Spark

Humans have long been fascinated by the idea of automatons. But increasingly, robots are also just reality, as more work is automated - especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to accommodate physical distancing. This week: a look at the new rules we need to prepare for a world of automation.

During COVID-19, robots deliver groceries and medicine and disinfect public spaces. And sure, automation is great for routine, repetitive tasks - but what about things that require more nuance and social context, like caring for a sick patient? Roboticist Julie Carpenter discusses the social impact of rapid robot deployment during COVID-19 on humans.

When it comes to robotics and AI, the dominant narrative is that automation will replace any jobs that can be made routine. Frank Pasquale, lawyer and author of New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI, argues for a different future. He thinks the future of work involves collaboration between AI and human skill, in ways that can lead to better work outcomes, as well as greater general prosperity.

This episode originally aired in June, 2020.

Do you "trust the experts"? Or rather, in what circumstances do you trust the experts?

In a complex world like ours, expertise is important, but specialization and hyper-focus can also get in the way of seeing the big picture.

On the other hand, in rapidly evolving situations where the stakes are high and information is thin on the ground, measured expertise can easily be trumped by rumour and misinformation.

+ Among the challenges facing the world today is an "unprecedented crisis in public understanding," says sociologist Fuyuki Kurasawa. The Director of York University's Global Digital Citizenship Lab says there's an understandable delay between the public's need for knowledge and the response of experts, who are often cautious and concerned that they offer correct information. Into that gap slides social media, where rumors, innuendo, untruth and disinformation run rampant. So how do we address this?

+ We live in an era of extreme specialization, and have come to rely on human experts, protocols, and technology to help us navigate our complex world. In his book, Think for Yourself, author Vikram Mansharamani argues that while consulting expertise is essential, mindlessly following narrow specialization blinds us to the big picture.

It used to be that efficiency meant getting something done in the fewest amount of steps. So how did we get to the world we live in now—where efficiency means whatever is cheapest and most convenient, regardless of how many steps it takes? The pursuit of efficiency at all costs has resulted in dramatic wealth concentration, as well as caused an alignment problem between human values and the design of machine learning algorithms.

We feature more of Nora's conversations with Sidney Fussell, Rediet Abebe and Brian Christian, which began last week.

+ And efficiency has been a keyword in capitalism since the industrial revolution. But can efficiency go too far? Roger Martin, celebrated management thinker and former Dean of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business, says so, and that a fixation on efficiency has accelerated concentration of wealth and power in an unbalanced way. His new book, When More Is Not Better, offers some solutions.

There's been a lot of discussion about algorithmic bias, but the focus has been on bias in historical data. However. it's a much bigger problem than that, so what about looking forward? That's what Spark is doing this week: A look at why it's so difficult to encode fairness, and why a rising computer science star still believes we can use machine learning for social good.

+ For the past several years, we've seen headlines about algorithms producing racist, nonsensical, and even dangerous results, alongside calls for greater transparency and oversight. But what's really at the heart of the problem? Sidney Fussell, a technology journalist at WIRED, looks at issues in machine learning, surveillance, and the abuse of data.

+ Machine learning and artificial intelligence research has shown time and again how difficult it can be to code AI that doesn’t produce unintentional bias. Companies like Google and Amazon have even come under fire for programming AI that’s been found to produce sexist and racist results. So why is it so difficult to encode social values into machine learning? Brian Christian is an AI authority and the author of the new book, The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values. He explains why coding social value isn’t as simple as telling a program to ignore variables like race and gender.

+ Machine learning algorithms are used in everything from facial recognition technology to determining credit scores. Concerns are mounting about how machine learning can unintentionally reinforce bias and negatively affect marginalized communities. But can machine learning be used to advance social good and open up opportunities for marginalized people? Rediet Abebe is a computer scientist and co-founder of Mechanism Design for Social Good. She explains how we can design systems to create opportunity and avoid bias.

The first episode in our special Guide to Civilization series, will look at how tech from the wheel to just-in-time delivery architecture (and many things in between) have changed the way humans have been able to move, expand their horizons and shrink their world — along with the costs and benefits. We take a special look at the impact and role of the bicycle, which is consistently rated as the most significant invention in human history. And we end the episode with a peek into the future of movement, and what things may look like down the road, so to speak.

+ Technology has always abetted human movement; from the invention of wheels and aqueducts to drones and self-driving cars, the movement of people and goods has evolved in lockstep with the development of newer technologies. Transportation geographer Jean-Paul Rodrigue takes us through some of the most important inventions of transportation technology, and describes how they broadened human mobility.

+ The bicycle is one of the most important inventions in history, and in many parts of the world, is the most-used transportation technology. Peter Walker, who wrote How Cycling Can Save The World, talks about the bike's importance - and how it may not only get us off our dependence on fossil fuels, keep us healthier, and is a tool for social justice.

+ In the 19th and 20th centuries, popular science and popular fiction posited a world of the future where technology would be the panacea to all human concerns -- including transportation. Writers like Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin and Philip K. Dick imagined futuristic worlds where humans would be able to ride fantastical machines that would propel them from place to place at astonishing speeds with stunning efficiency. But as 21st-century humans continue to reckon with the effects of climate change and ever-growing social inequality, the starships and teleporters and indestructible dirigibles that past generations envisioned now seem less and less likely. The Future Today Institute’s Leah Zaidi, and Shauna Brail, from the University of Toronto's Institute for Management and Innovation, talk about their visions of the future, as well as how we might get there, what’s holding us back, and what the ideal future of transportation might truly look like.

The human brain is always changing, and that constant state of flux helps us adapt to our ever-changing world. What would happen if we built our technologies and economic systems so that they function like our brains?

+ In his new book, Livewired, neuroscientist David Eagleman argues that far from being fixed, our brains constantly adapt to the changing external environment. There's a sort of 'survival of the fittest' battle going on inside our brains, as parts of the brain compete for space. That means the brain responds to new demands, whether that's living in a pandemic, or recovering from injury.

+ Beyond highlighting the myriad ways in which some social and political structures were ill-equipped to handle the constraints imposed by a global pandemic, COVID-19 has done an excellent job of demonstrating that the existing systems underpinning our world are in dire need of modernization and revitalization. Capitalism, whether applied to small business, large multinational conglomerates or the state itself, is one of those systems that needs scrutiny in order to address the issues highlighted by COVID-19, as well as ensure a better local and global society in the future. Ravi Nadjou is an innovation and leadership advisor based in New York City. He explains why — and how — we need to rethink capitalism at all levels.

Technological development is politics by other means. From American companies moving to buy TikTok to governments advocating digital sovereignty and self-reliance, we seem to be entering a new era of techno-nationalism, where it's increasingly difficult to separate the politics, the economics, and the tech. And, extremist groups like the Boogaloo move from online forums to real world protests. Is the internet is fueling right wing extremism, and how do we de-escalate that extremism?

+ Throughout 2020, online extremist movements like QAnon and the Boogaloo Bois have gone from fringe internet groups and jokey memes to appearing at protests and crossing over into more traditional political groups. How has the internet fueled the growth of these movements? And can online tools also serve to de-escalate and de-radicalize? Vivek Venkatesh, UNESCO co-Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, professor at Concordia University, explains.

+ The Trump administration has said Chinese video sharing service TikTok needs to sell off its US operations or face a ban, citing concerns about user privacy and national security. For its part, this week China issued a sweeping proposal for data sovereignty. David Murakami Wood, researcher in the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queens University, weighs in on the technological future of politics.

+ From TikTok to Facebook, many are worrying about the intersection of technology and politics. But is the intertwining of politics and tech new? Media historian Dwayne Winseck explains how they've been pretty much joined at the hip since the Roman Empire.

In an age of digital devices and near constant distractions, many of us feel like our attention spans are shrinking. So this week on Spark, a handbook on how to concentrate in a distracting world.

Stefan Van der Stigchel is a cognitive psychologist and author of Concentration: Staying Focused in Times of Distraction. He believes that concentration is like a muscle you have to work to maintain.

As we age we find it more difficult to concentrate. Tarek Amer and fellow researchers found a possible upside: being scattered may help in creative thought. Tarek is also researching whether we can use older folks' distractibility as a way to deliver helpful reminders.

Michael Shammas, a lawyer in New York who decided to unplug his headphones for a week. After spending years tethered to his phone while working at a corporate law firm, Michael decided he needed to shake things up. So he abandoned the comfort of his audio bubble, to see what he could learn by reconnecting with his inner monologue.

This episode originally aired March 15, 2020.

What if there was an alternative to buildings made from concrete, steel and glass? This week on Spark, we look at some of the ways architects are trying to incorporate living materials into building construction, or create spaces that seem alive in the sense that they interact with us in a fundamental way.

Phil Ayres is an architect in Copenhagen, and he's working with mycelium, the fibrous network that supports mushrooms and other fungi—and is, as it turns out, a great building material!

Philip Beesley is a Toronto architect and sculptor who leads the Living Architecture Systems Group, which explores—and pushes—the boundaries of interactive spaces, using both biological and fabricated material.

This episode originally aired March 1, 2020.

This week on Spark, streaming wars and the future of TV.

Dan Rayburn is a principal analyst at a market research and business consulting firm. JP Larocque is a TV writer and journalist. They're both talking about how streaming has changed and what it means for Canadian consumers.

Patrick Keilty is a professor in the Faculty of Information and Archives Director of the Sexual Representation Collection in the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto, and he'll explain how the porn industry led the way in terms of how services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video work today.

And Ed Finn is the Director of the Centre for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University, and the author of What Algorithms Want: Imagination in the Age of Computing. he'll explain the cultural impacts of streaming.

This episode originally aired February 2, 2020.