For Tech’s Sake

The UK’s upcoming social media ban for under 16s has been labelled an insufficient “political band-aid” that prioritises business as usual over online safety, and creates a “false sense of safety” for parents. Kelly and Elaine discuss the reactions from researchers, child safety advocates and human rights organisations and look at how a similar ban in Australia has failed to hit the mark.*** Good things we recommend ***>> Hidden Levels, a podcast mini-series on how video games reshaped the real world (including an episode on the military) >> Kelly’s first episode of For Tech’s Sake, which was a discussion on age verification  >> Our previous episode with psychotherapist Dr Colman Noctor about parenting an online generation  >> This diva telling BBC News what she thinks of the UK social media ban  >> Sounds of Space on Bandcamp >> Pride Over the Waves: Amateur Radio Night at Tog Hackerspace  *** More from us ***Kelly’s Substack: kellysrubbish.substack.com  FTS blog: for-techs-sake.ghost.io  FTS TikTok: fortechssakepod  FTS Instagram: fortechssakepod  FTS Bluesky: fortechssakepod.bsky.social  FTS UpScrolled: fortechssakepod   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

’Tis the season of shopping and scams, so arm yourself with knowledge from the For Tech’s Sake buyer’s guide to what you need to know about online shopping in the slop era. Come for the explanations of TikTok Shop, drop-shipping and scam tactics to watch out for, and stay for the references to ancient memes and Kelly’s tell-all review of a popular Game Boy emulator.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode may contain a rude word or two when Elaine and Kelly start going off on Ryanair’s decision to force app downloads under the guise of ‘paperless’ boarding (that’s not actually paperless). And rude words are apparently being shadow-banned on Bluesky, while Elon Musk is getting roasted by Joyce Carol Oates on X.We also make an attempt to rouse EU citizens into a fight for the sanctity of GDPR, muse on whether All’s Fair signals a microdrama trend for TV, and get through some listener feedback on ‘the good guy of tech’ plus a new recommendation to help you understand what data brokers can learn from your online behaviour.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this very special Halloween episode, Elaine and Kelly are communing with the digital after life and sharing (barely) spooky stories about data from beyond the grave. It’s a bumper episode with a special appearance from researcher Danny Snow, who has been giving digital data a post-mortem examination and proposes how we could donate our data like we donate our organs.Visit DataDonorCard.org for more information and be sure to check out BetaFestival.ie for our ‘something good’ recommendation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s no coincidence that the launch of endless feeds of AI-generated video from Meta’s Vibes and OpenAI’s Sora have coincided with a marked increase in video slop online, but what kind of social media are these platforms creating? One that’s littered with dead celebrities, deepfakes and juvenile humour, normalising the manipulation of a real person’s image just for fun. In this episode, Elaine and Kelly wonder if Denmark’s proposed new copyright law could be a death knell for “synthetic resurrection” and rampant deepfakes. They also explain why it’s good for electric vehicles to have a digital passport for their battery, bring you an update on the Chat Control debate, and have a great recommendation for book lovers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Zuckerberg’s live demo of gesture controls for his Meta glasses may have failed, but the underlying technology in the wrist-worn Neural Band, known as surface electromyography (sEMG), made us curious about potential applications in medtech. To find out more we spoke to EMG expert Prof Madeleine Lowery, who explained the differences between using these sensors in the lab or clinic versus commercial products. Sticking with medtech marvels, we also spoke to Prof Garry Duffy about soft robotics that can squeeze things inside your body – and why that’s a good thing. Also in this jam-packed episode, Kelly shares her thoughts on what the EA buyout could mean for The Sims and why her current gaming pursuits are taking her offline.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.