Josh and Ray talk about the real risks of AI with Anna Colom, a social science researcher working at the intersection of democratic processes and digital technologies. We are going through unprecedented times in the pace and scale of technological development driven by data and AI systems. Yet, these developments and their applications are being led and decided by a few in a regulatory vacuum, supported by narratives driven by hype and power asymmetries. There is however a large and more diverse community of technology developers across the globe who can claim back the authority if it refuses to be blinded by hype; if it questions decisions made by a few; if it favours evidence and ethics over magic; and if it works collaborative with the rest of society to answer some of the most pressing questions of out times on how data and AI can be responsibly used to help people make this world a better place.

Mentioned in this episode:

• From hype to responsibility: what works & matters for whom in data and AI? - Anna Colom's keynote at Heart of Clojure 2024 [talk description]
• Isabelle Ferreras - Professor UC at Louvain University who has done work on the democratisation of companies and organisations
• Organising Tech in Sweden: The Union Perspective - Per Holfve, an advisor with the Swedish Association of Professional Scientists, talks about how scientists fit into labour organising in tech [PERMALINK]
• Dr. Joy Buolamwini - founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, an award-winning researcher, and poet of code
• AI, Ain't I A Woman? - a spoken word piece that highlights the ways in which artificial intelligence can misinterpret the images of iconic black women, by Dr. Joy Buolamwini

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Cover art by Anya K. Jordan @anyakjordan.bsky.social

Theme music by Xylia

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