Without support from political representatives, legislation on issues like privacy just doesn't happen. Today I'm joined by legislative activist and former journalist Hayley Tsukayama to talk about how, in the gridlock of American democracy, progress on privacy legislation can still be made. 1.18: Hayley's background as a tech journalist in DC 5.10: Why does privacy matter? 8.45: Privacy data and abortion rights 13.05: What do Utah, California and Connecticut all have in common? 23.50: Why is the US the world leader on tech but so slow on privacy legislation? 26.30: Attempts at federal privacy legislation
In many parts of the world, women can face harassment online, and understandably, that can discourage them from using online platforms. But in a world where platforms can be really useful and important in work, that can put women at a serious disadvantage. My guest today is working to tackle that problem in Africa. 4.45: Concerns about women's digital safety in the workplace 13.25: How legacy media can help improve this situation 25.40: Engaging with Big Tech Irene works for Pollicy, which you can find more about here: https://pollicy.org/ Let us know what you'd like to hear more about in our new season! Drop us a message on Twitter (@EthicsTechPod) or an email at ethicsforachangingworldpodcast@gmail.com
What does evermore tracking and surveillance mean for workers? I'm joined by Dr Phoebe V. Moore, a Senior Policy Adviser at the International Labour Organisation and Professor of Management at the University of Essex. 2.15: Origins of quantification 7.22: Algorithms and responsibility in management 13.15: Is productivity (especially in ideas-generating and teamwork-based work) actually measurable? 20:10: Who are AI Trainers? 27.45: Automation and content moderation
What is gig work like in Africa, and how does it exacerbate existing gender and socioeconomic inequalities? To discuss this, I am joined by Dr Anwar, Lecturer in African Studies and International Development at Edinburgh University. He's also the author of a new book, 'The Digital Continent'. 1.17: Sketch of the Gig Economy in Africa 4.51: Why there's a huge gender divide in Platform Work 6.33: What's new about Gig Work compared to traditional informal work 11:40: How accurate is the narrative of freedom and flexibility? 16.32: How the gig economy shifts risks onto workers 25.09: Possibilities for planetary labour organisation
Has the gig economy helped or worsened conditions for domestic workers, who are disproportionately women? Domestic workers lack some of the legal protections that other workers have. Given the legal status of gig workers as self-employed contractors, does this give them more flexibility or just even fewer employment rights? I am joined by Dr Natalie Sedacca, soon to be Assistant Professor in Employment Law at Durham University. 3:30: How legally protected are gig economy workers? 9.15: Protections for domestic workers 13:40: Is platform-based work better or worse for domestic workers? 16.28: Why the gig economy is much less flexible for these workers than other kinds of work 21.30: How some workers have tried to organise 23:20: Self-employed contractors vs competition law
What is it like for workers in the platform economy, and how does this differ across the world? In this episode, I am joined by Sarrah Kassem, Lecturer in Political Economy at Tuebingen University. 2.45: What is it like working for Amazon Mechanical Turk? 7.08: Remote work and outsourcing 9.50: How the platform economy organises workers 19.38: How workers reclaim their agency 32:50: How workers rate the companies themselves
How is technology changing work across the world? And what impact will it have on inequality? I chat to Dr Jiwei Qian and Professor Imraan Valodia about automation and its widespread social impacts in these two very different contexts. 3:54: Automation in China 9:17: Why local governments are encouraging automation 13.51: Impact on inequality 27:53: How framing of automation overlooks the Global South 44:33: Gender inequality and automation in Southern Africa
At what point does technology move from comfortable and convenient to just plain creepy? Where do we draw that line, and who gets to draw it? This week, I’m joined by the insightful Dr Stephanie Hare, author of Technology is not Neutral, to discuss everything from facial recognition and the breakup of social media companies to whether AI Ethics really has started to ‘grow up’. Hope you enjoy the show, and be sure to leave a review and share it with anyone who might be interested! Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
A realistic AI Ethics has to engage with the corporate world and have engagement from it. But how do we ensure that AI Ethics is not seen as an afterthought by the companies that both make and use AI? What kinds of businesses are so far excelling in this space, and what mechanisms have made them do so? And what should the role of regulators be? This week, I'm joined by Ethics Consultant Dr Dorothea Baur to discuss these issues. In the wake of scandals surrounding Facebook and revelations from Frances Haugen, we also discuss whether the social media giant's issue is one of company ethics, or whether there is a deeper issue at play (it's both). Hope you enjoy it, and be sure to share the episode with anyone who might be interested!
Algorithmic decision-making systems (ADMS) have been used in India for a couple of years now to improve access to welfare, especially with the biometric system Aadhar. That, though, has come at a cost in terms of transparency and rights in India, as the courts weigh these up against a pure utilitarian concern for the welfare of the greatest number. Meanwhile, laws requiring social media companies to use algorithms to moderate their content seems to imply an understanding of the complexities of the meaning of speech which algorithms are not capable of. This week, we are really excited to be joined by Divij Joshi, the creator of the AI Observatory India, to discuss how algorithms have been deployed in India, and the tools available for resisting their use in seriously problematic cases. Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
The metaverse has become a buzzword in recent months, but its implications when applied to healthcare are profound. Who owns the data if you use Facebook's platform for a doctor's appointment? And what would happen if Facebook tried to play such a role in an already-concentrated American healthcare market? In this episode, we talk to the very insightful Dr Darshan Kulkarni, a trained pharmacist and lawyer focusing on the health and life sciences industry in the US. Hope you enjoy it! Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
Being fired is bad enough, but how can we ensure that algorithms used in management, which could have such power, are fair and respect workers' rights? This week, we are really excited to be joined by Aislynn Kelly-Lyth, a researcher at the University of Oxford, to discuss the EU's attempts to grapple with both this problem and the gig economy. Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
With applications from healthcare to policing, how do we apply facial recognition software and other biometric technology to society without damaging either democracy or the social solidarity that underpins healthcare? And how can we make sure that companies are using biometric data in ways which respect individual agency. In this episode, we talk to Ada Lovelace Researcher Harry Farmer about his own work and fears surrounding biometric technology, and how we as a society can work to mitigate those concerns. Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
When we express our concerns about Big Tech's control of our data, it is usually in terms of a right to privacy and our data which clashes with our supposed choice to surrender it. But how can alternative ethical systems help to reframe this problem? In this episode, Middle Eastern Political Economy Professor Mehmet Asutay argues that rights-based understandings are at the root of our destructive global economy. We discuss how debates about climate change, privacy, and social credit systems look instead from an Islamic ethics perspective, and what, if anything, we should learn from it.
"Sometimes you have to stand up and say: is this leading us where we want to go?" Facebook's recent attempt at cosmetics popularized a concept that had been bouncing around Silicon Valley for a while. But what does it actually mean for us as people to live parts of our lives in the Metaverse? How does it differ in that regard from the virtual world of social media that already exists? And, most crucially, would such lives be genuinely meaningful? Our guest this week is the insightful and entertaining Dr Vittorio Buffachi, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at University College Cork. Stay tuned for our debates and musings on this hot topic.
When an autonomous weapons system kills, who should be held morally responsible? In our first episode, we talk to Professor Williams, an expert on ethical and legal debates surrounding autonomous weapons, about the difficult interplay between ethics, politics and international law in this domain.
The EU's outsized influence on tech regulation beyond its borders raises a lot of political issues: e.g. the UK having little ability to effectively regulate AI. Besides this, we also discuss how China approaches AI ethics and regulation differently. I'm joined by Oxford University researcher Huw Roberts. 8.50: EU priorities in AI regulation 13.50: The effect of EU policy outside its borders 25.40: How China thinks differently about AI 34.30: "The Beijing Effect"
Robots are designed to elicit emotions in us, especially empathy. I chat to philosopher Dr Joanna Malinowska about the benefits, and dangers, of robots designed to be cute. That's especially in the context of sex robots, and the treatment of women. Send us your questions here!
How can religious ethical traditions make sense of dating apps and sex robots? I chat to Kate Ott about her new book, 'Sex, Tech, and Faith'. 5.05: How digital avatars are replacing clothes 6.50: Reflecting on Dating Apps 15.05: Virtual relationships and Christianity 25.46: Sex Robots
One of the key drivers of investment in autonomous vehicles and other kinds of automation is hype. With all the headlines about failings in the crypto industry this week, it's clear hype can be dangerous and self-fulfilling. So how can we understand it? In this episode from the archives, we chat to Gemma Milne. Tweet us here, or email ethicsforachangingworldpodcast@gmail.com
Tony Roberts
interviewer sound quality so much worse than interviewee