Professor Frank Pasquale, Brooklyn Law School, is an expert in the regulation of AI, with wide-ranging expertise from law and political economy to healthcare policy and privacy. His latest book is “New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI”. In this episode, we talk about the loss of trust in US democratic processes; why regulators around the world are investigating alleged abuses of power by Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon; whether governments should use the location data collected by private companies to trace COVID contacts; why Frank says we’re in an arms race of self-disclosure to virtual nakedness; how AI decision-making could be democratised to make it more trustworthy; and whether the very nature of trust is changing. Find Frank’s latest book here: https://www.harvard.com/book/new_laws_of_robotics/

Professor Toby Walsh is a world-leader in artificial intelligence, author of “2062: The World that AI Made”, and a Scientia Professor, based at UNSW and Data61. In this episode, we ask: Why are most digital assistants “women” and most AI developers men? Should we be warned when we’re talking to a robot? What does the future of work look like in an automated world? What should be done about robots who can decide who to kill? Why has Toby changed his mind about the use of facial recognition software? And who should be responsible when AI goes wrong? You can find Toby’s latest book here - https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/2062

Professor Megan Davis is a Cobble Cobble woman from Queensland, a Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor of Law at UNSW, and a member of the Referendum Council. In this episode, we talk about the ethical loneliness indigenous Australians experience; the shocking findings of the Family is Culture review and the heartbreak that has given rise to deep distrust of authorities; what a first nations voice to parliament would mean; Black Lives Matter movements in the United States and Australia; what’s going wrong with our recitations of acknowledgments of country; and what it is that Megan puts her trust in for our future.

Dr Holly Seale, Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at UNSW, talks about the study she co-authored on COVID-19 and community perceptions and behaviours during the pandemic. We chat about trust in government; distrust in “the other” and particularly migrant communities; learning from advocates of life jacket use and condom use in public health messaging; and whether we’ve been too trusting of families and friends.

John Howard served as the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. We talk about whether trust between Australia and China is currently in jeopardy; the dangers of parliamentary parties being predominantly composed of career politicians; how the Howard government gained trust for controversial gun control laws; what social media is doing to political debate; whether trust was lacking between Indigenous leaders and the Howard government; and the goals of the Howard Library in Canberra.

Malavika Raghavan heads the Future of Finance Initiative as part of Dvara Research in India. We talk about life in Mumbai during the pandemic; Dvara’s financial inclusion mission and building trust among vulnerable communities; how simply owning and using a mobile phone can affect a woman’s reputation; whether people in remote rural India really care about their privacy or simply trust institutions to do what’s right; and what is #DalitLivesMatter all about?

Christy’s team’s latest research focuses on trust in digital health, particularly among people with HIV, sex workers, gay and bisexual men and trans and gender diverse populations. In part 2 of this episode: how stigma and criminalisation affect trust in digital health; how trust is earned and maintained in sensitive health research; and the effects of focusing on “what we do well” in Indigenous sexual health projects. You can learn more about Christy’s team’s research at https://www.trustindigitalhealth.org.au/

Associate Professor Christy Newman’s research stretches from queer families’ stories of diversity, adversity and belonging, to unintended pregnancy in migrant and refugee communities, to trust in digital health. We talk about the extent to which our families’ responses shape our trust in others; “tribalism”, vulnerability and distrust; our misconceptions about what is “marginal”; the uneasy compromise in the marriage equality debate; and how we make sense of our “diverse, messy, interesting” lives. You can learn more about Christy’s team’s research at https://www.trustindigitalhealth.org.au/

Lauren is CEO of the Consumer Policy Research Centre. In this episode: How good are we at spotting fake reviews? Why is the aged care system “broken”? How well do consumers understand privacy policies and can “dark patterns” set them back? And what is the role of consumer trust in COVID recovery?

Joel is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Future Minds Lab. In this episode, we talk about how our memories bend reality; whether we can trust our intuitions; the simple ways “choice architecture” can be altered to change our decisions, for good or ill; and how a rickety bridge could affect your love life.