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Elaine Burke speaks to Riham Al Faqih, development and outreach director with MIFTAH, a civil society organisation based in Palestine, about digital rights violations committed against Palestinians. Their conversation took place shortly after an internet blackout in Gaza, and highlights how Palestine has become a testing ground for the advancement of surveillance tech. 

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Despite all our “wireless” connectivity and “cloud” computing, the internet we enjoy today relies on extensive cables that cross seas and oceans, and our island on the edge of Europe has had a crucial role to play in this global network, both in the past and present. In this episode, we get a history lesson in telecommunications from Deryck Fay, author of Connecting A Nation, who appears alongside Elaine in the upcoming documentary, The Cable that Changed the World. We also follow this development to the present day, and examine Ireland’s continued critical position in protecting the internet’s infrastructure.

The Cable that Changed the World will air on RTÉ One, August 12th at 9.35pm. You can connect with Deryck Fay at DFIT.ie and pick up a copy of his book online or in stores. And check out ForTechsSake.info for links to some of the stories we discussed here.

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CrowdStrike learned some valuable lessons in software deployment recently – lessons that it should have known already, arguably, as they would be concerned golden rules and best practices. Jenny and Elaine talk through the software disaster that was, and the ill-advised gesture of goodwill that back-fired on CrowdStrike. They also have a public service announcement regarding how X is sneakily assuming your consent for training AI for Grok and xAI.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, check out ForTechsSake.info.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains swearing.

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In this episode, Elaine and Jenny look at the risks of working with robots – and it’s not just that they might steal your job. For this discussion, they are joined by Tom Deegan, a health and safety consultant at Mackin EHS who has become the go-to guy for risk assessments in workplaces introducing robotics and cybernetics, ensuring that the bots behave and everyone is safe. (You might even say he’s a robo-cop.)

You can find out more about Mackin EHS at MackinConsultancy.com or connect with Tom on LinkedIn. And check out ForTechsSake.info for links to some of the stories – and the many robots – we discussed here.

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This week we are celebrating Irish techin’ legends Réaltra and Dr Lisa Heffernan, for their roles in the ESA’s Ariane 6 rocket launch and LISA mission, respectively. We also have new names for our recent tech bugbears: aggressive eventing and the AI sludge populating the internet.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, and videos of a giant robot and terrible images generated by AI, check out ForTechsSake.info.

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We often look at the mental and emotional effects of technology on For Tech’s Sake, and this episode we have expert help in understanding it all in the form of cyberpsychologist Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton, a lecturer on the topic at IADT.

You can follow Nicola on Instagram @nicolafoxh and on X @foxnic, and check out her work on her website, NicolaFoxHamilton.com. And head to ForTechsSake.info for some relevant links and resources.

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It’s a bold title for an episode in which Elaine didn’t come prepared, but thank god we have Jenny, who’s calling out Perplexity’s plagiarism and hailing the creator of OneMillionCheckboxes.com. And while Jenny is in a trance ticking boxes on the internet, Elaine is also mesmerised by a phenomenon she calls ‘TikTok hands’. She’s also got a terrifying tale of robots with human-like skin and Billy Roll faces.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, and images of horrifying robot skin, check out ForTechsSake.info.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains swearing.

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Algorithms – they’re everywhere! But what the hell are they, how much influence do they wield and what makes them tick? This episode we’re joined by Megan Nyhan to explain it all.

Megan is a PhD researcher at D-Real where she is working on a framework for designing ethical and trustworthy AI recommender systems. Be sure to find her on LinkedIn if you are interested in Encode Justice and AI 2030. And head to ForTechsSake.info for all the links and resources for this episode.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes some discussion on eating disorders, and if you are affected by or seeking support on these issues, check out these resources from Bodywhys.

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We’ve got all the AI updates covered in this episode, from Apple Intelligence and elephant intelligence to user backlash and self-driving car crashes. And we end with a shout-out for legendary computing pioneer Lynn Conway, who passed away earlier this month.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, check out fortechssake.info.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains some swearing.

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In this episode, we're looking at health data all the way from the cradle to the grave, and beyond! Helping us on this journey is Prof Ciara Heavin, co-director of the Health Information Systems Research Centre at University College Cork and founder of CommPAL, a software platform using AI to better allocate specialist palliative care.

Follow Ciara on X @c_heavin and get links and resources for this episode at ForTechsSake.info.

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In this bonus episode from For Tech’s Sake, Elaine and Jenny weigh up whether Canva’s cringe-inducing rap announcement was junk or genius, and stick it to Spotify for junking Car Thing (a decision they thankfully rowed back on after recording).

For links to the stories and embarrassing videos discussed in this episode, check out fortechssake.info.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains some swearing.

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Kicking off a new season of For Tech’s Sake, hosts Elaine Burke and Kelly Earley discuss recent developments in age verification for social media and online platforms within the EU and the UK. They assess the practical challenges, examine the privacy risks and debate the implications of relying on tech alone to solve this problem. 

Listen to the end for our suggestion of something good you can find online today.

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Everyone's talking about kids and tech, but is the internet responsible for young people's anxieties? And are bans an effective way of moderating behaviour? We looked at the research and spoke to an expert in early childhood education, Paula Walshe, who believes we can do better at teaching positive tech use from a young age.

Paula is a PhD researcher and assistant lecturer with Dundalk Institute of Technology. You can find out more about her work on TheDigitalEarlyChildhoodEducator.ie and you can also check out her own podcast, the ECE Quality Ireland Podcast – and keep an eye out for her book on STEAM in early childhood education coming out later this year.

As always, you can find links to the stories discussed in this episode at ForTechsSake.info.

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In this bonus episode from For Tech’s Sake, Elaine and Jenny assess where we’re at with the current AI hype cycle (with some help from a scathing op-ed from tech writer Julia Angwin), though they still find some gen-AI to have fun with. There are also more robots to talk about, because we clearly have a type.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, check out fortechssake.info.

The song, Triumph of the Tech Queen, was made with Suno.

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Did you know there are bins in Dublin connected to the internet? They are part of what’s known as the internet of things, or IoT, which is turning into something of an internet of trash for reasons other than the bins. To explain this, we have Prof Dirk Pesch, the director of Advance CRT, which is a Science Foundation Ireland centre for research and training focused on advanced networks for sustainable societies.

You can follow Dirk on X (@DirkPesch) and you can find links to the stories and silly things discussed in the episode at ForTechsSake.info.

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In this bonus episode from For Tech’s Sake, Elaine is joined by special guest host Dr Jessamyn Fairfield, a physicist and performer of science stories. Jessamyn came to talk about the co-founder of LinkedIn being cringe with his AI double and the incredible story of how NASA has managed to get Voyager 1 back online, even though it’s in interstellar space. Meanwhile, Elaine has some stories about sus social media activity in Ireland, a Miss AI beauty pageant, and a doorbell you can ring to help fish get through a Dutch dam.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, and more, head to ForTechsSake.info.

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2024 is a major year for voters worldwide, but with tech being used to push all sorts of manipulative messaging and agendas, how can we trust what we see online during an election cycle? In this episode, we have Liz Carolan explaining how she remains (mostly) hopeful in the face of these threats to democracy, and giving us tips on how to muddle through the misinformation.

Liz is a strategist and campaigner for tech and democracy, and the founder of Digital Action, a globally connected organisation campaigning to protect democracy and human rights from digital threats. Subscribe to her updates at TheBriefing.ie and check out ForTechsSake.info for links to the stories discussed in this episode and more resources.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains swearing.

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In this bonus episode from For Tech’s Sake, Elaine and Jenny are laughing at Grimes’s disastrous Coachella set and squealing at an impressive and terrifying new robot from Boston Dynamics. They also take Amazon’s Just Walk Out retail tech to task, chuckle at the reviews of Humane’s AI pin, and discover a new way that AI is being used for good.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, and the creepy robot video, check out fortechssake.info.

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In this episode of For Tech’s Sake, Elaine and Jenny draw parallels between the tech industry and ‘fast fashion’ – notorious for its short production cycles and disregard for the environment and sustainability. Joining us for this conversation is Luísa Vasconcelos E Sousa, the new country manager of Swappie in Ireland, who introduces us to a more circular alternative for smartphone purchases.

For links to the stories and reports discussed in this episode, and other resources, check out fortechssake.info.

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In this bonus episode from For Tech’s Sake, Elaine and Jenny single out their techin’ eejits and techin’ legends from recent tech news. Listen in to find out why Elaine is calling for a fight between YouTube and OpenAI, Jenny is mad at AI image generators, and both agree that scarecrows are due an upgrade.

For links to the stories discussed in this episode, and some helpful visual aids, check out fortechssake.info.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains swearing.

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We’re back! And we’re catching up on all the AI news, good and bad, that’s been happening. And to prove there really are good applications of AI out there, we spoke to Dr Mark O’Sullivan, co-founder and CEO of NeuroBell, which is developing a device using AI to help detect seizures in newborns. You can find out more about their work at NeuroBell.com.

You can also check out the following stories discussed in this episode:

— The problematic Tessa chatbot: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/08/1180838096/an-eating-disorders-chatbot-offered-dieting-advice-raising-fears-about-ai-in-hea

— Tyler Perry’s studio pull-out: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/tyler-perry-ai-alarm-1235833276/

— OpenAI’s Sora videos: https://openai.com/sora

— Why WPP’s partnership with Nvidia is bad news for creators: https://businessplus.ie/tech/ad-tech-nvidia/

— Joe Biden robocalls: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/fake-phone-calls-ai-voice-joe-biden-new-hampshire-us-elections

— Trump’s AI-generated Black friends: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68440150

— Jenny’s interview with Dr Pallavi Tiwari: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/ai-machine-learning-pallavi-tiwari

— AI for Māori language preservation: https://www.newscientist.com/article/0-how-artificial-intelligence-is-helping-keep-indigenous-languages-alive/

— The story behind the development of Charlie Bird’s voice tech: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/future-human-keith-davey-trevor-vaugh-voice-banking-motor-neurone-disease-charlie-bird

— AI for flood warnings: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/flood-warning-system-ai-researchers-ceadar

You can find Conor Nolan’s excellent tribute to the Glasgow Willy Wonka debacle on Instagram (@cheesenolan), and we’ll share the hilarious AI-generated obituary on socials so you should follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains a brief discussion on disordered eating.

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It’s just us, your hosts, for this bonus episode of For Tech’s Sake. Following on from our round-up of 2023, we’re giving out the For Tech’s Sake awards for Biggest Techin’ Eejit of the Year and Techin’ Legend of the Year, among others.

This episode makes a lot more sense if you’ve listened to episode 15 in our main feed, and here are some other episodes we mentioned that you might enjoy:

— Our robotics episode with Niamh Donnelly: https://pod.fo/e/1fd892

— Our sex-tech episode with Dr Caroline West: https://pod.fo/e/18563d

— Our AI episode with Abeba Birhane: https://pod.fo/e/1856e8

And you can also check out this recent interview Jenny did with Abeba, after her appointment to the UN’s advisory on AI: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/future-human/abeba-birhane-generative-ai-chatgpt-openai-machine-learning

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

Be sure to come back next year for an all-new season!

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For Tech’s Sake is back with an all-new series, a brand new co-host and lots more tech stories to talk about.

Join Elaine Burke and Kelly Earley as they look at tech through a critical lens – not evangelising or demonising it, but definitely throwing a bit of shade when it’s deserved.

Follow us for updates:

Instagram

Bluesky

TikTok

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This week it’s just Elaine and Jenny as we round up 2023’s tech news – which took a long time to get through! And even at that, things have changed since this recording and the EU AI Act did in fact enter the next stage of its development, and we’ll be following up on that in the new year.

In the meantime, we have plenty of suggestions to entertain you until we come back with season three.

You might also enjoy reading the New Yorker’s report on the ‘Turkey-Shoot Clusterfuck’, or you can get lost in space while gazing at these images from the James Webb Space Telescope:

— Cat’s Eye Nebula: https://www.jameswebbdiscovery.com/astronomy-news/webb-telescopes-exploration-of-cats-eye-nebula-and-its-galactic-impact

— Pandora’s Cluster: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/james-webb-telescope-pandora-cluster-galaxy-image-nasa

— Tarantula Nebula: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/james-webb-space-telescope-tarantula-nebula

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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In this extended interview with Padraig Hennessy, chair of AgTech Ireland, you’ll hear more about how he built a successful agri-tech start-up as CEO of Terra Nutritech (from 2:20), as well as Ireland’s role in the global context of sustainable farming and some of the agritech innovations that most excite him (from 19:30).

You can find out more about Terra Nutritech and the other agritech start-ups we mentioned on SiliconRepublic.com, and you can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Padraig as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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For a sustainable future, farmers need to learn to work smarter, not harder. That’s according to our guest Padraig Hennessy, CEO of agri-tech start-up Terra NutriTECH and chair of AgTech Ireland. And while ‘smart’ often means internet-connected devices and technological wizardry, there’s a lot more to getting agri-tech right than that.

You can find out more about Terra Nutri-tech and the other agritech start-ups we mentioned on SiliconRepublic.com and here are some more links on topics we discussed:

— The cluck translator: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chickens-emotions-research-translation-japan-2023-9?r=US&IR=T

— The study on pig emotions: https://science.ku.dk/english/press/news/2022/pig-grunts-reveal-their-emotions

— The hacked John Deere tractor: https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/15/23306650/def-con-hacker-john-deere-tractors-run-doom-right-to-repair

— The study on farmer burnout: https://www.independent.ie/farming/news/more-than-25pc-of-irish-farmers-are-burnt-out-new-research-finds/a1365570023.html

— The right to repair vote: https://www.rte.ie/news/2023/1121/1417605-right-to-repair/

— And our recent robotics episode: https://pod.fo/e/1fd892

We’ll release Padraig’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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If you enjoyed our chat about the digital disruption of the value of money, you're in luck because we had a lot more to discuss with Rachel O’Dwyer.

Rachel is a lecturer in digital cultures at NCAD and her recent book, Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform, explores the historical concepts underpinning digital money, while looking to the future of transactions.

In this extended chat, we discuss the gendered attitudes to money that prevail, the kids growing up a world of in-game currencies and virtual gifts, as well as the utopianism of rebuilding money as a technology, and its failings.

If you want to jump straight to the stuff that wasn't in the main episode, skip to about 19:30 and then ahead to about 32:15 for more.

You can get Tokens wherever you find good books and you can follow Rachel’s work @rachelodwyer on Twitter.

You might also enjoy a look at the mad Meta ad mentioned at the end of the podcast: https://youtu.be/lfj-QH7IMxQ

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Rachel as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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Do you understand money? Neither do we, to be honest. And now that digital platforms are creating their own forms of finance – often without the restrictions of any pesky regulation – the meaning of ‘money’ continues to evolve.

To get our heads around the changing nature of money, we spoke to Rachel O’Dwyer, a lecturer in digital cultures at the National College of Art and Design and the author of Tokens: The Future of Money in the Age of the Platform. Rather than deep-dive on the tech underpinning the likes of digital currencies and NFTs, we explore the cultural notion of value and how the digital world is disrupting and manipulating that.

You can get Tokens wherever you find good books and you can follow Rachel’s work @rachelodwyer on Twitter.

— Here’s a report on the NFT crash: https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/21/95_percent_nfts_worthless/

— Here’s some background on M-Pesa and recent calls for it to be regulated like a bank: https://techcabal.com/2023/03/09/m-pesa-lawsuit/

— And here’s a story from the Silicon Republic archive about Bruce Willis (allegedly) giving out to Apple over iTunes and ownership: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/life/updated-yippee-ki-yay-apple-will-bruce-willis-sue-over-itunes-inheritance

— For further listening you might enjoy our full-length interview with Aoife Barry on shifts in online culture, where we also discussed how the internet is becoming increasingly transactional. This is available for HeadStuff+ Community members right here: https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v2-3_bonus-aoife-barry-author-of-social-capital/

We’ll also release Rachel’s full interview in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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In this extended chat with Niamh Donnelly, the award-winning entrepreneur and co-founder of Akara Robotics, we learned even more about the challenges of building robots that can work with humans and went through an extensive breakdown of various robots on the market today, from Roombas to robot dogs to creepy humanoids. We also got Niamh to reveal her favourite robot, exclusively for our HeadStuff+ Community listeners. You're welcome!

Jump to 17:15 for all the stuff that wasn’t in the main episode.

And check out these robots:

— Paro, the ‘therapeutic’ baby seal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJq5PQZHU-I

— The incredible realistic robots are Ameca, from Engineered Arts, and Sophia from Hanson Robotics

— And then there’s Digit, from Agility Robotics

— Here’s the story about the robots who formed a Happy Birthday chorus: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/robot-lawnmowers-sing-happy-birthday-mars-curiosity-rover

— And the one about the pizza-making failure: https://www.outkick.com/robot-pizza-start-up-shuts-down-because-they-couldnt-keep-cheese-from-sliding-off/

— And you may also like to listen back to our sex-tech episode, which did mention a very specific type of robot… https://pod.fo/e/18563d

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Niamh as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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Robots are among us, and are likely to become an even more commonplace fixture in our future. But what does it mean to be living and working alongside robots, and what does it take to develop these robots responsibly? We spoke to Niamh Donnelly, co-founder of Akara Robotics, about these challenges and the considerations roboticists need to have for workers and society.

You can check out Akara Robotics’ work and robots at Akara.ai and you can follow Niamh on Twitter at @engineeve.

– Watch clips of the UN AI Summit robot press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_rR1mMjEfE

– Check out this interview with Niamh for pics and video of Stevie the Robot: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/stevie-robot-elder-care-niamh-donnelly

– Here’s Jenny’s favourite hapless hot dog robot: https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/comments/wtyyuj/this_robot_making_hotdogs/?rdt=45333

– And the bipedal who can’t shelve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzlsvFN_5HI

– And this is the adorable Disney robot Niamh mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cfIm06tcfA

– Read all about the MIT study looking at how to make robots more dexterous on Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/ai-smoothing-robot-hands-holding-objects-mit-study

– As well as the deployment of robots in United Drug’s Dublin warehouse: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/working-robot-trolleys-united-drug-baldonnel-dublin

We’ll release Niamh’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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We have a whopper of an extended episode for you, with lots of talk on how technology – especially AI – intersects with the world of the arts.

If you’ve already listened to the episode in our main feed, featuring our interview with Beta Festival founder Aisling Murray, here’s where you can jump in for the fresh content:

— At about 8 minutes in, we unpack the use of AI for artistic admin and as a creative choice

— From about 14 minutes in, we get into the legal nitty gritty of fair use and copyright, and the long history of trying to define this going back to the works of Andy Warhol

— Jump to around 47 minutes in to hear more from Aisling on the public appetite for STEM and STEAM engagement in Ireland, and how this has compared with her experience internationally in this field

— And from around 53.30 you can hear about Aisling’s work with the Goethe-Institut on a quantum technology art residency

You can follow Beta Festival @betafest_irl on both Twitter and Instagram, and follow Aisling @murray_aisling on Twitter or @ashomurray on Instagram.

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

Be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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In this episode we look at tech’s impact across the arts, from designers and artists to writers and musicians. We also got the lowdown on Ireland’s new festival of art and technology, Beta Festival from its founder and curator, Aisling Murray.

You can follow Beta Festival @betafest_irl on both Twitter and Instagram, and follow Aisling @murray_aisling on Twitter or @ashomurray on Instagram.

— Libby Heaney, one of the artists showcasing at Beta, recently spoke to Silicon Republic about her work: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/quantum-computing-visual-art-uk-libby-heaney

— Here’s what Paul McCartney said about his plans for using AI on some old John Lennon recordings: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/23/paul-mccartney-says-theres-nothing-artificial-in-new-beatles-song-made-using-ai

— Here’s some background on virtual K-pop acts: https://edition.cnn.com/style/kpop-virtual-bands-ai-intl-hnk/index.html

— And a profile of musician Holly Herndon, who’s an advocate for artist-led use of creative AI https://www.wired.co.uk/article/holly-herndon-ai-deepfakes-music

— Here's the footage of Reeps One beatboxing with an AI counterpart at Inspirefest: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/reeps-one-beatboxing-ai-inspirefest

We’ll release Aisling’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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In this extended interview with UCC’s Dr Conor Linehan, we talk more about how people respond to deepfakes, why some people don’t want the ability to recast every film at a whim, and why sometimes too much choice is a bad thing.

As well as the risks and potential harms deepfakes pose, we discussed some positive uses of deepfakes, such as in assistive tech or artistically, such as in this Kendrick Lamar video.

If you want to jump to the stuff that wasn’t covered in the main episode, jump to about 22 minutes in.

Conor was speaking to us on the back of research he conducted with Dr Gillian Murphy at University College Cork and Lero, the Irish software research centre. You can find out more about Conor and his work @conorlinehan on Twitter and you can read the Face/Off study here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287503

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Conor as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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Cybersecurity researcher Dr Hazel Murray has developed a knack for guessing Irish people’s passwords. But is it really our fault that our passwords have become predictable? 

Listen to this episode to find out why some of the standards enforced on passwords are actually making our accounts less secure, and what you need to do to start the new year with better password protection.

You can check out ForTechsSake.info for links to more resources, or find out more about CONNECT at ConnectCentre.ie and keep up with their research by subscribing to their newsletter.

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Think you could tell a deepfake from real content? Think again. Dr Conor Linehan, a senior lecturer in applied psychology at UCC, joined us to explain how easily we can be fooled into believing what we see.

You can find out more about Conor and his work @conorlinehan on Twitter and you can read the Face/Off study here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287503

— Check out the threat report on deepfakes from the NSA, FBI and CISA here: https://media.defense.gov/2023/Sep/12/2003298925/-1/-1/0/CSI-DEEPFAKE-THREATS.PDF

— And test your own ability to spot a fake with this fun quiz: https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/ai-generated-art-photo-quiz/index.html

— Read more about the ‘car crash experiment’ on eyewitness testimony here: https://www.simplypsychology.org/loftus-palmer.html

— And find out about how deepfakes can do good in this Silicon Republic article: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/deepfake-ai-healthcare-diseases-insilico-medicine-pharma

If you liked this episode, you might like to learn more about cybersecurity in this one: https://pod.fo/e/18b914

We’ll also be releasing Conor’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, then we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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In this extended interview with serial entrepreneur Bobby Healy, we find out more about his roll-out plans for drone delivery company Manna across Ireland. We also discussed some of the challenges of launching technologies like this, such as social acceptance and job displacement, and we found out more about the sustainability of drone services versus other alternatives. And, finally, we got Bobby’s very candid take on autonomous vehicles on the road and why he doesn’t see this as very viable.

If you’ve already listened to the main episode, you can skip everything from about 6.48 to 23.50 and just get the stuff you missed.

You can follow Bobby @realBobbyHealy on Twitter, and find out more about Manna at Manna.aero.

You might also like to read this report on the drone industry in Ireland from Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/drone-regulation-ireland-europe-manna-delivery-zenadrone-iaa-safety

And vote for us in the Irish Podcast Awards here: https://www.theirishpodcastawards.ie/voting

Find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Bobby Healy as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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Did you know that an Irish company is one of the world leaders in developing drone delivery services? We spoke to Manna CEO and founder Bobby Healy about the challenges of getting a project like this off the ground, and why Ireland has become a popular global testbed for drone development.

You can follow Bobby @realBobbyHealy on Twitter, and find out more about Manna at Manna.aero.

— You might also like to read this report on the drone industry in Ireland from Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/drone-regulation-ireland-europe-manna-delivery-zenadrone-iaa-safety

— Check out the guidance from the Irish Aviation Authority on drones here: https://www.iaa.ie/general-aviation/drones

— And vote for us in the Irish Podcast Awards here: https://www.theirishpodcastawards.ie/voting

We’ll release Bobby’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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This bonus episode of For Tech’s Sake features our full, uncut interview with Dr Colman Noctor, child and adolescent psychotherapist, about kids and technology. It was a wide-ranging conversation that also touched on our own use of technology and the subject of regulation.

If you want to jump to the parts that weren’t already covered in the main episode, head to about 18.55, and then 31.17.

You can follow Colman on Twitter @colnoc77 and read more about him and his work at ColmanNoctor.com.

You can also find lots of advice, and the latest stats on children and tech in Ireland, at CyberSafeKids.ie.

And you can read more about Ireland’s Online Safety Commissioner here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/niamh-hodnett-online-safety-commissioner-ireland

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

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Our online spaces are being taken over – by kids! Many children as young as eight have their own devices and social media accounts, and while efforts are made to make kid-safe spaces online, that's simply not going to have the pull of the major platforms.

It's a challenging world to navigate for kids, parents, and all other adults alike, so we got some help from psychotherapist Dr Colman Noctor on the matter.

You can follow Colman on Twitter @colnoc77 and read more about him and his work at ColmanNoctor.com.

You can also find lots of advice, and the latest stats on children and tech in Ireland, at CyberSafeKids.ie.

— Here's some more info on Finland's digital media literacy curriculum: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/world/europe/finland-misinformation-classes.html

— Here's what the US surgeon general had to say about kids on social media: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/23/1177626373/u-s-surgeon-general-vivek-murthy-warns-about-the-dangers-of-social-media-to-kids

— You can read about Dr Pablo Gracia's research project on Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/trinity-eu-erc-grant-teenage-digital-use-social-inequality

— And if you're looking at your own phone habits and feel it would be better to make some changes, a good place to start is the book How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price

If you want to hear more from Colman, we'll release a bonus episode next week featuring his extended interview.

Be sure to rate and review if you enjoyed this week's episode, and follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice for updates.

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In our latest episode we spoke to Dr David McKeown, one of the originators of Dublin Maker, a fantastic and free annual event that brings together makers of all kinds for a bit of show and tell.

This year’s event takes place Saturday September 2nd in Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, and in this extended interview with David you’ll learn a little more about the passion that drives scientists and engineers like David to stage an event like this year in, year out (from 9 minutes in).

We also talk more about David’s day job as a rocket scientist and engineering manager of EIRSAT-1, a student-led project to launch and build Ireland’s first satellite, and Ireland’s growing space-tech industry (from about 23 minutes).

And David elaborated on why the space industry is valuable, and told us what he thinks of the billionaire space race from about 33:30.

You can find out more about Dublin Maker at DublinMaker.ie and follow David at @dj_mckeown on Twitter to keep up with his work. Updates on the EIRSAT-1 project can be found at Eirsat1.ie and @EIRSAT1 on Twitter.

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Dr David McKeown as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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Dublin Maker is coming soon so we spoke to one of its founders, Dr David McKeown, to find out all about this year’s festival and discuss the importance of events like this in encouraging people to engage with science.

This year’s Dublin Maker will be hosted in Richmond Barracks on Saturday, 2 September. It’s completely free and welcoming to the creative and the curious.

You can find out more about it at DublinMaker.ie and follow David at @dj_mckeown on Twitter to keep up with his work. And keep an eye out for The Big Life Fix returning to your screens on RTÉ.

Some other things from this episode you might like to check out:

— Jenny’s interview with Dr Elisabeth Bik https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/research-papers-misinformation-elisabeth-bik

— Collie Ennis’s Critter Shed podcast https://play.acast.com/s/the-critter-shed

— The results of Science Foundation Ireland’s Creating Our Future ‘national brainstorm’ https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/creating-our-future-results-science-research-in-ireland

— A piece on making that David wrote for Silicon Republic https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/david-mckeown-maker-movement-ireland

— The Tog hackerspace in Dublin https://www.tog.ie/

— The EIRSAT-1 project https://www.eirsat1.ie/

— Bright Club http://brightclub.ie/

— And Jenny’s interview with Dr Catherine Richards Golini on debunking scientific misinformation https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/science-communication-catherine-richards-golini-karger-publishers

We’ll release David’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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In this bonus episode of For Tech’s Sake you get to hear our complete interview with Prof Gareth Jones because we simply couldn’t fit all his knowledge on search technologies and information retrieval into the main episode.

In this extended interview, you’ll learn how search engine optimisation (SEO) can be used responsibly but also deployed like a dark art to manipulate search results. You’ll also find out why effective information retrieval is getting harder, and how our search queries can actually help to predict disease outbreaks.

It’s fascinating stuff and if you want to just jump in to the bits we left out of the main episode:

— At 6 minutes in, there’s more on the cat and mouse game behind the systems that give you search results and recommendations

— At 17.17 we talk about SEO: how it works and can be manipulated

— There’s more on how search is evolving for formats such as audio from 23.30

— And from 32.10 we have Gareth’s thoughts on whether Google is as good as it used to be, why effective information retrieval is so important for society, search as a skill and what we can learn from medical searches

You can find out more about Gareth’s research at adaptcentre.ie and you can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice, or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Prof Gareth Jones as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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How much do you know about a tech tool you use every day? Google is often the first port of call for many of us online, but how much do we understand the algorithms deciding the results of our search? And how are recommendations engines shaping our online experience?

To discuss these things and more, we spoke to Prof Gareth Jones, an internationally recognised expert on information retrieval and search technologies based at the ADAPT Centre in Dublin City University.

Gareth gave us an insight into how search engines work, answered our questions on whether platforms are listening to us to generate recommendations, and gave us a glimpse into how we might search audio and video media in future.

— Find out more about Gareth’s research at adaptcentre.ie

— You can listen to Elaine’s TV reviews and recommendations every Monday evening on The Last Word, TodayFM

— Read about the Bot Sentinel report she referred to at the top of the episode here: https://dot.la/amber-heard-trolls-2657703228.html

— Check out Silicon Republic’s analysis of the 2023 Digital News Report for Ireland here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/social-media-digital-news-report-ireland

— Power up your search skills with these pro tips: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/20-tips-use-google-search-efficiently.html

— And if you want to understand more about algorithms and AI, check out our previous episode, AI & U

We’ll release Gareth’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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In our latest episode we spoke to Dr Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s AI ambassador, about the kind of work that needs to be done to build better AI, and we wondered why that isn’t already the done thing. In this extended cut of the interview, you can also hear Patricia’s thoughts on how every start-up is an AI start-up now, and why “computer says no” just won’t cut it when it comes to explaining your AI.

Patricia is also the founder of SoapBox Labs, which uses AI to build speech recognition and voice-tech tailored specifically for kids, so we also spoke to her about kid-tech. She revealed how AI could be used to better protect kids online but, for some reason, this isn’t often deployed.

If you want to skip to the stuff you missed, jump in at 21:55 and enjoy the extra chat.

You can find Patricia @ScanlonPatricia and see her work @soapboxlabs on Twitter (we’re not calling it X).

You can also read more on the role of Ireland’s AI ambassador here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/ai-ambassador-patricia-scanlon-chatgpt-ethical-ai

— The story about nurses being overruled by AI was actually published by The Wall Street Journal, not The Washington Post, and can be found here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-medical-diagnosis-nurses-f881b0fe

— The AI bias scandal that brought down the Dutch government can be found here: https://www.politico.eu/article/dutch-scandal-serves-as-a-warning-for-europe-over-risks-of-using-algorithms/

— And the mistakes made by AI detectors are covered here: https://www.popsci.com/technology/ai-bias-plagiarism-non-native-english-speakers/

Also, if you want to hear us picking apart the potential of self-driving cars, we covered this in a previous bonus episode, v1.7_bonus: You drive me lazy.

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Dr Patricia Scanlon as much as we did, and be sure to come back next week for an all-new episode.

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Are you confused by quantum? You’re not alone! 100 years on and even the science hasn’t settled on quantum mechanics and how they can be applied to technologies such as computing. But how we harness this emergent technology from the outset could have long-term impacts, which is why researchers at the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks and Communications are exploring not just quantum computing and quantum networks, but the policy and communication around such technologies.

So strap yourself in for a world-expanding conversation with Dr Harun Šiljak and Dr Tom O’Dea from the Not a Space Race project, on how we discuss and plan for something that doesn’t exist yet, and the usefulness of interpretations of quantum science in pop culture.

You can check out ForTechsSake.info for links to more resources, or find out more about CONNECT at ConnectCentre.ie and keep up with their research by subscribing to their newsletter.

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Dr Patricia Scanlon is Ireland’s first AI ambassador, and she sees it as her duty to start a national conversation on AI and, especially, ethical AI. She joined us to talk about the kind of work that needs to be done to build better AI, and we wondered why that isn’t already the done thing.

Patricia is also the founder of SoapBox Labs, which builds kid-focused speech recognition technology. Follow her @ScanlonPatricia and their work at @soapboxlabs on Twitter (we’re not calling it X).

You can read more about Patricia and her role as Ireland’s AI ambassador here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/ai-ambassador-patricia-scanlon-chatgpt-ethical-ai

And some more links as promised in the episode:

— Cringeworthy product placement for Bing in Hawaii Five-0 (not Miami Vice as Elaine mistakenly thought): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4

— Background on the EU AI Act: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/ai-act-passed-eu-parliament

— Some background on OpenAI’s efforts to ensure the safety of ChatGPT: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/openai-chatgpt-ai-safety-data-hallucinations

— What you need to know about Bard, Google’s ChatGPT rival: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/google-bard-eu-europe-available-ai-chatbot-languages

— A look at how hands-on piloting skills are diminishing as a result of automation: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/business/automated-planes.html

— Our season one episode on AI with Abeba Birhane: https://pod.fo/e/1856e8

— A great chart illustrating the dramatically shortening route to 100 million users: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/threads-100-million-users/

— A bit of background on Threads, Meta’s Twitter rival which was released shortly before we recorded this episode: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/threads-twitter-rival-eu-data

We’ll release Dr Patricia Scanlon’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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There’s so much to talk to when it comes to cybersecurity that we could only fit a fraction of our discussion with internationally recognised expert Brian Honan into our main episode. Lucky for you bonus listeners, we have the entire episode here for you to listen, learn and rethink your cyber-hygiene.

This one is also packed with insights for business leaders and decision-makers when it comes to cybersecurity, because as you will have heard in our main episode, Brian is not into victim-blaming when it comes to cybercrime. He can see a future where we aren’t beset with a preponderance of passwords, authenticators and multi-factor login tools – but this will require vendors making better-designed secure systems.

Find out from Brian how car safety provides a better model for cybersecurity, why paying ransoms makes this problem much worse, how scams have evolved while also staying much the same since the days of writing letters, what impact AI will have on our online safety and much more in this extended interview.

You can of course listen to the whole interview start to finish, but if you want to skip to the bits that weren’t in the main episode, here are the timestamps:

— There’s a deeper discussion about the challenges users face when it comes to cyber hygiene and the need for better security standards for products from about 13:21.

— Then from about 34:34, we continue our discussion around the need to bring more diverse talent into cybersecurity.

— Then, from about 40:35 onwards, we spoke in more detail about wider cybersecurity trends, including scams, artificial intelligence, encryption and backdoors, issues with personal apps on business devices and more top cyber hygiene tips from Brian.

Check out Brian’s cybersecurity company, BH Consulting, and follow the man himself on Twitter @BrianHonan. And keep up to date with the top stories in cybersecurity on SiliconRepublic.com.

— BH Consulting have published some advice on what to do if you suspect your phone has been hacked: https://bhconsulting.ie/what-to-do-if-you-suspect-your-personal-mobile-has-been-hacked/

— Brian previously spoke to Silicon Republic about Ireland’s preparedness for cyberattacks: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/ireland-cybersecurity-cyberattacks-resilience-prepared-brian-honan

— You can read all about the case of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone here: https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/14/22383957/fbi-san-bernadino-iphone-hack-shooting-investigation

— And learn more about tech-facilitated abuse from our episode on the subject: https://pod.fo/e/1856ea

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

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We are not the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, at least that’s what expert Brian Honan says. Brian is internationally recognised for his expertise on cybersecurity and has advised Europol’s Cybercrime Centre along with several innovative security companies. He has even been inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame.

And, according to Brian, it’s the tech-makers that need to take more responsibility for the safety of our digital information. While he has some sage advice on passwords and protecting ourselves, he believes in a future where remembering dozens of different complicated sequences of letters and numbers can be a thing of the past. This will take innovative thinking from the tech-makers, resilience from attack victims to avoid paying ransoms that go on to fund more cybercrime, and for the industry to stop limiting who can become a cybersecurity specialist. Because we really do need more Brians and their brains to keep us safe.

Brian’s own cybersecurity company is BH Consulting and you can find him on Twitter @BrianHonan.

You can find lots of cybersecurity stories on SiliconRepublic.com, and a good place to start is their Cybersecurity Week collection from earlier this year. And here are a few more links you may find interesting:

— Brian recently weighed in on Ireland’s preparedness against cyberattacks for Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/ireland-cybersecurity-cyberattacks-resilience-prepared-brian-honan

— If you need a refresher, this is what happened with HSE cyber attack: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/hse-cyberattack-explainer-conti-ransomware

— This is how Gmail plans to introduced verification: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2023/05/expanding-gmail-security-BIMI.html

— And here’s some background on Google’s plans to ditch the padlock icon in Chrome: https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/03/google_chrome_padlock/

We’ll release Brians’s interview in its entirety in our bonus feed next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode.

And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice.

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You may have already listened to our episode on online content and social media with journalist and author Aoife Barry, and we had so much more in this chat that we just couldn’t fit in the main feed. In this bonus episode, you can hear the full, uncut interview, going more in-depth on social media pile-ons, online toxicity, content moderation and being a journalist online.

Aoife is the former assistant news editor of TheJournal.ie and has written the book Social Capital, a non-fiction book that discusses life online in the shadow of Ireland’s tech boom.

We really recommend listening to the full interview uninterrupted because it’s just a really great discussion. But if you are short on time and want to skip to the bits we missed in the main episode, here’s where to go:

— There’s more of us discussing our own app addictions from about 3:30

— There’s more on growing up online, how social media has evolved and self-censorship from about 8 minutes in

— There’s a look back on a family that received online abuse after appearing in a Lidl ad (more on that story here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/couple-in-ad-campaign-decide-to-leave-ireland-after-online-abuse-1.4041612) from about 24:45

— A discussion on the ‘selective ignorance’ that leads to moderation challenges starts around 30:55

— A deeper look inside content moderation comes in around 37:30

— And, finally, we have a chat about what it means to be a journalist online in this changing landscape, and some nostalgia for old Irish Twitter and dank memes, from about 56:08 (the meme Elaine references is this one: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/crying-wojak)

You can follow Aoife online @sweetoblivion26 on Twitter and Instagram, and check out these links for more:

— Pick up a copy of Social Capital: http://linktr.ee/aoifebarry (This book also includes contributions from previous For Tech’s Sake guest Dr Caroline West and upcoming guest Brian Honan)

— Subscribe to Aoife’s newsletter at https://sweetoblivion.substack.com

— Read about the court case Aoife and other women took against their harasser: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2023/04/22/it-felt-as-risky-being-a-teenage-girl-on-the-internet-as-it-did-being-a-teenage-girl-in-real-life/

— Find out more about BeReal: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/what-is-bereal-photos-instagram

— And about the problematic Tattle: https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/tattle-life-investigation

— And a little history of Scunthorpe Problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem

You can find us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice or let us know what you think via fortechssakepod@gmail.com.

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