WeAreSTS

Is AI sentient? Do machines have souls? I’ve got an even better question: are these questions the most important ones we should be asking? Headlines claiming machines could be alive are definitely eye-catching. But hype does not come unaccompanied: misinformation, fear, and fake news are close friends with sensationalism. They target audiences who probably know enough about the topic, but not enough to critically analyse the information fed to them. Understanding the role the media plays in opinion-making about new science and technology is vital when we are dealing our own decision making over risk, harm, and benefit.

• Gemma Milne, 2020. Smoke & Mirrors: How Hype Obscures the Future and How To See Past It (listen to our episode interviewing Gemma)
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/world/siri-alexa-ai-gender-bias.html
• https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2022/06/dangerous-fallacy-sentient-ai

The full conversation between Google engineers and LaMDA is available online.

Reporter and researcher

• Andréa Lekare Kun

Interviewees

1. Dr Stephen Hughes, Lecturer in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS)
2. Dr Amanda Rees, Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of York
3. Dr Nina Seppala, Deputy Director (Academic Affairs) of the School of Management at University College London

Host

• Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Intro and Exit music

• “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
  https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

Interval music

• “Andréa’s theme” by Michael Sansbury

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Did you know that in March 1967, the British government bombed an oil tanker stranded on rocks off Cornwall? Dan Sharpe certainly didn’t when he began to dig into the life and career of the Britain’s first Chief Scientific Adviser, Lord Solly Zuckerman. He advised prime minister Harold Wilson during this environmental catastrophe and recommended the bombing.

Join Dan as he traces the life and career of one of the most influential British science advisers of the 20th century from arriving in the United Kingdom as a young adult, to observing primates at ZSL London Zoo, to pioneering a novel approach to science policy advice in government via the second world war and much more. Along the way he hopes to answer the question of how science came into the heart of government and what STS scholars can learn by looking back at the history of science about its use in policy decisions.

Dan thanks Jonathan Burt, Professor Jon Agar and Dr Elliot Honeybun-Arnolda who generously provided their time.

This episode was a project in the STSNewsRoom2022.

Want to learn more?

These articles provide more depth:

News report about SS Torrey Canyon disaster:

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/seven-stones-oil-tanker-disaster-aka-torrey-canyon

Journal article by Jonathan Burt about Solly Zuckerman’s primatology career:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369848606000203

Book by Professor Jon Agar including Solly Zuckerman as Government Chief Scientific Adviser:

https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/109467

Featuring

Reporter and researcher

• Dan Sharpe, UCL Class of 2022

Interviewees

1. Professor Jon Agar, UCL Professor of Science and Technology Studies
2. Elliot Honeybun-Arnolda, University of East Anglia
3. Jonathan Burt, author and historian

Host

• Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Additional voices

• Andrea Lekare, UCL Class of 2023

Music credits

• “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
  https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
• “Ecossaise in E flat 86,” by Kevin MacLeod
  https://filmmusic.io/song/3700-ecossaise-in-e-flat-woo-86-

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Scientific knowledge has evolved over the past few centuries in various political and socio-cultural contexts. There is seen to be a substantially disproportionate legacy of European thought in scientific education. How the fingerprints of colonialism continue to shape the way academic institutions function and teach science is a question of utmost value in the process of ensuring diversified knowledge sharing. While the subject of decolonising raises several questions on institutional privilege and power, it is worth noting that this is also a subject deeply personal and resonant amongst the respective members of a community. Here we explore the meaning it holds for different members of the STS family at UCL. We speak to an undergraduate student, a PhD candidate, an early career lecturer, and one of the co-heads of department for STSUCL. This episode of WeAreSTS was created by Roha Ali Khan, a Master’s student, as part of the STSNewsRoom2022.

Featuring

Reporter and researcher

Roha Ali Khan

Interviewees 

1. Stephanie, Undergraduate Student, UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies
2. Dr Michel Wahome, Lecturer in Science, Technology and Society, UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies
3. Dr Benjamin Weil, formerly a PhD Candidate now complete, UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies
4. Prof Emma Tobin, Professor of Philosophy of Science and co-Head of Department (with Professor Jon Agar), UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies

Host

• Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
  https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

Intro and Exit music

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Music within the episode

“Serious Documentary” by AShamaleuvMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x9xVwpWo7k&t=66s

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain, unless otherwise noted.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Most of us have heard of peer review, but how does it actually work? After more than a century, is it still fit for purpose? This episode explores the state of peer review in academic publishing. With guests from within the field, we hear what it means for researchers, publishers, and institutions like UCL. As the tide of open access publishing gains momentum and more research is made freely accessible, what will peer review look like in the future? How will academic publishing evolve more widely? In the future, can we still value anonymity over acknowledgement of reviewers?

In this episode, Olivia Kehoe explores the peer review process with a critical eye, discussing how other trends in publishing, such as open access and data publishing, soon might re-shape activities such as peer review. She highlights two alternatives to the current system: UCL Press’s open peer review system and a user-organised initiative called “Peer Community In” founded by scientists, for scientists.

Understanding what’s inside the “black box” of peer review is of huge value to STS. Can we trust the process? How could we improve it?

Thanks to her guests, Sunbul Akhtar, Denis Bourguet, and Catherine Sharp for their time, patience and expertise in helping Olivia tackle some of these questions.

Olivia completed this podcast episode as part of a summer studentship project with Professor Joe Cain. This project was funded by UCL Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MAPS) as a careers-building initiative. Thanks Olivia! Great work.

Featuring

Reporter and researcher

Olivia Kehoe, 4th Year UCL Natural Sciences and summer intern for ‘Science and the Publishing Industry’ project in STS

Interviewees

Sunbul Akhtar, UCL Press Journals Coordinator

Denis Bourguet, Director of Research at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment in France (INRAE)

Catherine Sharp, Head of UCL Open Access Services

WeAreSTS Host

Professor Joe Cain, Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

Intro and Exit music

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Music within the episode

“Accralate,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/3336-accralate

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

Editing by Olivia Kehoe

Post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

The assignments students do in STS modules today are nothing like what they used to be. These days, they build portfolios with all sorts of things: short writing, long writing, posters, blogs, in-class presentations. Add to these, projects like podcasts, film clips, campaign strategies, briefing papers, debates, and proposals. Research of different kinds. Creativity. And Challenge.

We diversify our curriculum because we know the future for our students holds work as varied as we can imagine.

Today’s episode offers a sampler of student-made podcasts. These were created by year 3 undergraduates in our science journalism module, run by Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon. The assignment is straightforward: create a three-minute news feature about a recent piece of research at UCL. The piece must be suitable for use on as a news segment for radio or podcast. Students start with a recent press release from the UCL Press Office, and they go from there. The piece must include a short interview segment with a researcher. They have a tight deadline, and they have to work pretty much with the tools they have through a laptop and phone. This is real world work as a freelance journalist.

For today, I’ve brought together eight of the ones I like a lot. They’re varied, and they deliver the assignment is different ways. Think of it as a sampler.

The whole syllabus for HPSC0107 Science Journalism:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/sites/sts/files/hpsc0107-science_journalism-syllabus_2022-23.pdf

Tracks

TRACK 1. New X-ray Tech Promises Better Diagnostics for Heart Disease, Gracie Enticknap

This newscast introduces a new-to-research x-ray technology called HiP-CT which images organs at multiple scales with better clarity than previously achievable. I discuss HiP-CT with a researcher who is using it to study the evolution of congenital heart disease in blue baby syndrome and children with one heart ventricle. We discuss the aims of his research, and eventual clinical application and hospital usage of this technology, which could have revolutionary benefit to the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases.

Interviewee: Professor Andrew Cook, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Zayed Centre for Research

Credits: Stock Media provided by baldwinphilly / Pond5

TRACK 2. Covid-19 Impact on Gut Microbiome, Marcus Chow

It is well established that the digestive system, its microbiota, and the immune system are linked and influence each other. With COVID-19 coming to an endemic, much of the research interest now lies in how it can shape the microbiota and how the microbiota can influence the patients’ symptoms and long term effects. Wong et has investigated how COVID-19 interact with and in the gastrointestinal tract to better understand the implications of disease management, transmission, and infection control. In this article, we review the important gastrointestinal aspects of the disease.

Interviewee: Sunny H Wong, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

Credits: None

TRACK 3. Marketing Infant Formula against Breast Feeding, Nadya Rauch

Let’s take a critical look at infant formula marketing, which the WHO recently condemned for misleading parents and undermining breastfeeding. Breastmilk has key benefits for infants that can’t be replicated in formula milk, such as stems cells and antibodies that help protect infants from infection. We talk to infant formula expert Dr. Fewtrell from UCL’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health to debunk some myths on whether infant formula can improve cognitive outcomes for children.

Interviewee: Dr. Mary Fewtrell, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child He

You’ve heard of Plato. He’s one of those philosophers from Ancient Greece. Think in the time range 400-350 BCE and you’re in the right range. Plato wrote core works in the Western canon: The Republic, The Timaeus, and so much more.

One of his lesser known texts is The Gorgias. That’s this year’s STS1Book. It’s a work massively relevant today. At its heart is a key question for communication: should we prefer people who are truth tellers in society, or should we prefer sweet-talking rhetoricians? This is a question that cuts right to the heart of so much in politics, society, and the way we talk with each other.

If you’re a regular listener to the podcast, you’ll know about the STS1Book programme. Each year, we chose one book for all students and staff to read and talk about. It’s something that helps glue us together as a community. Last year, we had Gemma Milne’s book, Smoke and Mirrors, about hype in the the tech and innovation industries. This year, it’s Plato’s Gorgias.

Here in STS we have an expert on Plato and his philosophy, Professor Andy Gregory. I put in a call to Andy to ask him about this book. I wanted to know what I should be looking out for, and what he thought was important. Who are the main characters? What are the main themes? For me, Gorgias reads like a play about some of the political characters we all know and watch today. The words in this book sound as though they’re coming from today’s headlines. Amazing and eye-opening.

Featuring

Interviewees

Professor Andrew Gregory
Professor of History of Science
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/gregory

Professor Gregory also is the organiser of the long-running London Ancient Science Conference:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/people/sts-academics/gregory-andrew/london-ancient-science-conference

Host

Professor Joe Cain
Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology
https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

Intro and Exit music

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod
https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Interval music

“Busted Flat Blues,” by anonymous
GarageBand
public domain

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain, unless otherwise noted.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Will robots steal my job? Will gene editing cure my cancer? HYPE is a fundamental part of science communication, the development of new technologies, and the crucially important interface between business, investment, and new technology. How does HYPE work? Can it be used for good?

In this conversation at the 2022 STS1Book celebration at University College London, Gemma Milne discusses her book, SMOKE AND MIRRORS, with Jack Stilgoe. They discuss her interest in HYPE as an ever-present phenomenon in our society, and how it affects thinking about technology today. Gemma and Jack reflect on the importance of hype-awareness in society. It’s not always a bad thing, Gemma says, but we need to be alert to how hype skews the conversation.

Gemma Milne. 2020. Smoke and Mirrors. How Hype Obscures the Future and How to See Past It (London: Robinson). ISBN: 9781472143662.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS was the STS1Book for 2021-22. Each year, the Department asks all staff and students to read one book in common during the summer, then arrive for the new session ready to discuss both its substance and its broader value. Incoming students should read this prescribed book. It will be the subject of activities during induction week and will be used in Year 1 courses. Titles are selected for inclusion by the STS Undergraduate Programme Tutor from suggested offered by students and staff. For more information:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/about-sts/sts1book-programme

Want more?

Gemma talks about SMOKE AND MIRRORS in WeAreSTS episode #8.

Also

Gemma Milne also is co-host of the fabulous “Radical Science” podcast.

https://radicalsciencepodcast.com

She creates a newsletter, “Brain Reel”: https://brainreel.substack.com

Website: https://gemmamilne.co.uk

Twitter: @gemmamilne

Professor Jack Stilgoe is co-host of the podcast, “The Received Wisdom,” with Shobita Parthasarathy

https://shobitap.org/the-received-wisdom

Featuring

Interviewee:

Gemma Milne, Science and Technology Writer

https://gemmamilne.co.uk

Interviewer: Professor Jack Stilgoe, UCL Professor of Science and Technology Studies

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/stilgoe

Music credits

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Production information

Yue Zhu recorded this episode live at the STS1Book celebration in May 2022.

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain.

Podcast information

“WeAreSTS” is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, and to leave feedback about the show, visit us online:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

STS Students and staff also can find on the website information about how to get involved with our programme.

“WeAreSTS” producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

As someone who prides herself on being interested in women’s health and progress related to it, Sofia Sancho still had no idea what “menstrual leave” was when it suddenly was all over the news earlier this spring.

Menstruation is a regular physiological phenomenon, happening to the vast majority of people with uteruses. Many people manage their periods just fine, but for some they can be extremely debilitating. For them, being able to take some extra days off work every month to manage symptoms can be a big relief. However, the policies have received a lot of critique. They can be difficult for companies to adopt in a viable way, and researchers worry that the sociocultural norms and stigmas that exist surrounding menstruation will lead to the policies doing more harm than good. 

In the episode, Sofia invites you to join her on a deep dive into the world of menstrual health policies, as she explores the debate surrounding them. Why are they important? Why are they so controversial and debated? And how is any of this related to STS?

Sofia dearly thanks her guests Ms Lorren Rea and Dr Shema Tariq for helping her on this quest.

This episode is created as part of the STSNewsRoom 2022.

Want to learn more?

Literature cited in the episode:

https://profjoecain.net/14-period-policies-exploring-the-debate-on-menstrual-leave-wearests/

Featuring

Reporter and original research

Sofia Sancho

Interviewees

Ms Lorren Rea

Head of Employment Policy at UCL

Dr Shema Tariq

Clinical Research Fellow/ Honorary Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV

Host

Professor Joe Cain
Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Music credits

Intro and Exit music

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Music within the episode

“Cool Jazzy Brass & Vibraphone” by M33 Project

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/m33-project/single/cool-jazzy-bass-vibraphone/

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain, unless otherwise noted.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Natural history documentaries are hugely popular on British television. They offer great examples of science communication, and they have a long history, stretching back to the early days of broadcasting by the BBC, and more.

As luck would have it, here in STS, we have an expert in these programmes and the people who create them. Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon is Associate Professor of Science Communication in the department. He teaches science journalism, sociology of science, and lots more. He also is co-director of our new MSc in Science Communication.

A few years ago, Jean-Baptiste published a book on the history of British natural history documentaries, BBC Wildlife Documentaries in the Age of Attenborough (Palgrave). And yes, while research it he met and interviewed the one and only, David Attenborough.

In this episode, Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon discusses his recent book, BBC Wildlife Documentaries in the Age of Attenborough. This is a history of British natural history filmmaking across the twentieth century. It also is an analysis of how filmmakers establish their identity and authority, such as through “making-of” segments added to their films.

Crucial to Jean-Baptiste’s analysis is the work of Sir David Attenborough, whose career as a broadcaster and natural history filmmaker has profoundly influenced British wildlife television. In researching his book, Jean-Baptiste interviewed Sir David. We talk about his experiences meeting the master of natural history of television.

The book we discussed was:

Gouyon, Jean-Baptiste. 2019. BBC Wildlife Documentaries in the Age of Attenborough (Palgrave). ISBN 9783030199814.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-19982-1

Featuring

Interviewees

Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon
Associate Professor of Science Communication

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/people/dr-jean-baptiste-gouyon

Host

Professor Joe Cain,
Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain

Additional voices

Jasmine Chakravary, UCL Class of 2021, spoke about our STS master’s degrees

Pierre-Elie Balsan, UCL Class of 2023, spoke about STS

Music credits

Intro and Exit music

“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod

https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Interval music

“Silly Intro,” by Alexander Nakarada

https://filmmusic.io/song/4786-silly-intro

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Podcast information

WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

This site also includes information for how STS students and staff can get involved with our programme.

Editing and post-production by Professor Joe Cain, unless otherwise noted.

WeAreSTS producer is Professor Joe Cain.

Twitter: @stsucl #WeAreSTS

Professor Sarah Edwards and Professor Phyllis Illari discuss their contributions the STS’s impact in philosophy of science and medicine. They were lead contributors to two top-rated “impact cases” in UCL’s 2021 entry to the REF assessment, the UK’s research excellence framework. That’s a national review of university research productivity. Sarah’s project involves policy-making about emerging diseases. Phyllis’s project involves policy-making when evidence in conflicting and incomplete. Simply put, “impact” is a measure of how much a influence an academic university research project has had on non-academic communities, such as business, media, schools, and medicine.

Summary of Professor Edwards’s project

Edwards’ research informed the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Ethics Guidance and a Training Manual for clinical research during epidemics of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, for which no effective treatments or vaccines are known. The ethics guidance applied to 4955 studies undertaken into WHO’s priority infectious diseases and pathogens with over 88 million participants globally. Edwards' research has benefited individuals participating in clinical research by promoting wider access to new and repurposed medicines and by protecting the rights and interests of current patients. Edwards initiated the development of an Afrocentric ethics framework for clinical research during epidemics across Africa and supervised a project for the African Union Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), involving wide consultation, engagement, and training. Her expertise has been consulted over clinical research for COVID-19 by organisations such as WHO, Africa CDC, and the US FDA which issued new guidelines leading to >370 early approvals of medicines and medical products with surveillance for research.

Full impact case study

https://results2021.ref.ac.uk/impact/999f7328-c0ea-441f-8808-bee2281a2c27?page=1

Summary of Professor Illari’s project

Public bodies, such as health boards or government departments, must reliably interpret evidence to properly inform their decision-making. Illari and Clarke’s work explores the diverse types of evidence obtained from biological and social mechanisms and systems, and how these are used for multiple purposes. This has impacted on 1) international methodologies for evidence assessment in health by increasing the plurality of evidence they use, particularly evidence of mechanisms (NICE, IARC), and on 2) UK ethical frameworks for AI and data science by improving their evidence use, particularly their attention to anticipating and monitoring how systems including populations react to new ethics frameworks (Cabinet Office, DCMS, West Midlands Police, the NHS). The beneficiaries are patients who need high quality medical advice both in England and Wales and internationally, and all people in the UK affected by government and NHS data projects such as the UK Cabinet Office Framework for Data Ethics and the NHS Code of conduct for data-driven health and care technology.

Full impact case study

https://results2021.ref.ac.uk/impact/716079e1-ae40-478d-a477-ba7ef89b5383?page=1

More about REF

REF is a complex administrative process. For more about UCL’s work across all REF categories:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/research/evaluation/research-excellence-framework/ref-2021

For more about REF from its organisers:

https://www.ref.ac.uk/

Featuring

Interviewees

Profe