For Tech's Sake
Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody have been writing about tech for a long time. Now they’re talking about it in For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The Headstuff Podcast Network.Silicon Republic is a leading source of technology news and views and editors Jenny and Elaine are always learning about fascinating and infuriating new developments. They take a side-eye view of tech, not evangelising or demonising it, but definitely throwing a bit of shade when it’s deserved.Join them as they take a look under the hood of both emerging and everyday tech to examin...
Wed, January 01, 2025
Best of HeadStuff 2024
Happy New Year HeadStuff Listeners! As a special New Year’s treat, we’ve compiled the very best moments from all our HeadStuff shows into one episode. Relive the laughs, surprises, and unforgettable moments of 2024! To find your favourite HeadStuff shows go to the timestamps below. This is a HeadStuff Podcast produced by Hilary Barry. Edited by Claire Patena. Hosted by Hilary Barry and Jack Kelly. 1:40 - The Lovely Show 4:55 - Young Hot Guys 6:24 - Listen, I’m, Delicious 8:00 - The G Spot 10:11 - The Baby Tribe 13:08 - Fad Camp 15:59 - For Tech Sake 18:16 - The Greatest Matter 19:55 - Double Love 21:35 - Keep It Tight 23:37 - Agony Rants 26:30 - I Know That Face Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, December 11, 2024
FTS x CONNECT: The secret to a good password
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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, December 04, 2024
FTS x CONNECT: Quantumania
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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, November 27, 2024
FTS x CONNECT: Blowing off some STEAM
From cross-stitching your research proposals to diagramming the quantum internet, there are many ways that art and science can intersect – and it’s when artists in research are treated as equals that you get the best, most transformative results. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion as we dissect the concept of STEAM and try to word the world better with Dr Jessica Foley and Dennis McNulty from the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks and Communications. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, November 20, 2024
FTS x CONNECT: Passports to slow fashion
You know we love sustainability so we were very excited to learn about plans for digital product passports, which could slow down fast fashion, boost our right to repair and help shoppers make more informed choices. Explaining this transformative tech for us are Dr Grace Walsh and Dr John Dooley from the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks and Communications. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, November 13, 2024
FTS x CONNECT: The road to driverless cars
Jenny and Elaine are back in studio and catching up after Elaine was zooming around San Francisco in a driverless taxi. But how close are we to seeing fully autonomous cars on every road? Will Tesla’s Cybercab have enough in its computer vision system to see where it’s going? And how safe are self-driving cars, really? We put all these questions to Dr Aisling O’Driscoll, a researcher at the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks and Communications. At CONNECT, Aisling is discovering how connecting vehicles to create a vast information-sharing network can help improve autonomous capabilities, as well as overall road safety and transport efficiency. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, November 06, 2024
Introducing FTS x CONNECT
For Tech’s Sake is back with a very special mini-series in partnership with the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks and Communications. Starting from Science Week, we’ll be releasing a new episode every week for five weeks, exploring the intersection of science, art and society with CONNECT researchers. In this preview episode, hear from CONNECT’s director Prof Dan Kilper about what to expect. Find out more about CONNECT at ConnectCentre.ie, and check out ForTechsSake.info for links to more resources. FTX x CONNECT is brought to you by your hosts Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody, in partnership with CONNECT and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, and produced by Hilary Barry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, August 07, 2024
v3.10: The internet under the sea
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
Wed, July 24, 2024
v3.9: Bot safe for work
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
Wed, July 10, 2024
v3.8: You can’t mistake our cyberpsychology
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. 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
Wed, June 26, 2024
v3.7: Algorithms of life
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. 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. 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 . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, June 12, 2024
3.6: Matters of life and data
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 . 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
Wed, May 29, 2024
v3.5: Think of the children!
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 . 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
Wed, May 15, 2024
v3.4: Internet of trash
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 . 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
Wed, May 01, 2024
v3.3: Trust the (democratic) process
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. 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. CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains swearing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S3 E2 · Wed, April 17, 2024
v3.2: Fast tech
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 . For Tech’s Sake is a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network, hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody and this episode was guest-produced by Dan Wilcox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, April 03, 2024
v3.1: AI can be good, actually
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 and on Silicon Republic. 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
Wed, December 13, 2023
v2.15: What’s another year in tech?
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
Wed, November 29, 2023
v2.14: Smart farming
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
S2 E13 · Wed, November 15, 2023
v2.13: Money Talk
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
Wed, November 01, 2023
v2.12: Why robot?
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
Wed, October 18, 2023
v2.11: Wherefore art now?
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
Wed, October 04, 2023
v2.10: Rolling in the deepfakes
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
Wed, September 20, 2023
v2.9: The drone ranger
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
Wed, September 06, 2023
v2.8: The kids are online
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
Wed, August 23, 2023
v2.7: Be smart and break things
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 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
Wed, August 09, 2023
v2.6: Dude, where’s my bias-free search engine?
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 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
S2 E5 · Wed, July 26, 2023
v2.5: Please, AI responsibly
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 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 y
Wed, July 12, 2023
v2.4: Practising safe tech
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 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 Megan Fox for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphic
Wed, June 28, 2023
v2.3: The good, the mods and the ugly
Social media can connect us, divide us, entertain us and enrage us. We’d love if online spaces were made safer and better moderated to keep the nasty parts at bay, but in the end it often comes down to how we moderate ourselves, with some people understandably pulling back from their digital lives just to protect themselves. We spoke about the good, the bad and moderation of social media with journalist Aoife Barry, the author of ‘Social Capital: Life online in the shadow of Ireland’s tech boom’. This book is like a Reeling in the Years of online content, and we highly recommend you pick up a copy. You can follow Aoife online @sweetoblivion26 on Twitter and Instagram, and check out these links for more: — Find where you can pick up a copy of Social Capital here: http://linktr.ee/aoifebarry — Subscribe to Aoife’s newsletter at https://sweetoblivion.substack.com — Read more about the court case Aoife and other women took against their harasser here: 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, the social app we are big fans of, on Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/what-is-bereal-photos-instagram — And more about the problematic Tattle, here: https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/tattle-life-investigation — And a little history of Scunthorpe Problem can be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem We spoke at length with Aoife and couldn’t fit it all in here, but we will release her 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 Megan Fox 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
Wed, June 14, 2023
v2.2: Big fish, little fish, corporate shocks
We’re talking Big Tech, small start-ups and how they scale, disrupt and sometimes become one. Our special guest is Stripe CTO David Singleton, who we nabbed for an exclusive interview during his recent visit to Dublin. David has been a fintech whizz ever since he built some invoicing software for his parents when he was a kid. But before he was the technical lead of a global financial services and software company, he spent many years in engineering at Google. Google was once among the born-on-the-internet companies disrupting industry incumbents, but now it’s one the Big Tech behemoths eating up small businesses that threaten their dominance. We explored this dynamic between big and small, and asked David about the scaling journey in between. He explained what makes crafty software businesses so nimble, and shared his own top tips for managing fast-growing software projects. You can follow David over on Twitter, @dps, and check out these links for a bit more background on this conversation: — Stripe is a multibillion-dollar company founded by Irish brothers John and Patrick Collison. For more on what it’s about, check out this recent article on Silicon Republic: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/stripe-david-singleton-payments-engineering-dublin — Eileen O'Mara, head of EMEA revenue and growth at Stripe wrote this piece on scaling start-ups in Europe: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/stripe-research-europe-startup-ecosystem — Check out this earlier interview with David on Silicon Republic, when he had just joined Stripe as CTO: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/stripe-david-singleton-payments-engineering-dublin — At the top of the ep, we mention the controversy surrounding Tesla’s autonomous driving claims. HeadStuff Podcast Network members can hear more on this in v1.7_bonus: You drive me lazy (originally released 18 January 2022) — And at the end, we mention this great discussion on building and scaling a start-up with Intercom’s Des Traynor at Future Human 2022: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/des-traynor-intercom-future-human-entrepreneurship We’ll release David’s interview in its entirety for HeadStuff Podcast Network 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
S2 E1 · Wed, May 31, 2023
v2.1: Let’s talk about sex-tech, baby
If you ever wanted to hear two nerds talk to an expert about sex, you’re in luck! In this episode, we speak to Dr Caroline West, a sex educator with a master’s in sexuality studies and a PhD in feminism and pornography, and she teaches us a thing or two about sex and dating in the digital age, from digital intimacy to dick pics. For obvious reasons, this isn’t an episode we would recommend for young, innocent ears, and we also discuss issues such as sexual violence online and offline. You can find out more about Caroline at IAmCarolineWest.com and be sure to check out her podcast, Glow West , for discussions on sex, sexuality, and the body, through a sexual wellness perspective. Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton’s work can be found here , and Dr Kate Dawson’s research on porn literacy is here . Coco's Law – otherwise known as The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act – is explained here , and if you need to report intimate image abuse, go to Hotline.ie . Some more links you might find interesting: — An interview with Caroline on Silicon Republic — A recent article on sex-tech by Elaine, also featuring Caroline — Some further information on Hotline.ie — How educators are tackling the problems of bringing sex ed online — Some background on Replika AI and its ban in Italy — The long-distance kissing machine — Support your local Irish sex toy supplier at SexSiopa.ie We’ll release Caroline’s interview in its entirety for HeadStuff+ 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 Megan Fox for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social media support, and all at
Wed, February 22, 2023
v1.10: An open and shut case
Do you realise how much of the tech we rely on is maintained by volunteer coders? This isn't just Wikipedia. A plethora of everyday tech would collapse if not for the noble commitment of open source developers. And they are beginning to show their force in the form of protest, sabotaging their own code to send a message to the Big Tech corporations that profit from it. We brought in Dr Colin Keogh to tell us about about open source in both software and hardware, as he helped to build out a team to design and develop open-source ventilators during Covid-19. He is also the co-founder of the consultancy Sapien Innovation and co-founder of the Rapid Foundation, a social enterprise which aims to disperse 3D printing technology to third world locations. You can follow Colin @ColinJ_Keog on Twitter and you can also read more about open source on Silicon Republic. Here are some links to get you started: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/topics/open-source/](https://www.siliconrepublic.com/topics/open-source/ https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/open-source-ventilator-project-coronavirus] https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/nearform-cian-o-maidin-open-source] https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/github-marak-squires-colors-faker-npm-corrupt-open-source] https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/log4shell-flaw-ncsc-advice-cybersecurity] This episode of For Tech’s Sake was hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody, and brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Megan Fox 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 <a
S1 E9 · Wed, February 08, 2023
v1.9: A waste of space
In this episode of For Tech’s Sake, we dive into the landfill of digital waste to turn up some nuggets of information we hope you’ll re-use. Tech waste involves more than just devices getting dumped, too. We also lose the precious and finite materials these devices contain. And, though it’s not apparent to us, our digital detritus of messages, selfies and endless streams of data has a physical footprint. To understand more, we spoke to Gerry McGovern, author of World Wide Waste and host of the podcast of the same name. You can follow Gerry on Mastodon at @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green. We’ve also included a link his previous interview with Jenny on SiliconRepublic.com, as well as some other links listeners might find useful. https://gerrymcgovern.com/ Silicon Republic interview: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/gerry-mcgovern-digital-pollution-e-waste World Wide Waste podcast episode with Josh Lepawsky: https://www.thisishcd.com/episode/josh-lepawsky-pernicious-myth-of-digital-as-ethereal Dublin’s Tog Hackerspace, which sometimes hosts a Repair Café: https://www.tog.ie/ Ireland’s repair and reuse directory: http://www.repairmystuff.ie/ This episode of For Tech’s Sake was hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody, and brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Megan Fox 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
Wed, January 25, 2023
v1.8: Hello dark patterns, my old friend
‘Dark patterns’ are design techniques used to weaponise user behaviour and manipulate us into delivering on a company’s goals. They have become so common that they are even namechecked in the EU’s new legislation to clamp down on nefarious user design in tech. Even though understanding them won’t make you impervious to their influence, we certainly think it’s best to know when your taking action for your sake, or for tech’s sake. In this episode, we also spoke to Prof Owen Conlan, a research lead at Adapt, the Science Foundation Ireland research centre for AI-driven digital content technology. He told us what he thinks about dark patterns, as well as how they might be amped up with AI. You can follow Owen @oconlan on Twitter and the Adapt centre at @AdaptCentre. You can also read more about Empushy on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/empushy-notifications-productivity All of Silicon Republic’s fascinating AI coverage can be found here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/topics/ai/ And you can learn a lot more about the EUs Digital Services Act here: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/eu-digital-services-act-illegal-content-moderation This episode of For Tech’s Sake was hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody, and brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Amy O’Dwyer for production, Matt Mahon and Dall-E for our graphics, Claudia Grandez for her social mediasupport, 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
Wed, January 11, 2023
v1.7: Max power
We have an energy crisis, and it's not the one you think. To move to a more sustainable future we need to figure out how to power mass electrification, and source and store energy responsibly. Scientists around the world are working on fascinating battery technologies to help, and Ireland is no exception. For example, Dr Valeria Nico is a postdoctoral research fellow in the area of energy harvesting at the Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, and she told us all about her work developing tech that can generate energy for small devices from vibrations in their environment. It's powerful stuff, so get ready to strap yourself in and feel the Gs! Read more about Valeria's work, the EU's new battery rules, and Codema's project to heat homes with waste energy from data centres on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/good-vibrations-developing-new-tech-for-energy-harvesting https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/eu-batteries-sustainable-european-green-deal https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/codema-equinix-waste-data-centre-heat-project-dublin This episode of For Tech’s Sake was hosted by Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody, and brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Amy O’Dwyer 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 Podcas
Wed, December 14, 2022
v1.6: Working not-so nine-to-five
A robot might steal your job, but it might also make it better. And some platforms make it easier to communicate remotely, while others enable micromanagers to keep tabs on you. As we enter a new era of working, Silicon Republic’s Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody want to examine how technology is used in work and how it can affect us, but also the ways in which it can help transform the way we work for the better, if only we’d allow it to do so. To find out more, we also spoke to James Milligan, global head of technology solutions at recruitment company, Hays. Read more about what the future of work looks like on SiliconRepublic.com : https://www.siliconrepublic.com/series/future-of-work-week/ This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Amy O’Dwyer 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 . Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 E5 · Wed, November 30, 2022
v1.5: AI & U
Claims of sentient AI have been largely debunked by experts, but there are still plenty of unsettling aspects of this technology that raise ethical questions. In this episode of For Tech’s Sake, Abeba Birhane, an expert in AI and cognitive science, helps us to better understand this fast-spreading technology and its limitations. We find out how AI can be at best unhelpful and annoying, and at worst prejudiced, powerful and completely opaque, particularly when the building blocks it's based on contain toxic materials. Read more about Abeba Birhane, the Gender Shades project, Blake Lemoine, and why sentient AI claims can be damaging on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/mit-database-racist-misogynist-discovery-abeba-birhane https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/abeba-birhane-ucd-digital-colonialism https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/microsoft-facial-recognition https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/timnit-gebru-google-ai-scientist-fired-for-highlighting-bias https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/google-engineer-ai-sentient-lamda-chatbot https://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/sentient-ai-google-lamda-research-development-ireland-insight This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The Headstuff Podcast Network. 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. Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, November 16, 2022
v1.4: Does an app a day keep the doctor away?
Medical technologists are racing to fix all of our ills – even our inevitable death! But in the rush to embed technology into healthcare, are we thinking about all of the unintended consequences that may come with it? Is our health data really safe for example? Can medical devices be hacked? And how accessible will this health-tech be in the future? Listen as Silicon Republic’s Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody explore all of these questions and differentiate the needless from the necessary when it comes to technology in healthcare. To find out more, we also spoke to Ita Richardson, a co-principal investigator at the software engineering research centre, Lero and a professor at University of Limerick. Read more about what the future holds for health-tech on SiliconRepublic.com : https://www.siliconrepublic.com/series/future-health-week/ This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Gearóid Farrelly and Amy O’Dwyer 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 . Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 E3 · Wed, November 02, 2022
v1.3: Tech-facilitated abuse
While plenty of technology has been designed to make the world a safer place, it can also introduce a whole new way to abuse and exploit others. From stalker apps to location trackers, tech has given many abusers the opportunity to track, monitor and control others. While other seemingly innocuous devices such as smart doorbells and virtual assistants can have their settings manipulated for nefarious actions. Listen as Silicon Republic’s Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody discuss how these devices work, and how they can be misused. We also spoke to Louise O’Hagan, co-founder of Cyber Awareness Ireland, about the growing trend of tech-facilitated abuse and how easily our everyday devices can be used against us. For more information on this topic, check out: CyberAwarenessIreland.com SafeIreland.ie https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/safe-ireland-digital-domestic-abuse-technology-guide Online safety booklet: https://www.safeireland.ie/lets-talk-tech-online-safety-tips/ This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Gearóid Farrelly and Amy O’Dwyer 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 . Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 E2 · Wed, October 19, 2022
v1.2: Digitise, disrupt, destroy
Digital transformation is a buzzword in all business right now, and some businesses are deciding to push ahead with new tech adoption without consideration for the people it will impact. While some elements of digital transformation can lead to better operations, some of it is truly tech for tech's sake, and lead to job displacement and bad service. Listen as Silicon Republic’s Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody dissect what digital transformation actually means beyond the buzzword. To find out more, we also spoke to Joan Mulvihill, the digitalisation and sustainability lead at Siemens. Read more about Joan Mulvihill and her thoughts on digital transformation on SiliconRepublic.com : https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/digital-transformation-joan-mulvihill-siemens You can also check out Silicon Republic’s Digital Transformation Week, which covers this topic in more detail: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/series/digital-transformation-week/ This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. Thank you to Gearóid Farrelly and Amy O’Dwyer 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 . Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S1 E1 · Tue, October 04, 2022
Space is ace
It’s been 60 years since John F Kennedy famously said, “We choose to go to the moon.” But why? Space exploration comes at the cost of billions and on the back of some stellar innovation spanning decades in development. Is it all really worth it? Listen as Silicon Republic’s Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody peer into space-tech and marvel at our fascination with whatever truths are out there. To find out more, we also spoke to Prof Tom Ray and Dr Patrick Kavanagh, two Irish scientists who worked on the James Webb Space Telescope. Read more about their work at DIAS and the JWST on SiliconRepublic.com: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/james-webb-telescope-irish-scientists-dias-nasa This episode of For Tech’s Sake was brought to you by Silicon Republic and The Headstuff Podcast Network. If you want to support The Headstuff Podcast Network, for our sake, for tech’s sake and for many more great podcasts, visit http://HeadstuffPodcasts.com Follow us @fortechssakepod on your platform of choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Trailer · Wed, September 21, 2022
For Tech's Sake - Coming Soon!
Elaine Burke and Jenny Darmody have been writing about tech for a long time. Now they’re talking about it in For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The Headstuff Podcast Network. Silicon Republic is a leading source of technology news and views and editors Jenny and Elaine are always learning about fascinating and infuriating new developments. They take a side-eye view of tech, not evangelising or demonising it, but definitely throwing a bit of shade when it’s deserved. Join them as they take a look under the hood of both emerging and everyday tech to examine the good parts, the bad parts, and everything in between. Each episode also features a tech expert to help answer their probing questions. Listen in as they hash out what’s just tech for tech’s sake, and find them online @fortechssakepod to join the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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