Government vs The Robots - podcast cover

Government vs The Robots

Little Atoms / Jonathan Tannerplay.acast.com
A fortnightly podcast from Little Atoms which looks at how technology will affect politics in the future. Like Tomorrow's World but for Westminster. Hosted by @tannerjc who is joined by a range of experts he's not fed up of yet. Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

The news on The News

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism joins Jonathan this week to chat through some of the challenges facing media creators and consumers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 14, 202032 minSeason 3Ep. 10

Talking Telengana

Tackling misinformation in India is the subject of enquiry this week as Jonathan is joined by Rema Rajeshwari, District Police Chief in Telengana State. Rema has used a series of innovative approaches to prevent crimes such as mob violence which had been driven by false Whats App rumours. The episode also covers the pace of digital transformation in India and the rise of cybercrime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 30, 202034 minSeason 3Ep. 9

Artificial Journalists

This week we take a look at disinformation in the Middle East with Marc Owen Jones. Marc talks us through how he found fake journalists writing for US news sites, explains some of the disinformation he's seen put to use by countries like Saudi Arabia and gives the lowdown on which Twitterstorms it is really worth paying attention to. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 16, 202043 minSeason 3Ep. 8

Haters gonna...coin it?

Jonathan is joined this week by Imran Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate. Imran sets out the relationship between disinformation and hate speech, picks apart why the financial architecture of fake news could be its achilles heel and leaves major social media companies nowhere to hide when it comes to calling out bad behaviour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 02, 202047 minSeason 3Ep. 7

Polls apart

How do we get better at agreeing to disagree? Jonathan talks to Alison Goldsworthy, Founder and CEO at The Depolarisation Project hosted at Stanford University to talk about what's driving polarisation in society and what we can do about. Taking a breather from in-depth analysis of disinformation they cover business case for polarisation, the role of fundraising and campaign professionals in contributing to the problem and Jonathan gets called out for mocking a well known politician..... Hosted ...

Aug 19, 202046 minSeason 3Ep. 6

True or False

What can a former CIA analyst teach us about misinformation? Find out in this week's episode with Cindy Otis who spent ten years working for the US Government's Central Intelligence Agency. Jonathan and Cindy discuss her new book 'True or False' and explore the history of disinformation, asking why it's often been used to harden racist sentiment and drive marginalisation. As well as looking at the past they also discuss the present and the possibility of hidden dimensions to modern protests and ...

Aug 05, 202048 minSeason 3Ep. 5

Bot or Not?

This week Jonathan talks to Professor Samuel Woolley, author of The Reality Game, about the use of bots to plant and spread disinformation on social media platforms. The conversation covers how many bots there are online, how to spot them, the use of geolocation data and the current strategies of modern political communicators. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 22, 202042 minSeason 3Ep. 4

First Draft

This week we talk to Dr Claire Wardle who is the co-founder of First Draft, an NGO committed to tackling misinformation. The conversation covers the difference between misinformation and disinformation, the weaponisation of context and why conspiracy theories are keeping Claire awake at night. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 08, 202036 minSeason 3Ep. 3

This is not propaganda

In the first episode of a new series exploring misinformation, disinformation and communication, Jonathan talks to Author Peter Pomerantsev. Having lived in Post-Soviet Russia where he made TV, Peter has a unique insight into how some of the 'nebulous nostalgia' of that period is on display today in the UK and the US. The conversation covers the great 'f**k off to facts', why we buy into conspiracy theories, the challenges facing civil society in the internet era and how we might construct a new...

Jun 24, 202047 minSeason 3Ep. 2

Newsflash: Series 3

A quick update on what to expect from Series 3 of Government Vs The Robots in which Jonathan and guests explore at misinformation, disinformation and our online discourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 17, 20202 minSeason 3Ep. 1

Making sense of it all

It's a retrospective, forward-looking bonanza this week as Jonathan faces a guest interviewer and takes stock of the previous two series. As well as asking listeners to get in touch with ideas about where we go next, we cover lots of ground including smart communications strategy in a post-truth world, the impact of further fragmentation on our politics, the power of symbols to unite people and some hot tips for what to expect from candidates at the next election, whenever that may be.... Hosted...

Aug 07, 201949 minSeason 2Ep. 42

Talking in Code

In this episode we're talking all things code with Clive Thompson, journalist for Wired and the New York Times Magazine, and now author of Coders: Who They Are, What They Think and How They Are Changing Our World . We discuss whether coders are the most powerful people on the planet, what their personalities can tell us about the culture in companies like Twitter, and whether we're headed for a battle between the ultimately rational world of algorithms, and the uniquely emotional world of humans...

Jul 17, 201942 minSeason 2Ep. 17

Lies travel fast

This week we talk disinformation with Amil Khan, a former Reuters Middle East correspondent and documentary maker. He is now Associate Fellow at Chatham House and works with governments and NGOs on strategies to tackle disinformation. We get into the weeds of how states can plant disinformation in our mainstream media, how groups like IS spread disinformation, and whether Boris' latest bus shenanigans were a cock-up, or conspiracy... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Jul 03, 201945 minSeason 2Ep. 39

Trigger Warning

In this episode we're taking a look at the psychology of politics and asking whether we've all been triggered, with Alex Evans. Alex is the founder of the Collective Psychology Project, a senior fellow at New York University working on political polarisation, and was previously Campaigns Director at Avaaz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 19, 201947 minSeason 2Ep. 16

Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics

This week we're joined by writer, humanitarian advocate and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola. Her book, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics explores how the internet era is transforming politics in Kenya. We talk about the country's evolving landscape online, what constitutes digital colonialism, and the impact social media is having on Kenya's feminist movement. If you enjoy the part on digital identity, we think you'll love another podcast we've been worked on called Inside Good ID, explorin...

Jun 05, 201943 minSeason 2Ep. 15

The Future & the Bamboo Curtain

This week we're joined by Professor Amy Webb, quantitative futurist, founder of the Future Today Institute and author of Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity. We talk about whether we've reached the beginning of the end of the smartphone era, why China is ahead of the US on AI and how we can try to predict the future of tech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 22, 201935 minSeason 2Ep. 14

SXSW Part 2: The Future of News

This episode brings you more from SXSW, this time focusing on the future of news, from deepfakes to chatbots and VR. We hear from Hazel Baker, Global Head of User-Generated Content at Reuters; Emily Withrow, Director of the Quartz Bot Studio; and Paul Cheung, Director of Journalism and Technology Innovation at the Knight Foundation. We've also been working on another podcast, exploring the future of digital identity with a range of global experts. It's part of the Good ID project and the podcast...

May 08, 201940 minSeason 2Ep. 13

SXSW Part 1: AI

In the first of two episodes recorded at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Jonathan talks all things artificial intelligence with Azeem Azhar, editor of the Exponential View newsletter; Tiffany Li, Resident Fellow at Yale Law School at the Information Society Project; and Meredith Broussard, data journalism professor at NYU. We've also been working on another podcast, exploring the future of digital identity with a range of global experts. It's part of the Good ID project and the podcast is called Inside G...

Apr 24, 201932 minSeason 2Ep. 12

Disinformation with Damian Collins MP

For this episode we headed to the Houses of Parliament to catch up with Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone and Hythe, and Chair of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. The Committee's inquiry into disinformation and 'fake news' investigated the Trump and Brexit campaigns, tech platforms, and who holds responsibility for what ends up online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 10, 201932 minSeason 2Ep. 12

Future Politics

Jamie Susskind is a barrister and author of Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech. In this episode we're going back to the some of the big questions at the heart of Government vs the Robots and explore a framework for thinking about the ways technology is affecting fundamental political principles, we ask whether software engineering is now a political career choice and explore issues with algorithmic bias. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Mar 28, 201944 minSeason 2Ep. 11

Smart Homes

How will the Internet of Things affect our homes, and our politics? We talk to Alexandra Deschamps Sonsino, author, inventor and designer about why Alexa is always listening - even when she's not recording, what sort of data your toothbrush might reveal about you and how smart homes can contribute to dealing with the housing crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 14, 201930 minSeason 2Ep. 10

Digital Parliament

This week we talk to Labour MP Darren Jones about just how tech-savvy his fellow politicians are, how fully the Houses of Parliament are embracing the digital age and the peril of doing politics by WhatsApp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 21, 201928 minSeason 2Ep. 9

2019 Predictions

Sky News' Technology Correspondent Rowland Manthorpe joins us to discuss what to expect from 2019 when it comes to technology and politics. We cover Huawei, the evolution of technology journalism, the death of the high street, drone misuse, deepfakes and plenty more as we delve into a very murky crystal ball.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 07, 201933 minSeason 2Ep. 7

Democracy Hacked

We talk to Martin Moore about whether Google and Facebook are set to run our schools, if the triumph of fake news in the west is coincidence or conspiracy and what we might be able to learn about the future of democracy from countries like India and Taiwan. Martin is Director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power at King's College London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 24, 201936 minSeason 2Ep. 7

The Politics Summit

Politician Chi Onwurah, Author Carl Miller, activist Hera Hussain and founder Alvin Carpio all take part in this episode recorded at the recent Politics Summit in West London. We talk to Chi about the prospects for Britain as an innovation nation under a labour government, ask Carl who we should be calling the new aristocrats of the information age and find out from Hera how the internet's first Catbot is helping women across the world escape domestic violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

Jan 10, 201941 minSeason 2Ep. 6

21st Century Government

This week we talk to Nadine Smith from the Centre for Public Impact about how government needs to change in order to get fit for the 21st century. Nadine offers a compelling take on how a lack of empathy and humanity in our institutions is creating challenges for their legitimacy. This can be seen in Brexit but also in plenty of areas of public life and Nadine has been talking to governments around the world about how they can become more human at a time when artificial intelligence is on the ri...

Dec 20, 201840 minSeason 2Ep. 5

Fake news, post-truth and all that jazz

Author and journalist James Ball joins us this week for a discussion of his books Bluffocracy and Post-truth. We cover plenty of ground including a look at how the business model of journalism is changing the information economy, why algorithms are never agnostic, how fact-checking might not be the solution to polarised politics and perhaps most importantly, how Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage might just be an inspiration to us all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Dec 06, 201833 minSeason 2Ep. 4

The GovTech Summit

Recorded live from the GovTech Summit, this episode gives a whirlwind tour of an emerging industry looking to link governments up with innovative technology companies in a bid to make government more effective and more importantly, improve public services. Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Sadiq Khan were among the leading politicians who put in an appearance at the summit and we managed to talk to a range of speakers including the Mayor of Helsinki, global start-up founder Robyn Scott, COO of...

Nov 22, 201835 minSeason 2Ep. 2

Lessons from Ireland

Ireland is no stranger to referendums. This week we talk to elections expert and transparency campaigner Liz Carolan who co-founded the Transparent Referendum Initiative which used the technology available through Who Targets Me to monitor online advertising during the recent referendum on the country's abortion laws. Find us on Twitter @Govt_Vs_Robots Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 15, 201839 minSeason 2Ep. 2

Who targets me?

Back once again with the ill behaviour, block rocking beats and the lowdown on tech & politics. This week we talk to digital campaigning guru Sam Jeffers about Who Targets Me, a global effort to crowdsource data on political adverts through a simple browser plug-in. We talk the evolution of digital campaigning, who's buying Brexit ads, what 'made for social' content looks like and whether Donald Trump really did use the same tactics as Barack Obama when it came to mobilising voters online. F...

Nov 08, 201830 minSeason 2Ep. 1
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast