Episoder
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The International commitment to ban landmines is wavering. Several European countries are reversing their opposition to using them. The shift comes as disarmament negotiators struggle to regulate the spread of "killer robots" — AI-controlled autonomous weapons. So, is the future of weapons containment and control under threat? And are treaties signed in peace always likely to be vulnerable during times of war?
Guests
Professor Sean Watts — Co-director of the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare, West Point
Dr Barry de Vries — Research fellow, Public International Law, Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany) Professor Lee Funnell — University of Chicago Law School
Professor Lee Fennell — University of Chicago Law School
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Researchers and corporations are already working to relocate data servers beyond the Earth's atmosphere — on satellites.
Data servers are essential to the functioning of the modern world, but they're both power and water hungry. When they're built, they often meet with community concern and environmental protest.
So, why not build data centres in space where solar energy is abundant? What could possibly go wrong?
Finally, we discuss how artificial intelligence is changing the way we write by providing tools for editing, improving clarity, and suggesting new ideas.
Guests
Dr Domenico Vicinanza — Associate Professor of Intelligent Systems and Data Science, Anglia Ruskin University
Damien Dumestier — Space system architect, Thales Alenia Space
Dr Steven Freeland — Emeritus Professor, Western Sydney University and Professorial Fellow, Bond University
Dr Daniel Murphy — Program Lead, Aerosol Properties and Processes, NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
Associate Professor Ritesh Chugh — Information and Communication Technologies, CQ University
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Forgetting is the only safe response to the world's problems, from a geopolitical perspective, according to author and journalist David Rieff. Sometimes it’s too dangerous to remember. And forgetting is also a good thing in your personal life, say scientists. It moves us forward. The science of memory is giving way to the science of forgetting. Forgetting used to be seen as a failure of the brain, but new research suggests it’s a crucial part of the way our minds function.
Original broadcast on March 27, 2022
Guests
Dr Scott Small – Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Columbia University
Dr Oliver Hardt - Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, McGill University (Canada)
David Rieff – writer and journalist
Further information
Scott Small – Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering
David Rieff – In Praise of Forgetting
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Donald Trump is establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. He wants it to rival the country's stockpile of gold. He boasts America will one day be the "Bitcoin superpower of the world", but what's his end game and what will it mean for future global finance? Questions are already being asked about why he's chosen to largely deregulate the cryptocurrency sector and whether his family's personal crypto interests are now driving US policy.
Guests
Associate Professor Larisa Yarovaya — Director of the Centre for Digital Finance, University of Southampton
Professor Robert Elliott — Professor of Economics, University of Birmingham
Dr John Hawkins — senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra
Maximilian Brichta — Communications, University of Southern California
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There's been growing research and investment in projects that use the oceans to artificially remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Such techniques involve both a biological and a chemical approach.
To date, carbon removal technologies have been largely land-based, using giant air-purification machines, or planting trees to consume and store carbon. Those efforts have struggled to gain scale and acceptance. So, will a marine-based approach make any difference? It's a controversial idea and not without its difficulties.
Guests
Brad Ack — CEO, Ocean Visions
James Kerry — Senior Marine and Climate Scientist, OceanCare; Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at James Cook University
Romany Webb — Deputy Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School
Rachel Rose Jackson — Climate Campaign Director, Corporate Accountability
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YouTube is the second biggest website in the world, containing more than 14.8 billion videos. It's been a huge success, but its public image as a haven for influencers and digital monetisers belies its true character and role. Ryan McGrady from the University of Massachusetts takes us inside the online behemoth. Also, perspectives on boredom, its purpose and prevalence; its relationship to time, and why the measures we undertake to fight boredom so often backfire.
Guests
Isabella Lee — Production assistant, Guardian Australia
Dr Michael Inzlicht — Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto
Dr Maria Balaska — Philosopher and Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire and Åbo Akademi University (Finland)
Dr Ryan McGrady — Senior Research Fellow, Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Future Tense — The vicious cycle of fear and anger — and how it traps society
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We like to think that increases in efficiency lead to greater sustainability – to lower resource use. But from cars to computers to bitcoin, it seems the reverse is true – efficiency stimulates demand. It’s an oft forgotten rule of economics called the Jevons Paradox, and it might explain why the demand for almost everything keeps going up even while we simultaneously fret about over-consumption. Also, would you accept a parcel from a stranger, take it on the bus or train with you, and then deliver it to another stranger for a small fee? It might sound dodgy when you put it like that, but it’s part of an emerging delivery trend call “crowdshipping”. And proponents say it’s about reducing the environmental impact of transport.
Guests
Dr Blair Fix – Political economist, York University (Canada)
Dr Adam Dorr – Director of Research, Rethink
Professor Lynette Cheah – Chair of Sustainable Transport, University of the Sunshine Coast
Further information
Blair Fix article - A Tour of the Jevons Paradox: How Energy Efficiency Backfires
Adam Dorr’s article - Rethinking the Jevons Paradox: why more clean energy efficiency is good for the environment
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Human beings have a bias toward optimism, says astrophysicist turned author and editor, Sumit Paul-Choudhury. While we may not always acknowledge it, the power of optimism is what drives our species forward. But beware of the modern craze for "Manifesting" — wishful thinking, no matter how intense, only has impact if it's married to action. Also, why we need to rethink globalisation's bad rap. International relations expert, Inanna Hamati-Ataya, argues there are no pure cultures and globalisation is really the means by which humanity flourishes.
Guests
Professor Inanna Hamati-Ataya — Chair of Global International Relations, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Sumit Paul-Choudhury — author, editor and Managing Director, Alternity Limited
Associate Professor Laura D'Olimpio — School of Education, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Further information
Inanna Hamati-Ataya's article on globalisation
Laura D'Olimpio's article on manifesting
Sumit Paul-Choudhury's book The Bright Side
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Artificial intelligence, it turns out, has a heavy human backend — they're called "data labellers"; they mostly live in developing countries, and there are ethical questions about their pay and work conditions. So, why aren't we talking more about them? Also, Google and other search companies have begun replacing hyperlinks with AI summaries. It's a move seemingly in line with our AI obsessed times, but what will it do to the tapestry of the internet? And will it simply make online information even harder to verify?
Guests
Dr Zena Assaad — Senior lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University
Professor Toby Walsh — Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of New South Wales
Dr Collin Jennings — writer and academic
Further information
Collin Jennings' article: A linkless internet
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Does the spirit of the "Futurist" movement live on today in the likes of Elon Musk and America's intrigue of techno-oligarchs? The Italian poet and fantasist Flippo Tommaso Marinetti almost died in a car crash, and out of that experience was born the "Futurist" movement. It went on to inspire the fascism of Benito Mussolini with an energetic emphasis on disruptive technology, conflict and creating an authoritarian future.
Guests
Annalee Newitz — Journalist and author
Dr Jonathan White — Professor of politics, London School of Economics
Further information
Jonathan White’s article - How Trump and the new right came to ‘own’ the future – while apparently exploiting the past | Jonathan White | The Guardian
Annalee Newitz’s article – How futurism took an abrupt right turn in the 20th century
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Does modern economic thinking act as a roadblock to change? Economists Kate Raworth and Rainer Kattel certainly think so. The alternatives they propose involve acknowledging limits not just obsessing about growth. And a caution from design and management expert Raz Godelink – it always pays to be skeptical when big business puts on the sustainability suit.
Guests
Kate Raworth – Economist and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab
Raz Godelnik – Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Management at the School of Design Strategies, Parson's School of Design
Rainer Kattel – Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
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It certainly feels like a very shouty world. But have we really reached a new low point in civility? And, if so, where to from here?
We examine what civility really entails and how it can help foster cooperation but also lead to the submission of minorities.
And did you know that even the design of our urban spaces can shape and limit acts of civility? So, how can we make our cities more sociable?
Guests
Dr Eduardo Sadoval — Social Roboticist, UNSW
Dr Saara Liinamaa — Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph. Also, co-investigator, Sociable Cities Project
Rafi Kohan — US-based freelance writer and author
Dr Keith Bybee — Professor of Law and Political Science, Syracuse University
Further information
Rafi Kohan - Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage
Keith Bybee - How Civility Works
Sociable Cities Project
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When a company CEO can be paid 1,000 times the average employee's salary it's probably time to take a long hard look at wealth inequality. And those calling for the rich to pay more aren't always the ones you'd expect – Patriotic Millionaires is a group of mega rich individuals demanding greater, not lesser taxation. Then there's the Dutch philosopher urging ordinary citizens to put a cap on their own personal wealth. She calls her approach Limitarianism. Also, Rewilding the Internet – how to purify an online environment made toxic by monopolistic capitalism.
Original broadcast on June 21, 2024.
Guests
Dr Ingrid Robeyns – author, philosopher and Chair in Ethics of Institutions, Ethics Institute, Utrecht University (The Netherlands)
Robert Guest – Deputy Editor, The Economist
Morris Pearl – Chair of the Board, The Patriotic Millionaires
Professor Jean-Etienne Joullie — EMLV Business School, Paris
Maria Farrell – Writer and keynote speaker on technology and the future
Further information
Ingrid Robeyns: Limitarianism, The Case Against Extreme Wealth
Robert Guest: The fallacious case for abolishing the rich
Maria Farrell: We need to rewild the Internet
Listen to Future Tense - Managerialism and our obsession with hierarchy
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Are we really facing an attention crisis? Historian, Daniel Immerwahr, has his doubts. In fact, he says ours is an era of obsession as much as distraction and of zeal as much as indifference. Also, the paradox of certainty: we crave it, argues the University of Alberta's, Timothy Caulfield, even though it's so easy to fake.
Guests
Daniel Immerwahr — author and Professor of History, Northwestern University and a contributing writer at The New Yorker
Timothy Caulfield — author and Professor of law, University of Alberta
Professor Gloria Mark — data scientist and psychologist, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine
Further information
Timothy Coulfield: The Certainty Illusion. What You Don't Know and Why It Matters
Daniel Immerwahr's article on Attention
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They're cheaper and safer than their lithium counterparts, they're easier to scale-up, and they can hold power for much longer than conventional batteries, so why aren't flow batteries better known? The technology has been under development for decades, but enthusiasts now say they're finding their place in the sun. Also, why more and more cargo companies are turning to wind-power; and do developing countries need to rethink their approach to off-grid power.
Guests
Emeritus Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos — School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, University of New South Wales
Emily Mahoney — Researcher, Malapit Lab, Northwestern University (US)
Adjunct Associate Professor Jens Noack — Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland
Associate Prof Paul Munro — Associate Professor in Human Geography, The Environment and Society Group, University of New South Wales
Gavin Allwright — Secretary General, International Windship Association
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The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is opening-up its storeroom, turning the back end of the operation into a public resource. It's about attracting new patrons, but it's also about accountability, the Museum's managers have declared. Across the Western world museums are having to reexamine their mission and redefine the relationship they have with the public they're meant to serve. We explore why and how. We also look at the balance that's being struck between the physical artefact and its digital equivalent.
Guests
Tim Reeve — Deputy Director, Victorian and Albert Museum, London
Dan Hicks — Professor of Contemporary Archaeology, Oxford University
Karin de Wild — Assistant Professor in Contemporary Museum and Collection Studies, Leiden University (The Netherlands)
Kylie Message-Jones — Professor of Public Humanities, ANU Humanities Research Centre
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A series of massive underground tombs for nuclear waste are currently under construction. They've taken decades to plan and build and they're designed to house the world's nuclear waste for millennia to come. So where are they being built? How safe will they be? And how to devise a toxic waste warning sign that will make sense to people living tens of thousands of years from now?
Also, the latest research on how climate change is beginning to impact on internal migration within countries.
Guests
Mark Piesing — a UK-based freelance journalist
Dr Shastra Deo — Nuclear semiotics expert and author, School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland
Professor Raya Muttarak — Professor of Demography, University of Bologna (Italy)
Lisa — a climate-concerned resident of South-east Queensland
Further information
Mark Piesing's article: How to build a nuclear tomb to last millennia
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Terms like "Gen Z", "Boomer" and "Millennial" are popular, but they have no basis in science. Demographers and social scientists are now pushing back. Generational labelling, they argue, is akin to Astrology and while politicians, journalists and media influencers find them irresistible, they actually promote pseudo-science, sew social division and can reinforce prejudicial stereotypes. So why are generational labels so popular?
Guests
Professor Bobby Duffy — Director of the Policy Institute, King's College London. Author of The Generation Myth.
Professor Philip Coen — Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland
Professor Crystal Abidin — digital anthropologist and ethnographer of vernacular internet cultures, Curtin University
Professor David Costanza — Professor of Commerce, University of Virginia
Further information
Philip Coen’s open letter to Pew Research Center on generation labels
Pew Research Center's response
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Why does Utopian thinking get such a bad rap? It’s often derided as delusional and dangerous. But what if that stereotype is designed to limit our imagination and choices? We hear often that people are tired of democracy and turned off by short-term political thinking. So, is it time to be much more adventurous and ambitious – dare we say utopian – in our imagining of the future?
Guests
Professor William Paris – Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto
Professor Barbara Prainsack – Professor for Comparative Policy Analysis, University of Vienna
Professor Anna Abraham – Director of the Torrance Centre for Creativity and Talent Development
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Privatising public services like trains, hospitals or prisons — is a proven vote loser. But governments of both the left and right continue to privatise — when it suits them. And it suits them, it seems, when large sums of money are needed to pay down debt, or when a government seeks to off load risk and liability to the private sector. So, what conditions should be applied to ensure that privatisations truly serve the public interest and don't simply decrease competition?
Guests
Owen Hayford — Strategic legal and commercial adviser, Infralegal
Nino Bucci — Justice and Courts Reporter, The Guardian
Richard Denniss — economist and public policy commentator
Professor Graeme Samuel — Monash University Business School
Benjamin Goodair – Senior post-doctoral researcher, Oxford Universty
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