could have.
Are public-funded cultural institutions falling behind in creating digital content and in danger of becoming irrelevant? A new report from the Serpentine Galleries, “Future Art Ecosystems: Art x Metaverse”, suggests that might be the case. While the Games Industry is ploughing huge amounts of money into developing the spatial decentralised web (web 3.0), cultural institutions are lagging behind. Kay Watson, Head of the Arts Technologies team at the Serpentine Galleries, tells us more about the tech they are using to be part of this new metaverse.
It’s the 30th anniversary of the first public website. Composer Kieran Brunt is back to tell us about his latest creation. This new work explores how the internet has dramatically reshaped our lives over the past 30 years. Woven around personal stories Kieran Brunt features electronic and vocal elements that explore the impact the internet has had on all our lives. The full Virtual Symphony can be heard on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday 18th July 2021.
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington
Studio Manager:
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
(Image: Getty Images)
43 min
July 06, 2021 Big tech platforms to protect women online
Four of the world’s biggest tech platforms are adopting a new set of commitments to tackle online abuse and improve women’s safety online. This is the first time there has been cross-industry collaboration on ways companies can address the issue. Web Foundation Senior Policy manager Azmina Dhrodia is on the show to explain how, while Azerbaijani journalist Arzu Geybulla tells us about some of the abuse she has received online.
Wireless pacemaker that dissolves in the body
A wireless pacemaker that can dissolve in the body has been created for patients who need only temporary help to regulate their heartbeat. Pacemakers can be used for short periods, especially after open heart surgery, but are associated with quite a few issues such as infection from leads or the dislodging of the power supply and damaging heart tissue on removal. Professor John Rogers from Northwestern University, Illinois in the US, has developed a battery-free pacemaker that can be implanted directly onto the surface of the heart and it can then be absorbed by the body when no longer needed. He’s on the programme to discuss the tech that made the invention possible.
Reducing car pollution from tyres
Future car pollution will mainly come from tyres, not the exhaust. Even now tyre and road wear pollution is one of the leading causes of microplastics in the air. Our reporter Jason Hosken has been investigating how technology can be used to reduce the harmful impacts of tiny tyre particles, that are released from vehicles as they drive along.
(Image: Internet troll sending comment to picture on imaginary social media website with smartphone
Credit: Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images)
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson.
Studio Manager: John Boland
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
46 min
June 29, 2021 YouTube’s rules silencing human rights activists
Why did YouTube take down video testimonies from family members of people imprisoned in China’s internment camps? To ensure the credibility of these videos, people show proof of identity. Now, YouTube says it has concerns that these people may be harassed. Eileen Guo, who reported the story for MIT Tech Review is on the show.
Matter connecting our devices
With so many smart devices in the home its incredibly frustrating that setting them up and connecting them to your house is so complicated. Now a new standard has been agreed. It’s called ‘Matter’ and the first Matter certified products are to be released at the end of this year. Tech journalist and IoT expert Stacey Higginbotham explains why this new standard will make smart devices much easier to use and much more secure.
Sonic the Hedgehog is 30!
The cute blue spikey hedgehog Sonic has been on our screens for 30 years. Digital Planet’s gaming reporter Chris Berrow has been finding out about the tech that made his design possible.
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson
Studio Manager: Giles Aspen
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
(Image: Getty Images)
43 min
June 22, 2021 Bias in AI – what next?
Our own bias is becoming engrained in computer code. There is a huge amount of evidence showing that human bias and ignorance is encoded into our digitally driven world. The impact of this is unsurprisingly impacting the most vulnerable communities the hardest – decisions on health care, employment and even police surveillance are now being made very often by machines. But can anything be done to stop this bias from getting any worse and can the current bias be removed? As part the WebSci 2021 conference Digital Planet looks at what can be done by public bodies and the private sector to improve AI ethics.
Joining us are Professor Lucy Hooberman, Professor Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Dr. Rumman Chowdhury and Dr. Margaret Mitchell.
(Image: Getty Images)
The programme is presenter by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson.
Studio Manager: Bill Thompson
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
42 min
June 15, 2021 Bitcoin’s environmental cost
El Salvador has voted to recognise bitcoin as legal tender, and there is a great deal of interest globally in digital currencies that provide an alternative to cash. However mining bitcoin, the intensive computation needed to claim ownership of new Bitcoins, uses vast amounts of electricity – more than many countries produce. Currently most of this energy is supplied from traditional fossil fuel sources rather than renewables.
Larisa Yarovaya from Southampton Business school discusses whether Bitcoin is really worth the environmental cost.
Drones for surveying disaster areas with cameras have been around for a while , but now researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing, and Ergonomics have revealed a drone based system that can listen to the environment and pinpoint people who may be in distress following floods or earthquakes. Researcher Macarena Varela describes the drone and its microphone array.
And lidar, the survey method which used lasers to reveal topographic detail is now finding a use in mapping Rio De Janero’s Favelas. These areas of informal housing developed in largely unplanned ways, but a wider understanding of their geography might help those who live there access essential services. The lidar survey has the advantage of being conducted without revealing the inhabitants personal information say MIT researchers Arianna Salazar Miranda and Claire Gorman.
(Image: Getty Images)
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Angelica Mari
Studio Manager: Sue Maillot
Producer: Julian Siddle
47 min
June 08, 2021 NFT? That’ll do nicely
‘Non-fungible tokens’ are a kind of digital asset that can be bought and sold. They have captured the imagination of many artists. Art pieces can be given a digital identity as an NFT. However, they have also been used to successfully sell viral videos.
Musician Imogen Heap has released a number of works to be auctioned as NFTs
Tim Shaw from Endlesss is working with artists who see NFTs as a useful way to market their work.
And hyper-reality meets traditional art in the form of opera. A new immersive experience has been pioneered by London’s Royal Opera House, placing the audience firmly in the centre of the production as our reporter Hannah Fisher discovered.
Which web browser do you use? Does it matter? Most browsers now rely on the same underlying technology, but Firefox is different. It's one of the favourites of computer engineers but has been losing market share. There are concerns that the growing sameness of browser technology could have a negative impact on the web. As Firefox relaunches we speak to their Senior Vice President Selena Deckelmann,
(Image: First NFT. Credit ImogenHeapxEndlesss)
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson.
Studio Manager:
Producer: Julian Siddle
38 min
June 01, 2021 WhatsApp v Indian government
India has brought in stringent new laws that WhatsApp says will force it to break its end-to-end encryption. In a social media chat that’s been forwarded by multiple users, the new rules require the person who originated and shared that message, to be traced. And that’s a big problem for WhatsApp, a service that’s built itself around privacy. Gareth talks to Mishi Choudhary of the Software Freedom Law Centre about the regulations and the potential impact beyond India.
After the new zombie heist film, Army of the Dead, had wrapped, the lead actor, Chris D’Elia, who played the part of an all-action helicopter pilot, was digitally removed from the movie, after he found himself the subject of serious allegations, which he denies. Edited in was Tig Notaro, another actor. Maxim Thompson explains how this remarkable cut and paste job was done.
There’s a new way of driving a games controller, answering a phone or reading a text, using the inside of your ear. It works because many of us, without even realising it, can control a tiny muscle in our ear called the tensor timpani. Roland Pease has been trying out this prototype technology with Nick Gompertz, director of Earswitch
(Image: An advertisement from WhatsApp seen in a newspaper at a stall in New Delhi. Credit: Sajjad Hussain /AFP via Getty Images)
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington.
Studio Manager: Nigel Dix
Producer: Deborah Cohen
40 min
May 25, 2021 The first African voice assistant
Speech smart assistants currently do not support any African language, but now Mozilla’s Common Voice project is building a dataset for Kiswahili which is spoken by more than a 100 million people in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. They have just been awarded almost $5m for the project. Remy the community lead at Common Voice Kinyarwanda and Chenai chair special adviser for Africa Innovation at the Mozilla Foundation tells us more about the work.
Federated Learning
As more of our data is processed through machine learning systems, Dr Nic Lane, of the Cambridge Computer Laboratory, explains a new way of processing and using our data without the need to send it through data centres. One solution to reduce the impact is federated learning – where data is processed on the edge, on your device, rather than being centralised. Not only does this reduce the environmental impact of computing, but it also has benefits for privacy and opens up opportunities for data sharing between companies.
Electronic VR socks
Reporter Claire Jordan has been investigating a novel approach to “walking” in a virtual reality. Existing ways are expensive and need considerable space to function, as well as having a less than satisfactory user experience. A new technology being developed by Professor Yusuke Matsuda of Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan could expand the reach of immersive VR movement to a much wider audience and deliver a better user experience than current solutions. The user wears electronic socks that create the feeling of walking in VR even though the user is sitting down. This could allow users to spend much longer in VR and also allow people with mobility issues to move around more freely, and possibly feel as though they are moving, in VR.
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson.
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
(Image: Mozilla’s Common Voice project. Credit: Mozilla) (Image: Mozilla’s Common Voice project. Credit: Mozilla)
39 min
May 18, 2021 WhatsAppening with pandemic misinformation?
More than 100 million people worldwide have interacted with Covid-19 misinformation since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a new study in PLOS One. We speak to Professor David Nemer, from the University of Virginia, to explain the impact of social media misinformation in Brazil – What’s App’s number one market. As he tells Gareth Mitchell, Covid myths and untruths are spread easily with no consequences to those behind the lies.
Tracking your face online
Dr Stephanie Hare joins live to discuss the implications of AI facial recognition site, PimEyes, affecting privacy and safety. The current lack of regulation allows such software to be used by anyone – and means we are likely to see more services like this emerge in the near future – but are there steps individuals can take to stop AIs recognising their face?
Why PS5 is still out of stock
The pandemic has had wide reaching impacts on the manufacture of computer chips, leading to a shortage of the component used in many devices. This means that 6 months since the release of the PS5 many consumers are still waiting for a device – but that is just one product – cars, mobile devices, and even the 5G roll out are also impacted, with their production delayed.
(Image: Getty Images)
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington
Studio Manager: Nigel Dix
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
43 min
May 11, 2021 Urgent calls for mandatory recycling of e-waste
Pascal Leroy, Director General of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum joins us live to discuss their report on a proposed recycling framework for critical raw materials – CEWASTE – and why recycling critical raw materials from circuit boards, neodymium magnets, fluorescent lights and batteries is essential for the long-term sustainability of electronic manufacture.
Geek TV
Stephen Cass, senior editor of IEEE spectrum, explains how he has repurposed an old CRT TV to display his favourite web pages using a Raspberry Pi and a bit of python code. We also discuss the importance of the maker movement and the right to repair laws coming into force later this summer.
Apple vs. Epic
Our Games Correspondent Chris Berrow, delves into the detail of the Apple vs Epic lawsuit, with Epic asking if Apple's control over the App Store is anti-competitive, by only allowing in-app purchases through the store and taking a 30% cut of the sales? If Epic wins, this could have huge implications for the games industry, and potentially make in-app purchases considerably cheaper.
(Image: Electronic waste. Credit: Getty Images)
The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Angelica Mari
Studio Managers: John Boland and Bob Nettles
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz
49 min