For Tech’s Sake – Details, episodes & analysis

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. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody and produced by Hilary Barry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody and produced by Hilary Barry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. First of all, some episodes to listen back to: — v1.1: Space is ace (with Prof Tom Ray and Dr Patrick Kavanagh, two Irish scientists who worked on the James Webb Space Telescope) https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v1-1-space-is-ace/ — v1.4_bonus: The Elon-phant in the room https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v1-4_bonus-the-elon-phant-in-the-room/ — v1.5: AI & U (with Dr Abeba Birhane from the UN advisory panel on AI) https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v1-5-ai-u/ — v1.7: Max power (with battery scientist Dr Valeria Nico) https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v1-7-max-power/ — v2.7: Be smart and break things (with Dr David McKeown, EIRSAT-1 lead engineer and Dublin Maker co-founder) https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v2-7-be-smart-and-break-things/ — v2.7_bonus: Even more from David on EIRSAT-1 and space-tech https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v2-7_bonus-dr-david-mckeown-rocket-scientist-and-dublin-maker/ — v2.13: Money talk (with Rachel O’Dwyer, author of Tokens) https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/for-techs-sake/episode/v2-13-money-talk/ 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 For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for HeadStuff+ Community members next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for HeadStuff+ Community members next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Dan Wilcox for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for HeadStuff+ Community members next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for HeadStuff+ Community members next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for HeadStuff+ Community members next week, then we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 for HeadStuff+ Community members next week, and we’ll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. If you want to support The HeadStuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit HeadStuffPodcasts.com. And follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. This is exclusive to HeadStuff+ Community members so do look into signing up at HeadStuffPodcasts.com. As usual, we'll be back in a fortnight with an all-new episode. For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody. Thank you to Hilary Barry for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at the HeadStuff team. Be sure to rate and review if you enjoyed this week's episode, and follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice for updates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices