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For Tech’s Sake
For Tech’s Sake episodes
- A glass case of emojis
Listeners, an update to the Microsoft Teams platform since the recording of this episode can only lead us to believe that Satya Nadella has bugged our podcast studio. Our prayers for a multiplicity of emoji reactions have been answered – they're still ugly though!
Emojis are essential to communication across distributed workforces but – as we discuss in this episode – just because we have communication tools doesn't mean we are communicating.
In this episode, we also discussed...
Karen Church's emoji research at Intercom: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/search-notifications-emoji-data-research
Jenny's interview with emoji master Jennifer Daniel: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/jennifer-daniel-emojis-unicode
And Google's holographic video calling booth: https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/13/23400870/google-project-starline-3d-chat-booth-impressions
Thanks for listening and subscribing!
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28 min - Working not-so nine-to-five
A robot might steal your job, but it might also make it better. And some platforms make it easier to communicate remotely, while others enable micromanagers to keep tabs on you.
As we enter a new era of working, Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody want to examine how technology is used in work and how it can affect us, but also the ways in which it can help transform the way we work for the better, if only we’d allow it to do so.
To find out more, we also spoke to James Milligan, global head of technology solutions at recruitment company, Hays.
Read more about what the future of work looks like on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/series/future-of-work-week/
Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.
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40 min - It’s AI-live!Sentient AI is not a thing, but why do some people believe that it is? Following our AI-focused episode of For Tech’s Sake, we look at some of the astoundingly advanced AI released recently that gives the impression computers are starting to think, create and feel, like humans. We’ve got laughing AI, text-to-art image generators, deepfake porn, voice modulators and simulated girlfriends competing for the title of The Worst in AI. (Though the winner might just be Warren from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)
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23 min - AI & U
Claims of sentient AI have been largely debunked by experts, but there are still plenty of unsettling aspects of this technology that raise ethical questions.
In this episode of For Tech’s Sake, Abeba Birhane, an expert in AI and cognitive science, helps us to better understand this fast-spreading technology and its limitations. We find out how AI can be at best unhelpful and annoying, and at worst prejudiced, powerful and completely opaque, particularly when the building blocks it's based on contain toxic materials.
Read more about Abeba Birhane, the Gender Shades project, Blake Lemoine, and why sentient AI claims can be damaging on SiliconRepublic.com:
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/mit-database-racist-misogynist-discovery-abeba-birhane
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/abeba-birhane-ucd-digital-colonialism
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/microsoft-facial-recognition
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/timnit-gebru-google-ai-scientist-fired-for-highlighting-bias
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/google-engineer-ai-sentient-lamda-chatbot
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/sentient-ai-google-lamda-research-development-ireland-insight
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1 hr 1 min - The Elon-phant in the roomFollowing our For Tech’s Sake episode on health-tech, we decided it was time to take the temperature of the tech industry itself, as it's not doing so well lately. More specifically, we examine the disease eating away at it: tech bro-itis. Twitter is now infected with a severe dose, Elon Musk, and some are convinced the platform is on its deathbed. Jenny Darmody and Elaine Burke put him under the microscope for a closer look.
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52 min - Does an app a day keep the doctor away?
Medical technologists are racing to fix all of our ills – even our inevitable death! But in the rush to embed technology into healthcare, are we thinking about all of the unintended consequences that may come with it? Is our health data really safe for example? Can medical devices be hacked? And how accessible will this health-tech be in the future?
Listen as Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody explore all of these questions and differentiate the needless from the necessary when it comes to technology in healthcare. To find out more, we also spoke to Ita Richardson, a co-principal investigator at the software engineering research centre, Lero and a professor at University of Limerick.
Read more about what the future holds for health-tech on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/series/future-health-week/
Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.
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46 min - The tech is coming from inside the houseFollowing our For Tech’s Sake episode on tech-facilitated abuse, we got chatting about the fact that while humans can be terrible, sometimes the tech itself is the problem. From glasses with hidden cameras to the tech giant that’s watching you sleep, maybe we’ve all gone a little OTT with IoT.
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18 min - Tech-facilitated abuse
While plenty of technology has been designed to make the world a safer place, it can also introduce a whole new way to abuse and exploit others.
From stalker apps to location trackers, tech has given many abusers the opportunity to track, monitor and control others. While other seemingly innocuous devices such as smart doorbells and virtual assistants can have their settings manipulated for nefarious actions.
Listen as Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody discuss how these devices work, and how they can be misused. We also spoke to Louise O’Hagan, co-founder of Cyber Awareness Ireland, about the growing trend of tech-facilitated abuse and how easily our everyday devices can be used against us.
For more information on this topic, check out:
CyberAwarenessIreland.com
SafeIreland.ie
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/safe-ireland-digital-domestic-abuse-technology-guide
Online safety booklet: https://www.safeireland.ie/lets-talk-tech-online-safety-tips/
Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.
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26 min - When tech goes too far
Following our For Tech’s Sake episode on digital transformation, we got talking about the things that have just gone too far, from tractors that have become too tech-ified to be easily repairable to the monumentally annoying aspects of the modern printer.
For those who want to enjoy the nerdy long-read we mention, check out “Why paper jams persist” by Joshua Rothman: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/12/why-paper-jams-persist
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14 min - Digitise, disrupt, destroy
Digital transformation is a buzzword in all business right now, and some businesses are deciding to push ahead with new tech adoption without consideration for the people it will impact.
While some elements of digital transformation can lead to better operations, some of it is truly tech for tech's sake, and lead to job displacement and bad service.
Listen as Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody dissect what digital transformation actually means beyond the buzzword. To find out more, we also spoke to Joan Mulvihill, the digitalisation and sustainability lead at Siemens.
Read more about Joan Mulvihill and her thoughts on digital transformation on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/digital-transformation-joan-mulvihill-siemens
You can also check out Silicon Republic’s Digital Transformation Week, which covers this topic in more detail: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/series/digital-transformation-week/
Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.
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36 min
About For Tech’s Sake
From the publisher's feed
Join Elaine Burke and Kelly Earley for a weekly edition of the people’s tech podcast, where they demystify the news and help you decode your digital life.
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