Spark

Sometimes it's all in the details. As a technology, glass lens—first developed around a thousand years ago—has allowed us to correct our vision, see the furthest objects in the sky, and the smallest objects on the Earth. Oh, and there's photography and film as well.

What happens when links stop working in the age of the web? Are we in danger of losing important historical material? And YouTube has all but a monopoly on online video. What does this mean for content creators and people who view their work in an age of monetization and NFTs?

We have technologies for identifying many physical characteristics, from DNA, to facial recognition, and even voice. But how accurate are these techniques? And can the same tools for identifying us be used to control and surveille us? The future of biometrics.

(This episode first aired in January 2021, and has been updated to reflect that.) How do Indigenous people fit into futuristic narratives? And not just in science fiction, but also in the tech world?

From the abacus to futuristic research (biological computing anyone?), in the latest installment of our "Civilization" series, we take a long look at how computers came to be, and where they might be going.

The global economy is in the midst of a shortage of semiconductor chips. And while a dearth of microchips at one time would have meant headaches for desktop computer and laptop manufacturers, increasingly, our connected world needs chips, in everything from cars to smart doorbells. While the pandemic changed consumer demand, the chip shortage isn't just a product of the current health crisis. It's a deep-seated problem of supply chains, and our growing appetite for networked objects. Beyond the immediate supply chain headache, the tech sector has a long term scarcity problem. It relies on rare raw materials and still has not come to terms with the need for genuinely sustainable, circular production. A look at building sustainable tech.

Online games have become a greater part of our lives during the pandemic, as people look for opportunities to socialize at a distance. A look at issues in the commercial gaming industry right now, as well as the potential and challenges of persuasive gaming.

We tend to think of data as neutral, but it's more than just raw, blunt facts. The choice of what data to gather and how it's used, is political, but there are approaches to data for the collective good. Host Nora Young discusses the politics of data with Jer Thorp, author of Living in Data: A Citizen's Guide to a Better Information Future; and data for peacebuilding with Branka Panic, Founder and Executive Director of AI for Peace.

Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it! Everybody sleeps. But how has the way we sleep evolved with the technology we've developed?

Employees in the tech sector are organizing, demanding a more democratic workplace with goals that align with their own. And, how to truly shake up the workplace so workers are empowered to innovate.