Shows
Outlier's Edge Podcast with Niiamah AshongHow to Multiply Your Impact Instantly | Deb Donig | Ep 815"I think that the thought leader is somebody who really listens to what the group wants and helps move in that direction." Deb DonigJoin Niiamah (@niiamahashong) and tech critic Deb Donig @debstapix as they explore how to move beyond individual genius to collective community building. Discover why starting conversations matters more than being the smartest person in the room and how shared vocabulary creates the foundation for building better futures together.Welcome to the Outlier's Edge Podcast, hosted by Niiamah Ashong, Founder of Outlier's Edge and Sherpa of the World of Difference. On this...
2025-08-1251 minOutlier's Edge Podcast with Niiamah AshongTurn Your Voice Into Power | Michael Hunter, Peter Banigo, Wil Otero, Deb Donig | Ep 782"Before we can build anything, we first have to imagine it. There is no technological product without somebody imagining what the world could or should look like and what the future could or should look like." Deb DonigJoin Niiamah (@niiamahashong) and Michael Hunter, Peter Banigo, Wil Otero, Deb Donig as they challenge everything you think you know about efficiency and success. Discover why the most successful people aren't running at 100% capacity and how slowing down might be the key to speeding up your impact.Welcome to the Outlier's Edge Podcast, hosted by Niiamah Ashong...
2025-07-1048 min
Confessions of a CyberPsychologistProf Deb Donig - From Silicon Valley to Academia: Rethinking the Future of Ethical TechJoin us as Professor Deb Donig, an English Literature scholar and tech ethicist, discusses her journey from Silicon Valley entrepreneurship to academia. Deb explores the importance of uniting humanities and STEM, why ethical oversight matters in fast-paced tech environments, and how her work - plus her Technically Human podcast - aims to reshape our digital world. If you’re curious about the human side of innovation, this is a must-listen.
2025-03-261h 32Confessions of a CyberPsychologistFrom Silicon Valley to Academia: Rethinking the Future of Ethical Tech - Guest Prof Deb DonigJoin us as Professor Deb Donig, an English Literature scholar and tech ethicist, discusses her journey from Silicon Valley entrepreneurship to academia. Deb explores the importance of uniting humanities and STEM, why ethical oversight matters in fast-paced tech environments, and how her work - plus her Technically Human podcast - aims to reshape our digital world. If you’re curious about the human side of innovation, this is a must-listen.
2025-03-261h 32
The Technically Human PodcastHigh Tech Society: IEEE's vision for ethical technological advancementIn this episode of the show, I speak with Tom Coughlin, the standing President and CEO of IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. We discuss the IEEE's vision of technological innovatinon, what it really means to "benefit humanity" through tech, and how the tech sector can, and should, move toward a values-driven approach to innovation.
Tom Coughlin is an IEEE Life Fellow, past president of IEEE-USA, past director of IEEE Region 6, past chair of the Santa Clara Valley IEEE Section, past chair of the Consultants Network of...
2024-11-0157 minThe Technically Human PodcastDebugging Division: The Architecture of Bridge-Building Social MediaToday we are bringing you a conversation featuring one technologist who is rethinking and reshaping social media—to build platforms that spark empathy and joy, not division and hate.
Vardon Hamdiu is the co-founder and head of Sparkable, a young nonprofit organization that builds a social media platform aimed at bridging divides.
Growing up immersed in diverse cultures, Vardon has always been a bridge-builder who navigates between worlds. His family history has exposed him to the devastating consequences of communication breakdowns between ethnic communities and the outbreak of war. These experiences have profoundly shaped his un...
2024-10-2553 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Algorithm as Witness: Reimagining Holocaust Memory in the Digital AgeIn this episode of "Technically Human," I bring you a conversation with one of the great thinkers working at the intersection of ethics and technology, Professor Todd Presner, for an episode about his new book, Ethics of the Algorithm: Digital Humanities and Holocaust Memory. In the conversation, we talk about new direction in Holocaust memory and scholarship, how technologies are enabling new approaches, questions, and interpretations of major historical events, and how digital technologies might help us imagine a new ethics of interpretation of history and memory.
Dr. Todd Presner is Chair of UCLA’s Department of Europ...
2024-10-181h 19The Technically Human PodcastGame On, Hate Off: Navigating the Virtual FrontierIn this week's episode of the show, I speak with Daniel Kelley about the culture of online gaming, and the unique set of challenges in the gaming space, related to hate, harassment, and extremism. We talk about the possibilities, and limitations, of regulating that space, and what the landscape of gaming might foretell about the future of increasingly online lives that we live, as more and more of our social interactions take place virtually. We talk about how to make those spaces safer and more inclusive, and whether moderation is the right tack to take in developing that more...
2024-10-1159 min
Beide Seiten LiveIm Duell: Karl Öllinger (GRÜNE) vs. Nikola Donig (NEOS)Wir beleuchten beide Seiten zu folgenden Themen:
Regierungsbildung - Wie wahrscheinlich ist eine Dreierkoalition in Österreich?
Sondierung - Wie verhandlungsfähig ist die SPÖ aktuell?
Rottweiler-Prozess - Listenhunde verbieten oder Besitzer:innen in die Pflicht nehmen?
Wir lassen folgende Tagesnachrichten Revue passieren:
Hurrikan "Milton" trifft auf US-Festland und hinterlässt Spur der Verwüstung
ÖBB-Weststrecke zum Weihnachtsreisen wieder fit
Tennislegende Nadal beendet Karriere
Hundewelpen auf Autobahn gerettet
Puls24.at "Top Stories"
Und nachgefragt haben wir heute bei gleich zwei Gästen - im großen Beide Seiten Live Duell mit dem ehemaligen Grünen Abgeordneten zum Nationalrat Karl Öllinger und dem NEOS-K...
2024-10-1058 minThe Technically Human PodcastArt, Tech, Self: Untangling the Human AlgorithmHi Technically Human listeners! Welcome back to another episode of the show. Today I'm sitting down with Alva Noë. We talk about his new book, The Entanglement, and the relationship between technology, philosophy, and art.
In The Entanglement, Professor Noë explores the inseparability of life, art, and philosophy, arguing that we have greatly underestimated what this entangled reality means for understanding human nature. Neither biology, cognitive science, nor AI can tell a complete story of us, and we can no more pin ourselves down than we can fix or settle on the meaning of an artwork. Even mor...
2024-10-041h 04The Technically Human PodcastThe QWERTY Keyboard and the Chinese ComputerIn this episode of the show, I speak with Dr. Thomas Mullaney about his new book, The Chinese Computer. In the book, Dr. Mullaney outlines the history and evolution of Chinese language computing technology, and explores how the technology of the QWERTY keyboard changed this history of computing. We talk about how the structure of language has shaped the history of digital technologies, and Dr. Mullaney explains how China and the non-Western world—because of the “hypographic” technologies they had to invent in order to join the personal computing revolution— helps us understand the relationship between the human mind and the...
2024-09-271h 06The Technically Human PodcastAgree to Disagree: Are we living in an age of techno-pessimism?Hi Technically Human Listeners!
After a long summer break we are back with a brand season and brand new episodes of the show! To kick off the season, we are bringing you an episode that I’m calling “agree to disagree,” with two guests, Robert D. Atkinson and David Moschella, who join me to argue that the critiques of tech circulating in our environment are full of “myths and scapegoats.” That’s the title of their new book, “Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths About Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy,” published this year by Pallgrave McMillan. The book...
2024-09-201h 17The Technically Human PodcastThe Ethics and Technology of Teams in the Age of AIToday I’m speaking with Projjal Ghatak, CEO & Co-Founder At Onloop, about the ethics of teamwork, collaboration, and providing constructive feedback.
Projjal founded OnLoop in 2020 to create a category called Collaborative Team Development (CTD) to fundamentally reinvent how hybrid teams are assessed and developed, after over a decade of frustration with clunky, traditional enterprise performance management and learning processes and tools that were either hated or ignored by his teams at companies like Uber and Accenture where he spent many years.
Prior to founding OnLoop, Projjal spent three and a half years at Uber in a v...
2024-05-1051 minThe Technically Human PodcastEthics Works: A day in the life of an ethics worker in techIn this episode of the show, I speak with Sarah Fairweather about what it is like to be an ethics worker. We talk about how ethical work can sync up with business practices, how to develop a culture of ethics in industry, and Sarah talks me through what it is like to practice ethics as a day job.
Sarah Fairweather is the Senior Program Manager of Ethics at WellSaid Labs, shaping Responsible AI for synthetic voice technology and designing policies for WellSaid Labs’ ethical AI deployment. She leads the effort at WellSaid to ensure that every team in...
2024-04-2645 minThe Technically Human PodcastFeel the Burn: A new novel explores the financial crisis in techIn this episode of the show, I sit down with author Mike Trigg about his new novel, Burner. Mike Trigg is an author, a novelist, a tech executive, a tech founder, and an investor in dozens of technology start-up companies for over twenty-five years. His first novel, Bit Flip, was released in August 2022 to critical acclaim, lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “twisty, acerbic corporate thriller.” His work has been featured in Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, and Literary Hub. He has been a contributor to TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company, and frequently posts on his author site, www.miketrigg...
2024-04-191h 03The Technically Human PodcastDr. Strangelanguage: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Generative AI in MedicineIn this episode of the show, I sit down with Dr. Robert Pearl to talk about his new book, ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine, a book he co-authored with...ChatGPT! We talk about the deep fractures and problems in American health care that Generative AI may be positioned to solve, the changing landscape of health care, and the possibility that Amazon, Google, or OpenAI may become the nation's latest healthcare providers.
For 18 years, Dr. Robert Pearl, MD served as CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente). He i...
2024-04-121h 05The Technically Human PodcastTaking the Temperature of AI: Measuring AI's Environmental ImpactIn this episode of the show, I talk to Dr. Tamara Kneese about Data and Society's initiative to develop standards and ways to measure the environmental impact of AI. I talk to Dr. Kneese about her work at the Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab (AIMLab), we talk about the links and frictions between tech and climate change, and we consider how AI may be changing how we experience not only life, but also our experience of death.
Dr. Tamara Kneese is Project Director of Data & Society’s Algorithmic Impact Methods Lab, where she is also a Senior Researcher. Fo...
2024-02-161h 05The Technically Human PodcastBrain Storm: The new technologies that are changing how we think about brain functionIn today's episode, I sit down with Dr. Peter Bonutti to talk about the ways in which technologies are revolutionizing our understanding of the brain, and how they may be used to treat crippling brain disorders such as stroke and seizures.
Dr. Peter Bonutti, M.D. is a surgeon, inventor, author, professor, consultant, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Bonutti Research, a medical device incubator that has developed products and technology used around the world. He maintains his clinical and surgical practice, focusing on the integration of robotics into surgical procedures. He is the founder and pr...
2024-01-261h 02The Technically Human PodcastThe Singularity of Hope: The case for AI optimismToday I am interviewing Dr. Sam Sammane about his forthcoming book, "The Singularity of Hope”, which aims to guide readers through the challenges and opportunities of the AI era, advocating for a harmonious fusion of human intelligence and machine capabilities.
Dr. Sammane envisions a world where the rapid advancements in AI and technology are harnessed for the greater good, leading to a new age of global prosperity. He is a seasoned entrepreneur with multiple success exits, and an academic with a rich blend of expertise in applied physics, digital circuit design, nanotechnology, formal methods, life science, and bu...
2024-01-191h 10The Technically Human PodcastThe Count: The politics of data scienceWelcome back to a brand-new season of Technically Human! We’re thrilled to be back with new episodes of the show. We are kicking off the new season, and the new year, with an episode featuring one of my favorite thinkers, Dr. Deborah Stone, to talk about what it means to count—that is to say, what it means to measure, and what it means to matter.
Dr. Deborah Stone is currently a Lecturer in Public Policy in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. She is also an Honorary Professor of Political Science at Aarh...
2024-01-121h 14The Technically Human PodcastGetting Public About Privacy: Understanding data privacy in the digital ageIn this episode of the show, I talk with Jared Maslin about what it means to have privacy on the internet. We talk about the difference between privacy and secrecy, the benefits and limitations of GDPR and the possibility of privacy regulation coming to the US, and we explore the biggest challenges facing data privacy today.
His most recent work, including his most recent publication, "Learning From the Past: Applying Concepts of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to Restore Consumer Trust in Global Data Privacy," involves the design and testing of a more holistic data privacy risk model, using...
2023-11-221h 17The Technically Human PodcastThe Case for Cryptocurrency: The future of digital assets post Sam Bankman-FriedIn this week’s episode of the show I sit down with Dr. Tonya Evans to talk about the state of crypto in the wake of last week’s landmark criminal fraud conviction of the former CEO of FTX and the former prophet of crypto, Sam Bankman-Fried. Dr. Evans and I discuss what new crypto economy might emerge in the wake of his conviction. We discuss the principles and the possibilities of new digital assets, and we talk about the challenges of regulating new financial technologies.
Dr. Tonya M. Evans is a distinguished professor at Penn State Dick...
2023-11-1052 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe New Rules: challenging Big Tech’s reign over legal reformIn today’s episode, I talk about how to create new legal rules to guide tech toward reflecting human values with Brian Beckcom, one of the leading lawyers of his generation.
Brian Beckcom is a Texas Super Lawyer, a designation that recognizes him as one of the top legal experts and practitioners in his arena. In addition to his work as a lawyer, he is also a Computer Scientist and a Philosopher. He created and hosts the popular podcast "Lesson from Leaders with Brian Beckcom."
Brian is an honors graduate of the University of Texas Sc...
2023-11-031h 26The Technically Human PodcastSoul Machines: Can AI have a body?In this episode of the show, I sit down with Dr. Mark Sagar to talk about his vision of an embodied form of AI.
Dr. Sagar is the co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Soul Machines, a company investigating how to use natural language processing with hyper-realistic visuals to create autonomously animated, emotionally dynamic Digital People. In addition to developing new technologies, the research seeks answers to big questions: should we be humanizing AI? How does feeding AI socio-emotional context help create rich, multimodal humanlike experiences, and at what point are we teetering on sentience? And what is r...
2023-10-271h 10The Technically Human PodcastSaving Israeli and Palestinian Lives: Technology For Life: Disaster relief and life-saving tech *From the Archives*Hi Technically Human listeners. This is a show about ethics and tech, but it’s also a show about what it means to be human. There is no area of being human in this moment that technologies does not touch.
I know that many members of this listening community have been deeply affected by the loss of life and the brutality that began with the Hamas attack on Israel and is ongoing in Israel and in Gaza. This is not a show about my politics. But it is a show that strives toward the ideals of diverse re...
2023-10-2351 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Romance of AI: Discussing Love and Artificial Intelligence with Amy KurzweilIn today’s conversation, I sit down with Amy Kurzweil, the author of the new graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story.
Artificial: A Love Story tells the story of three generations of artists whose search for meaning and connection transcends the limits of life. The story begins with the LLM generated chatbot that Amy’s father, the futurist Ray Kurzweil, created out of his father’s archive, but the story doesn’t start and end there. Instead, the story takes us on a journey through new questions that technologies are asking about what it means to be human. ...
2023-10-131h 11The Technically Human PodcastFunny Business: ”Silicon Valley” writer and co-producer Dan Lyons explains what‘s funny about tech culture *From the Archives*Hi Technically Human listeners! I’m on vacation this week, and our team has pulled one of our favorite interviews, and definitely hands down our funniest from our archives to share with you—an episode with Dan Lyons on hat makes Silicon Valley funny--and how that humor gets at some of the deeply sobering realities of Silicon Valley culture. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the interview yet, I think you’ll enjoy it! I’ll be back next week with a brand-new episode of the show!
In this episode, I sit down with a pers...
2023-10-061h 25The Technically Human PodcastThe American Dream Goes Digital: The myths and technologies that bind us with Dr. Julie Albright *From the Archives*In this episode of Technically Human, I sit down with Dr. Julie Albright to talk about her new book: Left to Their Own Devices: How Digital Natives Are Reshaping the American Dream. We talk about the way that digital culture is changing the American Dream for the next generation, we discuss how the internet is changing political culture, and Julie explains how our connections to our devices are changing the way we seek partnerships, form relationships, and how romance has been gamified in our world of online dating.
Dr. Julie Albright is a Sociologist specializing in digital c...
2023-09-291h 15The Technically Human PodcastBad Input: Raising public awareness about AI biasEarlier this year, Consumer Reports, in collaboration with the Kapor Center, debuted "Bad Input," three short films that set out to explore and to create public awareness about how biases in algorithms/data sets result in unfair practices for communities of color, often without their knowledge.
In this episode of the show, I talk to Lily Gangas, Chief Technology Community Officer at the Kapor Center, and Amira Dhalla, Director of Impact Partnerships and Programs at Consumer Reports, about the film and about state of AI at the intersection of race and equity, and the importance of educating...
2023-09-221h 12The Technically Human PodcastInstituting Greenlining: how policy can promote digital inclusionIn today’s episode, I sit down with Vinhcent Le, Senior Legal Counsel of Tech Equity at the Greenlining Institute, an organization that works towards a future where communities of color can build wealth, live in healthy places filled with economic opportunity, and are ready to meet the challenges posed by climate change. We talk about the possibilities and limitations of regulation to address inequities in tech, the challenges of negotiating race in tech production, and how greenlining seeks to address a history of redlining.
Vinhcent Le (he/him/his) leads Greenlining’s work to close the digi...
2023-09-151h 03The Technically Human PodcastDesigning Data GovernanceIn this episode of the show, I continue my deep dive into data, human values, and governance with an interview featuring Lauren Maffeo. We talk about the future of data governance, the possibilities of, and the catastrophe that Lauren thinks our society may need to experience in order to turn the corner on an data governance and ethics.
Lauren Maffeo is an award-winning designer and analyst who currently works as a service designer at Steampunk, a human-centered design firm serving the federal government. She is also a founding editor of Springer’s AI and Ethics journal and an ad...
2023-09-0850 minThe Technically Human PodcastBehind the Data: data, human values, and societyWe’re back, after a long and restful break, with a brand new season of Technically Human! In our first episode of the season, I am joined by a guest cohost, Dr. Morgan Ames, for a conversation with Janet Haven, Executive Director of Data and Society. We talk about the movement to root data and AI practices in human values, the future of automation, and the pressing needs—and challenges—of data governance.
Janet Haven is the executive director of Data & Society. She has worked at the intersection of technology policy, governance, and accountability for more than twenty...
2023-09-011h 13
CONSUMED with Jaime LewisLab-grown meat at the intersection of tech and ethics with Dr. Deb Donig, Cal Poly and UC BerkeleyHere’s one of the great benefits of having a podcast: at any time, you have a perfectly acceptable excuse to ask someone over to chat. And that’s exactly what I did here. Dr. Deb Donig is Assistant Professor of English Literature at Cal Poly and a Lecturer at UC Berkeley’s School of Information in the Master’s in Data Science Program. She is the co-founder of the Cal Poly Ethical Technology Initiative and the host of “Technically Human,” a podcast where she talks with major thinkers, writers, and industry-leading technologists about the relationship between humans and the technolo...
2023-09-011h 04The Technically Human PodcastEast Meets West: The place of Asia in the technological imaginationWelcome to the final episode of the "Technically Human" season!
We’re ending the season with an episode of the 22 lessons on ethics and technology series, with a conversation featuring Dr. John Williams about the global imagination of tech.
Dr. John Williams is a professor of English Literature at Yale University. His work is focused on international histories of technological/media innovation and the perceived difference of racial and cultural otherness. His book, The Buddha in the Machine: Art, Technology, and The Meeting of East and West (Yale University Press, 2014), examines the role of technological disc...
2023-06-1657 minThe Technically Human Podcast*From the Archives*: Tech, democracy, human rights, and the urgent crisis in SudanThese past few weeks, as violence and instability have escalated in Sudan, I’ve had one particular conversation on my mind, an episode of the show that I recorded a few years back with Mohamed Abubakr.
In April of this year, clashes broke out in cities, with the fighting concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 27 May, at least 1,800 people had been killed and more than 5,100 others had been injured.
The conflict began with attacks by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on government sites across Sudan. At pre...
2023-06-0259 minThe Technically Human PodcastCompliance and Governance in the Age of TechToday’s episode focuses on the growing field of compliance and regulation.
Compliance is a field that is growing in importance at both national and international level. In the EU where emerging ethical principles governing tech have led governments to pass new laws, and harms caused by the tech industry have provoked increasingly sharp public reactions, companies have realized that they now must abide by new reporting obligations, that seek to monitor and prevent environmental mismanagement, sexual harassment, questionable lobbying and tax offenses. Companies are increasingly seeking to protect themselves by introducing effective compliance systems so as to...
2023-05-2749 minThe Technically Human PodcastReturning the Power of AI to the PeopleAny long-time listeners of the show know that I’m passionate about accessibility and disability technology. Technologies that support the idea that we can have an equitable world, and that creating a more accessible world makes things better not just for the group specifically considered in that technology, but for all of us, is a key idea to me. That’s why I wanted to sit down with Suman Kanuganti, the former Co-founder and CEO of Aira Tech, a high-tech startup whose work helped pioneer a way to bridge the information gap for those who are blind or low visio...
2023-05-2053 minThe Technically Human PodcastIndigeneity in the Digital AgeWelcome to another episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology" series!
In this episode, I sit down with Jason Edward Lewis to talk about how Indigenous peoples are imagining the futures while drawing upon their heritage. How can we broaden the discussions regarding technology and society to include Indigenous perspectives? How can we design and create AI that centers Indigenous concerns and accommodates a multiplicity of thought? And how can art-led technology research and the use of computational art in imagining the future?
Jason Edward Lewis is a digital media theorist, poet, and software...
2023-05-121h 21The Technically Human PodcastTechnology and Genocide: What the Holocaust can tell us about perils of technological utopianismWelcome back for another episode in the "22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology Series!
In this episode of the series, I speak to Dr. Eric Katz, and we take on the common utopian mythology of technology as inherently progressive, focusing specifically on the frequent slide from utopianism into terror. We talk about the uses of technology during the Holocaust and the specific ways in which scientists, architects, medical professionals, businessmen, and engineers participated in the planning and operation of the concentration and extermination camps that were the foundation of the 'final solution'. How can we think about the...
2023-05-051h 04The Technically Human PodcastInstituting Integrity: The rise of the integrity worker collectiveToday I’m sitting down with Talha Baig to talk about a new to me organization, the Integrity Institute. On the show, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about what I see as a new workforce emerging in the tech sector, of people working in jobs in the tech sector to try and understand, assess, and mitigate some of the harms caused by technologies. That’s why I was excited to learn about the Integrity Institute, a cohort of engineers, product managers, researchers, analysts, data scientists, operations specialists, policy experts and more, who are coming together to levera...
2023-04-281h 06The Technically Human PodcastHow We Breathe: how technology is changing approaches to ventilationBetween 2020 and 2022, I spent a lot of time reading about ventilators. So did a lot of the country. News coverage of the pandemic talked about everything from the serious shortage in ventilators around the country to new technologies available that might help save lives by helping victims of the virus breathe.
From the pandemic that started in March of 2020, to the wildfires in California in August of that same year that made it difficult to take the outside air, I have spent a lot of time over the last few years thinking about breathing, that simple and...
2023-04-2157 minThe Technically Human PodcastTechnically Human Rights: How technologies are changing the state of human rightsWelcome back to another episode in the “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology for the 21st Century” series. In this episode of the series, we take a deep dive into the history of how technology intersects with human rights. My thinking on ethics and technology has human rights at its foundations, so I was particularly excited to sit down with Dr. Jay Aronson, one of the leading thinkers on science, technology, and human rights. We explore how technologies have coincided with the development of human rights in ethical and political terms, and we look at the role that technologies play in o...
2023-04-141h 09The Technically Human PodcastThe Global Technological Imaginary: Sci-Fi, Tech, and the Ethics of RepresentationWelcome back to a brand new season of “Technically Human!” Today’s episode features another conversation in the "22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology" series.
I teach science fiction as a way of thinking about ethics and technology, because I fundamentally believe that before we can build anything, we first have to imagine it. Science fiction is at the core of so many of our technological innovations, offering us utopian visions of how the world could be, or how our values might be captured and catapulted by new technologies—or dystopias about how technology’s promise can go terribly...
2023-04-071h 07The Technically Human PodcastZoom Fatigue: Distance Learning and Social Engagement in the Age of Social DistancingWelcome back to another episode of the 22 lessons on ethics and technology series, in a conversation with Dr. Judith Kalb about the growth of online education and technologies of virtual meeting.
How have our human interactions changed with the introduction, and normalization, of online meetings? How have virtual technologies transformed our relationships to one another, and to the information we exchange when we meet? What are the ethics of learning and the transformation of what it means to learn, to teach, and to interact with our colleagues, students, and bosses online?
Dr. Judith E. Kalb i...
2023-03-101h 02The Technically Human PodcastData FeminismWelcome back, for another episode of the “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology” series. In this episode, I speak with Dr. Lauren Klein about the complicated relationship between data, race, and gender, and what she calls “data feminism.” What is the relationship between data visualizations, representation, and construction of categories—and difference? How have visualizations constructed race and gender? And how can a feminist data science approach help in constructing a more just and equal world?
Dr. Lauren Klein is an associate professor in the Departments of English and Quantitative Theory & Methods at Emory University. She received her A.B. from...
2023-03-031h 04The Technically Human PodcastThe Threshold: Leading in the Age of AIIn this episode, I speak with Dr. Nick Chatrath about the crucial role that leadership plays in the future of AI development. We talk about organizational culture, the very human leaders driving technological production, and why human independent thinking matters more than ever, in the age of artificial intelligence.
Dr. Nick Chatrath is an expert in leadership and organizational transformation with the aim of helping humans flourish. He holds a doctorate from Oxford University and serves as managing director for a global leadership training firm. His book, The Threshold: Leading in the Age of AI, which comes out t...
2023-02-241h 06The Technically Human PodcastThe Ethics of the BlockchainToday’s episode features a conversation with Medha Parlikar, about the ethics of the blockchain and cryptocurrency. We talk about the vision of what cryptocurrency could be, what dangers it might pose to our values, and what the future of cryptocurrency might look like in a web-3 world.
Medha Parlikar is co-founder and chief technology officer of CasperLabs. She has more than 30 years of tech experience and is one of the top women leaders in blockchain. She is a prolific speaker, having spoken at several global conferences including Davos, LA Blockchain Summit, and NFT.LA , among others. Me...
2023-02-171h 08The Technically Human PodcastDigital Democracy: How Tech Shapes Democratic Participation and Social JusticeIn this week’s edition of the “22 lessons on ethics and technology series,” I speak with Dr. Nassim Parvin. We talk about the ethical and political dimensions of design and technology, especially as related to values of democratic participation and social justice. How have digital technologies impacted, and how do they continue to impact, the future of social and collective interactions, particularly in the arenas of political participation and social justice? How do the designs of technologies create platforms for participation--or inhibit it? And how have the values of democracy, equity, and justice nfluence the way we imagine and design...
2023-02-101h 05The Technically Human PodcastComputing Women: Gender Disparity in STEM EducationWe’re back for another installment of the “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology” special series. In this week’s episode of the series, I am joined by Dr. Mar Hicks. This episode tells the story of labor and gender discrimination in the tech industry. Dr. Hicks explains the historical background of gendered technological production that has influenced the development of computing. In her historical outline, she explains that while women were a hidden engine of growth in high technology from World War II to the 1960s, American and British computing in the 1970s experienced a gender flip, becoming male-identified in the 1...
2023-02-031h 00The Technically Human PodcastHuman First AIIn this week's episode, I am joined by Dr. Christopher Nguyen. We talk about the emerging concept of "human first AI," and the changing terrain of both AI ethics, and AI development. We imagine what a human-first approach to AI might look like, and what gets in the way of developing an ethical approach to AI in the tech industry.
Christopher Nguyen’s career spans four decades, and he has become an industry leader in the field of Engineering broadly, and AI specifically. Since fleeing Vietnam in 1978, he has founded multiple tech companies and has played key ro...
2023-01-271h 00The Technically Human PodcastScience for the 21st Century: Understanding Systems BiologyThis week, I turn my mic over to a guest host, for an interview with Dr. Jared Roach about the growing field of systems biology, an interdisciplinary field of study taking over the biological sciences, focused on complex interactions within biological systems. How can we update the study of biology for the 21st century? How can computational and mathematical analysis help us understand biological systems? And what can we newly see or understand about ourselves if we the way that complex networks interact within our bodies?
Today's host, Zoë Gray, is a math major honor student at Ca...
2023-01-2042 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Diversity Challenge: Race, gender, and how the histories of medicine and technology got madeIn this week's “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology" special series, I sit down with Dr. Evelynn Hammonds to talk about how race and gender have shaped the histories of science, medicine, and technological development. We explore the divisions between investigations of gender within scientific and technological inquiry, and race within these same fields. How can an intersectional approach challenge our science and technologies to better serve, and include, a broader diversity of people? How have our concepts of science and technology, and our assumptions about what they can and should do, been shaped by exclusions? How can those trained an...
2023-01-131h 04The Technically Human PodcastThe Ethic of LifeThis week, we continue our “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology series” with a conversation with Dr. John Basl about how our relationship with tech is changing what he calls an “ethic of life, an ethical perspective on which all living things deserve some level of moral concern.
Professor Basl is an associate professor of philosophy in the department of philosophy & religion at Northeastern University and a faculty associate at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. He works primarily in moral philosophy and applied ethics, especi...
2022-12-0256 minThe Technically Human PodcastSocio Paths: Navigating the terrain of sociotechnical systemsIn this episode of "Technically Human," I host Chris Leong and Maria Santacaterina for a conversation about the growing pervasiveness of sociotechnical systems. You may not know the term "sociotechnical system," but if you've booked a flight online, tried to reach an agent on the DMV's hotline, or tried to contact your congressperson, you almost certainly have interacted with one of them. How have sociotechnical systems changed the way we access services, the way we spend our time, and the way we interact with one another? What are the benefits--and the consequences--of living in a world increasingly organized and p...
2022-11-181h 01The Technically Human PodcastOutside Voices: Transcisciplinary Approaches to Ethics and TechnologyWelcome to another interview in the "22 Lessons in Ethics and Technology" series! In this episode, I speak with Dr. Pavel Cenkl, about the need for intellectual diversity and multidimensional approaches to technological solutions to the major problems of our time. Professor Cenkl discusses how the major problems we face require that we bring together people trained in a wide variety of approaches. Focusing on environmental issues--climate change, ecological destruction, and the possible proliferation of future pandemics--we consider how ethical approaches to technology depend on thinking across boundaries of ideas and including voices across a variety of institutions, cultures, and...
2022-11-1145 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Age of PosthumanismWelcome to our 3rd episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethical Technology" series! We will be releasing new episodes in the series every first and second Friday of the month through the duration of the series.
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. N. Kate Hayles, one of the founding theorists of posthumanism, a key term to understanding the changing and dynamic relationship between humans and machines in the digital age. What is the role of the Humanities in understanding our relationship to technology? How have our technological innovations have changed the nature of “the human?" And wh...
2022-11-041h 10The Technically Human PodcastWhat it Means to Care: Ethical medicine in the age of techIn this episode of "Technically Human," I give my mic over to two guest hosts, David Geitner and Roman Rosser, to interview Dr. Robert Pearl about the intersection between tech, medicine, and our health. Dr. Pearl answers questions about the way that technologies are radically reshaping health care; the hosts ask questions about bias in medicine; and the group discusses the ways in which our current system fails to treat us, well, well.
Dr. Robert Pearl is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (1999-2017), the nation’s largest medical group, and former president of The Mi...
2022-10-2859 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe age of privacismIn this episode, I sit down with Dr. Michael Huth to talk about the ethics of data collection, privacy, and the new age of “privacism.” We talk about his new platform, Xayn, we discuss what it looks like to build a company based on ethical principles like privacy and user autonomy, and Michael explains why we should care about our privacy online.
Professor Michael Huth is Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer of Xayn. He teaches at Imperial College London, where he is on the faculty of the department of Engineering, and he serves as the Head of the...
2022-10-211h 10The Technically Human PodcastFrom Tech to Action: Are our technologies changing our ethics?Welcome to our 2nd episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethical Technology" series!
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mark Coeckelbergh, one of the world's leading experts on ethics and technology, in particular robotics and artificial intelligence. We talk about the way that technologies are changing our understanding of ethics and philosophical thinking, how technologies have added to and altered philosophical thinking throughout history, how new technologies--particularly robots, AI, cybernetics, and memory devices--are changing the way we think, and how we understand our ethical obligations to the world, and to each other.
Prof. Dr. M...
2022-10-1458 minThe Technically Human PodcastDefining ethical technology: Urgent debates, global dilemmas, and key definitionsWelcome to our very first episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethical Technology" series!
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Herman Tavani to introduce some of the foundational principles of ethical technology, particularly in computing and digital contexts. We focus on how the current need for an ethics of technology developed, and the debates and key moments that gave rise to the current debates about ethics and technology. Professor Tavani introduces listeners to issues and controversies that comprise the relatively new field of digital ethics, or “cyberethics.” We discuss a wide range of ethical issues...
2022-10-071h 01The Technically Human PodcastGary Bengier’s Unfettered JourneyIn this episode of “Technically Human,” I interview Gary Bengier, the author of the award-winning science fiction novel, Unfettered Journey. We talk about the relationship between his prior work as a technologist, and his current career as a writer of science fiction; we talk about the relationship between technology, philosophy, and science fiction; and we talk about the possibility of making moral choices in a world governed by deterministic technologies.
Gary F. Bengier is a writer, philosopher, and technologist. After a career in Silicon Valley, Gary pursued multiple projects animated by his intellectual passions, studying astrophysics and phil...
2022-09-301h 00The Technically Human PodcastCommand Code: Ethics, technology, and the debate about free willWelcome back to a new season of “Technically Human!” To kick off the year, I wanted to start out with a topic that has been coming up for me increasingly as I talk to people in Silicon Valley: free will.
OK, so I know it might seem a bit odd for a show about ethics and technology to feature what might seem like a purely philosophical concept. But spending time talking to folks in the tech scene, I discovered that the topic of free will comes up quite a lot. I wanted to understand why. The c...
2022-09-2353 minThe Technically Human PodcastNEW! ”22 Lessons on Ethical Technology for the 21st Century” Special Series TrailerHey Technically Human listeners! We’re very excited to introduce a special series of episodes that we’ll run throughout the year—“22 Lessons on Ethical Technology for the 21st Century.” The series features 22 of the most important thinkers at the intersection of tech, ethics, and human values, from around the world. In the series, I speak with Kate Hayles about how we became posthuman. I sit down with Evelynn Hammonds to talk about race, medicine, science, and technology. Jason Lewis and I talk about indigenous knowledge and technology. And more! Over the series of these 22 interviews, we hope to bring you...
2022-09-0903 minThe Technically Human PodcastMillennial Action Technology: US Senate Candidate Steven Olikara talks tech and political activism for a new generation of leaders **RE-RELEASE****RE-RELEASE**
Ok, ok ok. So I know I said that we weren’t releasing episodes until September. But this week, we learned that one of our previous guests, Steven Olikara, former Millennial Action Project CEO and current candidate for US Senate, just got one step closer to winning his bid to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for the 2022 election. Steven is campaigning in Wisconsin for a critical seat in an election year that will determine which party controls the Senate as a majority for the next two years. The Democratic nominee will face off against current sitt...
2022-06-301h 15The Technically Human PodcastThe Future of the Ethical Technology WorkforceFor our last episode of the season, I sit down with Rebekah Tweed to talk about the topic that has animated my research for the past year: The future of what I have been calling the new profession of ethical technology.
As listeners may know, for the past year I have led a team of researchers for the National Science Foundation to explore this new profession, to assess what it means, and to proactively define it in order to ensure that workers in this profession can succeed in these roles, and that they can make the ethical...
2022-06-0300 minThe Technically Human PodcastBattery Power: Dr. John Cooley on the technology replacing fossil fuelsIn this episode, I talk to Dr. John Cooley, the Founder and Chief of Products of Nanoramic Laboratories, a company reinventing the transportation industry with new battery technologies to replace fossil fuel consumption in our car economy. We talk about the relationship between ethical innovation and financial success, the state of the auto industry's transition to battery power, the controversial ethics of battery technology, and the growth of the climate tech industry and environmental consciousness.
Dr. John Cooley is the founder and Chief of Products and Innovation at Nanoramic Laboratories, a company working to accelerate the adoption...
2022-05-2700 minThe Technically Human PodcastDisconnect: Millennials, media, and mental healthThis week, I’ll turn the mic over to two guest hosts, for a conversation about mental health and technology with Dr. Elizabeth Barrett, licensed family-marriage counselor, author, and Cal Poly professor. Cal Poly “Technically Human” students Katelyn Travis and Katrina Loye interview Dr. Barrett to discuss the modern implications of digital technologies for family and romantic dynamics.
The episode delves into the complications of recent technology, including social media apps and the shift into virtual education due to Covid-19. In a virtual world, we lose connection and intimacy in the relationships that should be most important to us...
2022-05-2045 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Clean Meat RevolutionIn this episode, we take a deep dive into the technology of “Clean Meat,” with Paul Shapiro. We talk about the ethics of eating non-human animals, the technological history that led to factory farming and the technology that is allowing human animals to eat meat, in what we might call the "Clean Meat" revolution--a term that nods to the clean energy revolution that has transformed the energy sector.
Paul Shapiro author of the national bestseller Clean Meat, published in 2018. When Paul took his first bite of clean meat in 2014, more humans had gone into space than had eate...
2022-05-131h 07The Technically Human PodcastIntercode: Part 2This week's episode is the second episode of a 2 part series of Technically Human. Over the next two episodes, I speak with six women/nonbinary/trans individuals about their experiences transitioning into the tech industry after leaving established careers. They share their stories about what led them to decide to leave their established careers and retrain as technologists through the Grace Hopper Coding Academy, a program specifically targeting women/nonbinary/trans individuals who want to learn how to code so that they can pursue careers in the tech industry. We discuss the challenges that women/nonbinary/trans individuals face...
2022-05-0643 min
Before It HappenedEthics and Human Rights in Tech with Deb DonigTechnology isn’t neutral: all technologies were created with a purpose, says Dr. Deb Doing a literature professor at Cal Poly whose work focuses on the intersection between technology and human rights. What does it mean to be human in the age of tech? How does technology shape our future on a day-to-day basis? And most importantly, what about ethics and how we behave through technological tools? In an age where we depend so heavily on technology, Deb says we need to look further and ask developers to think more critically and act more ethically when developing their technologies....
2022-05-0539 minThe Technically Human PodcastIntercode: A panel discussion about gender and transitioning into techThis week's episode is the first of a 2 part series of Technically Human. Over the next two episodes, I speak with six women/nonbinary/trans individuals about their experiences transitioning into the tech industry after leaving established careers. They share their stories about what led them to decide to leave their established careers and retrain as technologists through the Grace Hopper Coding Academy, a program specifically targeting women/nonbinary/trans individuals who want to learn how to code so that they can pursue careers in the tech industry. We discuss the challenges that women/nonbinary/trans individuals face when...
2022-04-3000 minThe Technically Human PodcastTechnology For Life: Disaster relief and life-saving techIn this episode of “Technically Human” I talk to Dov Maisel, the cofounder of United Hatzalah, an organization that leverages technologies to provide disaster relief around the world when crisis strikes—in Haiti, Florida, Nepal, Israel, and right now, in the devastating war in Ukraine. We talk about United Hatzalah’s ethic of providing free emergency care to all people, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality, we talk about how technologies are changing the terrain of disaster relief, and we discuss how existing technologies can be transformed into life-saving ones.
Dov Maisel is an Innovator, volunteer and worl...
2022-04-2250 minThe Technically Human PodcastAI for the Developing WorldIn this episode, I interview Prateek Joshi, Founder and CEO of Plutoshift. We talk about the importance of local and cultural knowledge in a global tech economy, the ethical obligations of technological producers in the West to technological development in developing countries, and how AI transforming the landscape of the developing world.
Prateek Joshi is the Founder and CEO of Plutoshift, a company that leverages AI to create sustainable, and life-saving, technologies that help meet basic needs in developing countries. He is the author of 13 books on ML, including a #1 Best Seller, and the host of the Inf...
2022-04-1551 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Opportunity Trap: tech’s visa problemIn this episode, Dr. Pallavi Banerjee joins me to talk about her new book, The Opportunity Trap: High-Skilled Workers, Indian Families and the Failures of Dependent-Visa Program. We talk about the role of immigrants in American tech culture, the challenges that immigrants coming to the U.S. to work face in the immigration process, and the need to think about what "tech" is, beyond our just technological products.
Dr. Pallavi Banerjee is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Calgary. Her research interests lie at the intersections of sociology of families, immigration, labour, gender, transnationalism and c...
2022-04-0845 minThe Technically Human PodcastMarket Values: Dr. Steven Kelts on corporate ethics in the tech industryWe are back, with another season of “Technically Human.”
For our first episode of the season, we're bringing you a conversation with Dr. Steven Kelts. We talk about corporate ethics, we debate the role of values in tech culture, and Steven plays "optimistic cop" to my "cynical cop," to argue that he's hopeful for, and excited about, the future of ethics in tech culture.
Steven Kelts is a political theorist and long-time ethics educator, and a Lecturer at Princeton University, in the Politics Department and at the University Center for Human Values.
His curre...
2022-04-011h 01The Technically Human PodcastBody Snatchers: Manjula Padmanabhan discusses the drama of technology and the black market of organ harvestingToday’s episode is the final episode of our season. The episode features a very special conversation, one that I have wanted to have since I started the show two years ago. In the episode, I sit down with Manjula Padmanabhan. We talk about her play, Harvest, and the connection between market demand in the West and body supply in the global South, and we discuss the relationship between organ donation, as a technology, and human rights, as a philosophy. And Manjula explains why science fiction matters for our ability to understand, and to create, what it means to be...
2022-03-111h 10The Technically Human PodcastWord Processing: how tech transforms translationIn this episode, I chat with Christopher Willis, the Chief Marketing Officer of Acrolinx. We discuss how our digital and globally connected world is posing new challenges for—and new ways of thinking about or solving—how we talk to one another across cultures, across language barriers, across national boundaries, and we talk about just how human language is, in an age where AI can do a lot of the talking.
Christopher Willis is the Chief Marketing Officer of Acrolinx, an industry pioneer that is changing how we think about language across borders, cultures, and national boundaries. We t...
2022-03-0552 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Next Generation of AIIn this episode of “Technically Human,” I sit down with Dr. Eric Daimler. We talk about one of the biggest technology problems facing us today—data deluge—and how new computational models and theories can help solve it and, Dr. Daimler weighs in on the gaps, differences, and possibilities for collaboration between policy, industry, and academia. And we talk about what a vision of “AI for Good” might look like in a world of increasingly infinite data.
Dr. Eric Daimler is a leading authority in robotics and artificial intelligence with over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investor, te...
2022-02-251h 02The Technically Human PodcastCreative (R)evolution: PJ Manney and science fiction for goodIn this episode, I sit down with science fiction writer, essayist, innovator, and cultural icon PJ Manney. We talk about the relationship between literature and empathy, the feedback loops between science fiction imagining and technological production, and how art is, and always has been, a technology.
PJ Manney is the author of the bestselling and Philip K. Dick Award-nominated science fiction technothriller, (R)EVOLUTION (2015), published by 47North in the Phoenix Horizon trilogy with, (ID)ENTITY (2017), and (CON)SCIENCE, (2021). Set as alternate, future American histories, the novels chart the influence of world-changing technologies on power and nations.
...
2022-02-1856 minThe Technically Human PodcastRunning Interference: will democracy survive foreign cyber attacks?For the final episode of our 3 part series on democracy and technology, I am bringing you a conversation with Professor Chimène Keitner on cyber interference in democratic elections, and international law. We talk about the challenges and shortcomings of international legal structures in recognizing and responding to cyber interference in democratic processes, we discuss the way that democracies are made vulnerable by digital products, and Chimène explains what happened in the infamous Russian interference into 2016 election--and what might be in store for our democratic process as we approach the deeply consequential 2024 US Presidential election.
Professor Ch...
2022-02-1153 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe Private Square: democracy and the attention economyThis week, we are continuing our series on the theme of democracy and technology by bringing you a conversation with Ram Fish, on the impact of social media on democratic institutions and civil discourse. We talk about the existential threat that social media poses to democratic norms, the erosion of civil discourse in the attention economy, and where else in the world we might look for hope in leading us out of democratic decline. And, finally--because we don't like leaving our audience with a doomsday prophecy--Ram proposes policies that might productively change the tide of partisan politics on social...
2022-02-0455 minThe Technically Human PodcastDigital DemocracyThis week, we are kicking off a special series of “Technically Human” focused on the intersection of democracy and tech. In the first episode in the series, I sit down with Dr. Foaad Khosmood. We talk about the relationship between access to information and functional democracy, and how digital technologies can expand civil discourse.
Dr. Foaad Khosmood is the Forbes Professor of Computer Engineering and Associate Professor of Computer Science at California Polytechnic State University. His research interests include natural language processing (NLP), artificial intelligence, interactive entertainment, game AI and game jams.
At Cal Poly, Profe...
2022-01-2858 minThe Technically Human PodcastThe LAWS of War: Lethal autonomous weapons systems and the new ethics of warfareIn this episode, I speak with Dr. John C. Williams about the ethics of automated weapons systems. We talk about the concept of meaningful human control, about the ethics of war, and what it means to engage in the politics of biopower in the age of lethal autonomous weapons.
Dr. John C. Williams is a Professor in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, in the UK.
Among the many areas of his research, Dr. Williams is an expert on the ethics of war and challenges presented by changing patterns and technologies...
2022-01-2155 minThe Technically Human PodcastGrimm Futures: Technology’s fairy talesIn this episode of "Technically Human," I sit down with D.J. MacLennan to talk about the relationship between technological realities and fairy tale mythologies. We talk about what it means to re-write epic and age-old stories about magical worlds and beings in the age of tech, and how technological culture may itself be a form of fairy tale thinking.
D.J. MacLennan is a writer of speculative fiction and non-fiction from the Isle of Skye in the Highlands of Scotland. His new book, Future Bright, Future Grimm: Transhumanist Tales for Mother Nature's Offspring reboots the Grimms b...
2022-01-1451 minThe Technically Human PodcastMoving Pictures: Film director Jake Wachtel discusses his new film, Karmalink, and sci-fi in Cambodia"Technically Human" is back with a brand new season of the show!
In our first episode of the season, I sit down with film director Jake Wachtel to talk about his debut film, "Karmalink," the first science fiction film set in Cambodia. We discuss the connection between digital technologies, reincarnation, and Buddhism, we talk about the state of technological development in Cambodia, and Jake reflects on how Cambodians are imagining the future, in light of Cambodia's past.
Jake Wachtel grew up in California, and studied Film and Neuroscience at Stanford University. In 2015, he moved to...
2022-01-0756 min
Immer Theater mit DanniImmer Theater mit Danni mit Kinderarzt Dr. Michael DönigIn der 31. Folge hat sich Danni mit einem Kinderarzt gedatet. Dr. Michael Dönig hat seit über 30 Jahren mit seinem Kollegen Dr. Bernd Kling eine Kinderarztpraxis hier in Bochum. Für die Muttis ist er ein Held. Wie er sein Heldentum findet, wie er schreiende Kinder und hysterische Mütter findet - darüber hat Danni mit ihm gesprochen.
2021-12-161h 10The Technically Human PodcastHow Women Work: Gender, digital labor, and (not) getting paid to do what you loveIn this episode, I speak with Dr. Brooke Duffy about the structure of digital labor. We talk about Instagram influencers and the people who love to hate them, the double bind that women online face in presenting themselves as both "authentic" and "relatable," and the problem with the advice we so often get, to "do what we love."
Dr. Brooke Erin Duffy is an Associate Professor at Cornell University, where she holds appointments in the Department of Communication and the Program in Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies. Her work spans the topics of social media, gender, identity and i...
2021-12-031h 09The Technically Human PodcastA Conversation with Open Dyalog: civil discourse in the digital ageIn this week’s episode, we bring you a conversation about, well, how we have conversations. Listeners of this podcast, students who have taken my class, and anyone who has heard me talk about ethics and technology in public has heard me talk about the importance of civil discourse. In an age of Twitter feuds, Facebook shouting matches, and an online culture of escalating arguments, learning the skills of talking to one another is more important—and less understood—than ever.
That is why, this week, I invited the founder of the Open Dyalog movement, Zahabiya Nuruddin, to joi...
2021-11-1955 minThe Technically Human PodcastCybersecurity in the age of Zero TrustIn this episode, I talk to Rob Dickinson, the CEO of Resurface. We talk about the ethic behind cybersecurity technology, the ethics of data ownership, and what regulations and laws can--and can't--do.
Rob Dickinson is Co-Founder and CEO at Resurface, an innovative platform focused on data privacy and API activity. His work around observability, cybersecurity and the “internet of things” has set him out as a thought leader in this part of the tech world. As a technologist, Rob seeks to build a future of responsible and ethical API. He is a pioneering thinker in the movement to re...
2021-11-1251 minThe Technically Human PodcastTechnically Human 101: a crash course on being human in the age of techIn this episode, we do a deep dive into the Technically Human show archive to bring you an episode that puts together some of the show's top moments. If you are looking for a guide into the key questions, concepts, and characters critical to thinking about ethics and technology.
We've put together a show that answers some of the top questions that we consistently get asked about ethics and technology, with some of "Technically Human's" most memorable guests.
This episode features commentary on the philosophy of the good with Ryan Jenkins, bioethics with Art Caplan, d...
2021-11-051h 11The Technically Human PodcastEmbodied Technology and the Quantified Self with Dr. Steven LeBoeufIn this episode of "Technically Human," I dive into the history, the sociology, and the ethics of wearables with Dr. Steven LeBoeuf, the President and Co-Founder of Valencell Technologies. We talk about how wearable technologies trouble the boundaries of what we call a "self," and how what it means to be human is changing as we increasingly enlist technologies on our bodies in reporting on what is happening in our bodies.
We talk about the evolution of wearables, the technologies that go into wearable tech, and why you might want to think twice about wearing devices that c...
2021-10-291h 03The Technically Human PodcastThe Fork in the Road to Ethical Technology: Vivek Wadhwa on navigating ethical roadmaps in a perilous tech landscapeIn this episode, I sit down with Vivek Wadhwa to talk about his pivot from tech entrepreneur and big tech enthusiast, to critic and activist. We talk about his path to tech and then to his activism in education, his research into tech innovation, and his research into the importance of global diversity when considering questions of how we imagine, innovate, and build.
Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program. He is the author of five best-selling books: From Incremental to Exponential; Your Happiness Was Hacked; The Driver in th...
2021-10-2243 minThe Technically Human PodcastPrincipled Dissent: Joe Toscano explains why he left the tech industry and what real change looks likeIn this episode, I speak with Joe Toscano about why he left Google in 2017, and how he became one of tech's leading critics. We talk about what he saw, in 2017, in the culture of tech that led him to leave, and what led him to found the Better Ethics and Consumer Outcomes Network (BEACON). We discuss the relationship between ethics, law, and policy, and best practices for building a space for change in the public and in the industry.
Joe Toscano is an award-winning designer, published author, and international keynote speaker. Joe previously consulted for Google in...
2021-10-1547 minThe Technically Human PodcastMemory Drive: The ethics of Holocaust memory in the age of virtual realityIn this episode of "Technically Human," I sit down with Dr. Steven Smith, the director USC's Dimensions in Holocaust Testimony.
We talk about the ethics of memory, testimony, and witness, and how these fundamental concepts are being radically changed by developing technologies. Steven explains the ethics of Holocaust witness in the digital age and how a new interactive program that enlists virtual technologies may allow Holocaust testimony to remain vivified for generations to come. How should we think about the reality of virtual survivors? How is our basic concept of "witness" transformed by new technologies? And what doe...
2021-10-081h 07The Technically Human PodcastPublic Service: Yaël Eisenstat Tackles the Intersection of Ethics, Tech, and DemocracyIn this special edition of "Technically Human," we feature a live public conversation about the future of democracy, technology, and public policy. In 2017, Yaël Eisenstat came onboard Facebook to change it, joining the company as its Global Head of Elections Integrity Operations. What she discovered while working there alarmed her. She started speaking out, becoming a leading critic of tech’s threat to democracy.In this conversation, I sit down with Yaël in front of a live audience to ask:
How can American Democracy persevere in the age of social media?
Why does tech need regulation?
Who...
2021-10-011h 05The Technically Human PodcastFunny Business: ”Silicon Valley” writer and co-producer Dan Lyons explains what‘s funny about tech cultureIn this episode, I sit down with a personal hero, the iconic literary giant Dan Lyons. We discuss Dan's experience writing about tech culture for the hit HBO show "Silicon Valley," and Dan's own experience working in tech. We talk about what makes Silicon Valley funny--and how that humor gets at some of the deeply sobering realities of Silicon Valley culture.
Dan Lyons is one of the best-known science and technology journalists in the United States. He was the technology editor at Newsweek, a staff writer at Forbes, and a columnist for Fortune magazine, while also contributing o...
2021-09-251h 25The Technically Human PodcastThe TransHuman Code: Carlos Moreira imagines a human-centered technological futureIn this episode of the podcast, I speak with Carlos Moreira, the CEO of WISeKey. We discuss the possibilities for building a human-centered technological future today—and the consequences if we do not. What does a human-centered model for technological production look like? How can we build human rights into our tech? And what needs to change to return human values to tech?
Carlos Moreira is the Founder Chairman CEO of the international cybersecurity firm WISeKey and the author (along with David Fergusson) of The Transhuman Code, a landmark book about ethics and technology. Before founding WISeKey, he...
2021-08-2756 minThe Technically Human PodcastExplaining AI: Kordel France's quest to create Ethical AIIn this episode, I speak to Kordel France, the CEO of Seekar Technology. We discuss the challenges of building an ethical tech company, the importance of creating unbiased data sets, and Kordel discusses the importance of making AI explainable.
Seekar technologies builds Artificial Intelligence across industries, with a specific focus on creating ethical AI for uses in ethical contexts. His technology has been involved in creating a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that allows doctors to more efficiently screen for the virus, and in environmental protection and conversation efforts. Kordel founded Seekar technologies to set new standards...
2021-08-2047 minThe Technically Human PodcastChris Wexler's Quest to Detoxify the Internet: AI and Krunam's Fight to Stop Human TraffickingIn this episode, I sit down with Chris Wexler, the CEO of Krunam, one of the world’s leading image and video classifiers of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM). We discuss the dark side of the world wide web, and Chris explains how exploitative economies of human trafficking proliferate online. We discuss how Krunam puts AI to use combatting this exploitation. We also look at the rise of social justice-oriented technologies and the rise of social impact investing, and Chris shares why he is hopeful that the future of tech investing will be social-impact based.
Krunam has cr...
2021-08-1359 min
The Technically Human PodcastPhoning Home: Using social media to help end homelessnessIn this episode, I speak with Kevin Adler and Jessica Donig from Miracle Messages, an SF based organization that uses online social media platforms to help people experiencing homelessness connect with their loved ones.
2020-04-1853 min