Synopsis
How the technology business is transforming the way we live and work.
Episodes
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Is Elon Musk's Twitter harming global political free speech?
16/05/2023 Duration: 27minThe founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, tells us Elon Musk’s Twitter is making it harder for the internet to be open and free. Plus Shiona McCallum profiles Linda Yaccarino, the platform’s new CEO, with insight from Claire Atkinson, of Insider, whose known her for 20 years. Also: Sam Murunga, from BBC Monitoring, in Nairobi, on why TikTok is in trouble in Senegal. And Ben Derico reports on why voice actors are worried about the threat to their profession from AI.(Photo: Supporters of Turkish President check their phone to look at early presidential election results in front of the Justice and development Party (AKP's) headquarters, 14 May, 2023. Credit: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images)
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A warning about AI from a founding father of the IT age
09/05/2023 Duration: 27minThe inventor of the first Apple computer Steve "Woz" Wozniak tells us of his fears that AI will supercharge scams. BBC education correspondent Hazel Shearing reports on whether chatbots could help you pass your exams. Bhaskar Chakravorti Dean of Global Business at The Fletcher School, Tufts University, says chatGPT "mania" is distracting from all the other useful things AI could do. And tech reporter Alasdair Keane is in Liverpool, for Eurovision, for a tour of the tech powering an international song contest.(Photo Credit: Co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak attends the Digital X 2022 event by Deutsche Telekom on September 13, 2022 in Cologne, Germany. Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images).
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Is digital life booming in Rio?
02/05/2023 Duration: 27minWith the first Web Summit taking place in Brazil, Tech Life explores digital transformation in South America and India. We speak to some of those on the cusp of digital change and to the CEO of Salesforce India, Arundhati Bhattacharya. Also in this episode, would you confess your biggest secrets to the internet? We find out why lots of people are through the social account Fesshole and Alasdair Keane explores some of the tech being trialled at the coronation of King Charles. (Photo: A marching band during the opening night of Web Summit Rio 2023. Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Getty Images)
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'I sacrificed my soul': A Facebook moderator's story
25/04/2023 Duration: 26minThis week, an update on the legal battle between Meta and former Facebook moderators in Kenya. One of them, Trevin Brownee, tells our reporter Chris Vallance that reviewing the most extreme content on the internet cost him his "human side." We ask what's the human cost of keeping the internet safe, and what do we owe those who do that work for us? Also this week, the weird and wonderful sounds of quantum computers in action. Professor Winfried Hensinger, who heads the Sussex Ion Quantum Technology Group and is the director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies, explains how they could change the world. And Professor Stephen Brewster, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, and his colleague Ammar Al-Taie, on the difficulties of getting driverless cars to understand the complex and subtle interactions between cyclists and drivers.(Photo: Kenyan lawyer, Mercy Mutemi (seated 4th R) along with fellow counsel follow proceedings during a virtual pre-trial consultation with a judge and Me
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Is AI racing ahead too fast?
18/04/2023 Duration: 27minAs Google's boss, Sunder Pichai, says he doesn't fully understand its AI products, tech investor Ian Hogarth tells us it's time for a public debate on the technology's future. Reporter Michael Kaloki joins us from Nairobi to explain how the legal battle between Facebook and its Kenyan moderators is intensifying. Alasdair Keane meets the amateur composer crafting the sound of all human knowledge for Wikipedia. And our Click colleague Lara Lewington tells us about the tech entrepreneur devoting his time - and money - to finding ways to extend healthy human life.(Picture credit: Getty Images)
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Kidfluencers: Do we share too much about kids online?
11/04/2023 Duration: 26minTech Life looks into the world of Kidfluencers, and asks if too much of children's lives are shared online to make money. We speak to those involved in the industry in India. We also hear how cyber is playing a role in the war in Ukraine and we speak to Bolor Erdene Battsengel about digital life in Mongolia.
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How to make sure the whole world benefits from AI
04/04/2023 Duration: 26minMartha Lane Fox reflects on her 30 years in tech, including her front row seat in Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, how she remains one of very few high profile women in the industry, and why we need to make sure the whole world shapes the debate on AI. Chenai Chair, from the Mozilla Foundation, joins us from Zimbabwe to explain the work they are doing to make sure minority languages are included in digital services. India business correspondent Nikhil Inamdar tells us about his experience seeing an app which is helping people in poor areas claim vital welfare payments. And Spencer Kelly, from our sister programme, Click, tells us what he found out about the future of food in his trip to the markets and laboratories of Singapore.(Photo: Martha Lane Fox (L) and Shiona McCallum (R), in London)
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Putting Google's AI chatbot Bard to the test
24/03/2023 Duration: 27minThe search giant is rolling out its challenger in the artificial intelligence arms race, competing against the Microsoft-backed Chat GPT. We take it for a spin, while also looking into the issue of internet shutdowns following a government-backed communications blackout in the state of Punjab in India.Image credit: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters
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ChatGPT: Where will we use AI chatbots next?
17/03/2023 Duration: 26minWith more announcements about AI chatbot GPT4, we hear how it will be further integrated into Microsoft and speak to Duolingo about how they hope it will help users learn languages. We also explore the fallout in India and South Africa from the US failure of Silicon Valley Bank and our Tech Reporter, Alasdair Keane, speaks to Alpine F1’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon on how tech and data is keeping pace with Formula 1 innovation.(Image: Getty/NurPhoto)
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WhatsApp: We speak to boss, Will Cathcart
10/03/2023 Duration: 26minShiona McCallum is at Meta's London HQ to chat to WhatsApp boss, Will Cathcart. We explore their response to the UK's Online Safety Bill and ask about the future of payments through the app. Also in this episode the latest with TikTok as the platform tries to reassure governments it is taking data security seriously and could the sky be full of drones? We speak to one company who think they'll be doing more deliveries soon.Image: Getty/NurPhoto
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Why are some governments worried about TikTok?
03/03/2023 Duration: 26minWe look at why some governments are worried about TikTok. We hear about pregnancy discrimination in tech and an expert tells us about the future of noise.(Image: The TikTok logo. Credit: Getty Images)
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Big Tech's big legal headache
24/02/2023 Duration: 26minThe US Supreme Court is hearing claims that big tech firms such as Google and Twitter should be considered the publishers of the harmful content that appears on their platforms. Dr. Mary Anne Franks, president of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, tells us how it could change the way the internet works everywhere in the world. A year on from the Russian invasion of Ukraine we speak to one of the country's thousands of tech workers about how she has adapted to living and working in a time of war - and the government tells us the tech sector has kept growing, despite the destruction and loss of life. We find out about how some internet users in South Africa have had to become night owls because of the soaring cost of mobile data. And how users can ride a virtual reality jet-ski - just by thinking about it.(Photo: Attorney Eric Schnapper speaks to the press outside the US Supreme Court following oral arguments in Gonzalez v Google, a landmark case about whether technology companies should be liable for harmful c
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Apple workers accuse firm of 'union busting'
17/02/2023 Duration: 26minOne employee tells the BBC the tech giant has been attempting to 'scare' staff. The firm says it continues to 'make enhancements to our industry-leading benefits as a part of the overall support we provide to our valued team members.' We'll also hear from the African Tech Summit taking place in Kenya. And we learn how a small team of visual effects artists created the look of the stunning Oscar contender - Everything, Everywhere All at Once - using laptops in their bedrooms.Image credit: Reuters/ Joshua Roberts
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The AI search race is on
10/02/2023 Duration: 26minThree big players in internet search have announced plans to integrate AI but can Google and Baidu rival Microsoft's team-up with ChatGPT? We also explore how old pictures and video are being shared online as from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. And why officials in the UK and US have named seven Russian men as being behind some of the most infamous cyber crime groups of recent years.(Photo: Microsoft Bing search demonstration at its launch event. Credit: Jason Redmond/AFP)
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Sacked Twitter staff take on Elon Musk
03/02/2023 Duration: 26minSeveral workers are launching legal action against Twitter. It follows a round of mass lay-offs at the social media firm last year. We also hear about a BBC investigation which has uncovered Egyptian police using dating apps to hunt LGBTQ people. And how a social video trend is reigniting interest in early 2000s digital cameras.(Photo: A mobile phone showing Elon Musk's face on the screen. Credit: Dado Ruvić/Reuters)
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Can Ticketmaster 'shake off' the bots?
27/01/2023 Duration: 26minShiona McCallum explores what can be done about online bots targeting ticket sales. It’s after Ticketmaster apologised to Taylor Swift fans who missed out on attending her Eras tour, they say they were the target of a cyber-attack by bots. We also delve into VR and AR experiences and learn about the company in India using discarded fishing nets to produce plugs and sockets.(IMAGE:Taylor Swift meets fans in Toronto. Wesley Lapointe / Getty)
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MRNA: The tech that transforms cancer treatment?
13/01/2023 Duration: 26minThe boss of Moderna, Stephane Bancel, tells us about how MRNA technology could transform the treatment of cancer. But will the personalised treatment plans it could create only be available in richer nations? Our global health correspondent, Naomi Grimley, provides analysis. Also this week we hear more from the exhibitors at the CES tech show. Analyst Paolo Pescatore tells us what he thinks the event says about the state of global tech. And the founder of Cameo, which took off in the pandemic, on how businesses that thrived in lockdown can survive in the very different world we find ourselves in in 2023.(Image: Messenger RNA techobnology, two Strands of mRNA on abstract background illustration. Credit: Getty Images)
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Tech Tent goes to CES
06/01/2023 Duration: 26minTech Tent is in Las Vegas, in the US, for CES, one of the world' s biggest and most important tech shows. We discuss the future of VR, and the ethics of AI - and meet the exhibitors hoping they've invented the next big thing. And Silicon Valley reporter James Clayton joins Zoe to take the temperature of the industry after a bumpy year in 2022.(PHOTO: Attendees at CES Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP, via Getty Images)
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Tech predictions for 2023
30/12/2022 Duration: 26minShiona McCallum and Joe Tidy invite the BBC's tech experts in Africa, Asia, America and Europe to make their predictions for how tech will shape 2023. From gaming to chip wars, and VR to AI they tell you what to look out for in the year ahead, wherever in the world you are.
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The Tech Tent Christmas quiz
22/12/2022 Duration: 26minThe technology news team review the year in the form of a quiz. Paul Carter and Liv McMahon take on Nick Kwek and Alasdair Keane to see who remembers most about the best - and worst - tech news moments of 2022. And all four face the ultimate test: can they tell which is the genuine Christmas story, loved for decades - and which has been conjured up in an instant by AI?