Escape can offer a reprieve from daily COVID life. But if you can't physically go anywhere, immersing yourself in fictional worlds - like the ones of online games - can help with the social isolation of the pandemic. We talk to University of Saskatchewan professor Regan Mandryk about how videogames can help us relieve stress and connect with others during the pandemic and beyond. Plus, Spark producer Olsy Sorokina talks about the appeal of Animal Crossing. 
And, while fictional worlds can seem like escapism, fiction often offers us insight into truth that daily reality denies us. Stephanie Lepp uses deepfake video tech to create fictional epiphanies and moments of personal transformation by public figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Alex Jones. As use of the technology extends beyond political disinformation campaigns, what are the ethics of using deepfakes to enlighten rather than deceive?

490: Escape

Spark on CBC Radio One Nora Young helps you navigate your digital life by connecting you to fresh ideas in surprising ways.

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Software How-To

From the earliest musical instruments to the metronome, to vocoders, auto-tune and beyond, music creation has always been a collaboration between humans and machines. But now that generative AI is shaking up songwriting, have we crossed a new threshold where the distinctively human talent for music is no longer ours alone?

Being Human Now - Music

Strides in AI software are finding their way into physical robots. It's promising a new era of human-robot interaction, where robots can assist us, respond to our needs and to cues in the environment. Question is: are we ready for robots among us?

Should robots work for us or with us?

Like most of us, you probably only think about infrastructure when it doesn't work: the power goes off, the roads flood. But in the face of climate change and the increasing energy demands of our digital tech, how can we rethink what infrastructure looks like to meet our future needs?

Building more responsive, AI-driven infrastructure

One of civilization's oldest technologies, textiles have long been linked to money, power, and politics. Now, researchers are looking to produce novel, more sustainable textiles using organisms like yeast, fungus, and bacteria.

How yeast and bacteria could be key to future fashion design

What does play mean in a digital age, when so much happens on our all-consuming phones, and tech erases the boundaries between work and play?

490: Escape

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