In this very special Halloween episode, Elaine and Kelly are communing with the digital after life and sharing (barely) spooky stories about data from beyond the grave. It’s a bumper episode with a special appearance from researcher Danny Snow, who has been giving digital data a post-mortem examination and proposes how we could donate our data like we donate our organs.Visit DataDonorCard.org for more information and be sure to check out BetaFestival.ie for our ‘something good’ recommendation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1:05:30
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1:05:30
Tech will fail and you will die
Well, our maxim has finally caught up with us. We’re always saying the only certainties in life are that tech will fail and you will die and – while Elaine and Kelly are both still very much alive and well – the tech did fail and we lost an entire episode recording. So now you just have Elaine monologuing about the widespread impact of the 15-hour Amazon Web Services outage this week, and the problem with building an internet that’s just three Big Tech kids in one trench coat. She also has an extra dig at Microsoft for its decision to end free security updates for Windows 10, and shares some rainy day activity suggestions from herself and Kelly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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28:55
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28:55
Return of the dead
It’s no coincidence that the launch of endless feeds of AI-generated video from Meta’s Vibes and OpenAI’s Sora have coincided with a marked increase in video slop online, but what kind of social media are these platforms creating? One that’s littered with dead celebrities, deepfakes and juvenile humour, normalising the manipulation of a real person’s image just for fun. In this episode, Elaine and Kelly wonder if Denmark’s proposed new copyright law could be a death knell for “synthetic resurrection” and rampant deepfakes. They also explain why it’s good for electric vehicles to have a digital passport for their battery, bring you an update on the Chat Control debate, and have a great recommendation for book lovers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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36:01
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36:01
On the campaign ad trail
Tech and democracy expert Liz Carolan joins Kelly and Elaine to explain some new regulations on political advertising hitting the EU this week, right in the midst of an Irish presidential election. These rules have been introduced to minimise political interference and ensure transparency, but the response from platforms is likely to make this situation even murkier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39:41
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39:41
Sims, sEMG and soft robotics
Mark Zuckerberg’s live demo of gesture controls for his Meta glasses may have failed, but the underlying technology in the wrist-worn Neural Band, known as surface electromyography (sEMG), made us curious about potential applications in medtech. To find out more we spoke to EMG expert Prof Madeleine Lowery, who explained the differences between using these sensors in the lab or clinic versus commercial products. Sticking with medtech marvels, we also spoke to Prof Garry Duffy about soft robotics that can squeeze things inside your body – and why that’s a good thing. Also in this jam-packed episode, Kelly shares her thoughts on what the EA buyout could mean for The Sims and why her current gaming pursuits are taking her offline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland