It's official: the writ has dropped. Canada's election is underway. In this AC extra, we sit down with former RIM CEO Jim Balsillie to talk politics and big data. Jim warns us that our democracy is at risk and that social media is in large part to blame. He claims that the business models that underpin today's tech giants have little regard for our civic process. They are designed to maximize profit and to please advertisers. Jim cautions: regulate now - before it's too late.

"We live in a surveillance state"

Attention Control is&nbsp;an investigative podcast hosted by Emmy-Award-winning journalist Kevin Newman. During the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, Attention Control podcast reports on the attempts to control and manipulate us, on-line and on our social media feeds, to sway, influence and undermine our choices and our democratic institutions. Find out what&rsquo;s real and what&rsquo;s not. Who&rsquo;s behind the subterfuge and what tools they&rsquo;re using, and what can be done about this modern menace to our democracy.&nbsp;
Attention Control: an investigative podcast about the hidden campaigns for our attention.

News

Politics

Big Tech is a bi-weekly podcast that explores how emerging technologies are reshaping the world as we know it. Co-hosts David Skok and Taylor Owen, an AC regular, sit down with leading scholars, policy makers and entrepreneurs, to discuss technology's impact on society - for better or worse. 

Season 2 is available now.

 

Subscribe on: 

Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/big-tech/id1484910273 

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3i7GpvRRKksv76DzCcB34J 

or wherever you get your podcasts.

Introducing "Big Tech"

In our series wrap, we trace the history of fake news. We start in 15th century Europe and end in the here and now. We talk to Dr. Jacob Soll who says that the cure to misinformation is more journalism. Society needs what it lost years ago: a strong fourth estate with a local presence. 

 

Sources: Quartz, CNN, Fox News

The History of Misinformation

This episode, we talk to Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith about platforms and privacy - about whether his government will stand-up to big tech. We also talk to friend-of-the-pod, Taylor Owen about the rise of the so-called “splinternet”, a world wide web that looks different depending upon your zip code.

Digital governance: where does Canada stand?

Forty days later and the ballots are in: Canada will be helmed by a Liberal minority. In this episode, we look back at those forty days and ask -- how did we do in this age of disinformation? Did our institutions weather the storms? McGill’s Taylor Owen gives us his take of the election campaign. We then speak to Farhaan Ladhani of Digital Public Square who has an idea of where engaged citizens need to go next.

Election 43: how did we fare and where do we go from here?

This episode, we break down the rising “intangible economy”, what our guest Jim Balsillie says is our shared future. We learn what it is, what it values and who it rewards. We also visit StatsCanada and discover why the race to regulate is so fierce. We do what’s never been done before and put a price on Canadian data... The number is big.

"We live in a surveillance state"

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