In our Tech Society – Details, episodes & analysis

The EU's outsized influence on tech regulation beyond its borders raises a lot of political issues: e.g. the UK having little ability to effectively regulate AI. Besides this, we also discuss how China approaches AI ethics and regulation differently. I'm joined by Oxford University researcher Huw Roberts.

• 8.50: EU priorities in AI regulation
• 13.50: The effect of EU policy outside its borders
• 25.40: How China thinks differently about AI
• 34.30: "The Beijing Effect"

Robots are designed to elicit emotions in us, especially empathy. I chat to philosopher Dr Joanna Malinowska about the benefits, and dangers, of robots designed to be cute. That's especially in the context of sex robots, and the treatment of women.

Send us your questions here!

In many parts of the world, women can face harassment online, and understandably, that can discourage them from using online platforms. But in a world where platforms can be really useful and important in work, that can put women at a serious disadvantage. My guest today is working to tackle that problem in Africa.

4.45: Concerns about women's digital safety in the workplace

13.25: How legacy media can help improve this situation

25.40: Engaging with Big Tech

Irene works for Pollicy, which you can find more about here: https://pollicy.org/

Let us know what you'd like to hear more about in our new season! Drop us a message on Twitter (@EthicsTechPod) or an email at ethicsforachangingworldpodcast@gmail.com 

Trade unions are not the force they once were in Australia. But in the struggle for protections and rights for gig workers, could unionisation be the solution? 

Joining me to discuss how to reform trade unions to face declining membership and the gig economy is Professor Anthony Forsyth, author of The Future of Unions and Worker Representation: The Digital Picket Line.

5.25: Neoliberalism and trade unions

9.59: How has the gig economy changed the game?

26.20: Can unions succeed in the platform economy?

29.30: How to improve wage bargaining

36.40: The future of trade unions

With the gig economy, algorithmic management, and the internet, trade unions are having to adapt. In this episode on labour relations in China, I chat to Kevin Lin about how internet memes are affecting labour relations, what an effective trade union should look like, and China's tech crackdown.

5.15: What should a trade union look like?

9.40: Attempts at trade union reform

18.10: Workers' views on their trade union

23.05: 996 working practices in China and the tech crackdown

30.40: Internet Memes and work culture

Quantification and algorithmic management of workers gives employers a huge amount of data, but it isn't properly protected. Joining me to talk about changing that is Aiha Nguyen, Labor Futures Director at Data and Society.

5:00 Why focus on algorithmic management not automation?

9:05 What makes it easier to shift risks onto workers?

11:30 Employee data privacy 

17:05 What we get wrong in privacy policy

What does evermore tracking and surveillance mean for workers? 

I'm joined by Dr Phoebe V. Moore, a Senior Policy Adviser at the International Labour Organisation and Professor of Management at the University of Essex.

2.15: Origins of quantification

7.22: Algorithms and responsibility in management

13.15: Is productivity (especially in ideas-generating and teamwork-based work) actually measurable?

20:10: Who are AI Trainers?

27.45: Automation and content moderation

What is gig work like in Africa, and how does it exacerbate existing gender and socioeconomic inequalities?

To discuss this, I am joined by Dr Anwar, Lecturer in African Studies and International Development at Edinburgh University. He's also the author of a new book, 'The Digital Continent'.

1.17: Sketch of the Gig Economy in Africa

4.51: Why there's a huge gender divide in Platform Work

6.33: What's new about Gig Work compared to traditional informal work

11:40: How accurate is the narrative of freedom and flexibility?

16.32: How the gig economy shifts risks onto workers

25.09: Possibilities for planetary labour organisation

Has the gig economy helped or worsened conditions for domestic workers, who are disproportionately women?

Domestic workers lack some of the legal protections that other workers have. Given the legal status of gig workers as self-employed contractors, does this give them more flexibility or just even fewer employment rights? I am joined by Dr Natalie Sedacca, soon to be Assistant Professor in Employment Law at Durham University.

3:30: How legally protected are gig economy workers?

9.15: Protections for domestic workers

13:40: Is platform-based work better or worse for domestic workers?

16.28: Why the gig economy is much less flexible for these workers than other kinds of work

21.30: How some workers have tried to organise

23:20: Self-employed contractors vs competition law

How do we make sure that innovation is used to benefit workers, and not just increase surveillance of them?

To talk about their book 'Your Boss is an Algorithm', I am joined by Antonio Aloisi, Assistant Professor at IE Law School, and Valerio de Stefano, Associate Professor at Osgoode Law School. In this wide-ranging episode, we chat about politics, law, algorithmic management, and the gig economy. 

3:00 Why aren't more jobs already automated?

10:32: Will the gig economy be the new normal?

14:24: Politics and regulation of the gig economy

22:30: How can innovation be made to benefit workers?

32:40: What is a Future Proof Labour Law?