The Technically Human Podcast

High Tech Society: IEEE's vision for ethical technological advancement

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I speak with Tom Coughlin, the standing President and CEO of IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organizatio...

Debugging Division: The Architecture of Bridge-Building Social Media

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we are bringing you a conversation featuring one technologist who is rethinking and reshaping social media—to build platforms that spark empat...

The Algorithm as Witness: Reimagining Holocaust Memory in the Digital Age

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I bring you a conversation with one of the great thinkers working at the intersection of ethics and technology...

Game On, Hate Off: Navigating the Virtual Frontier

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode of the show, I speak with Daniel Kelley about the culture of online gaming, and the unique set of challenges in the gaming spac...

Art, Tech, Self: Untangling the Human Algorithm

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Technically Human listeners! Welcome back to another episode of the show. Today I'm sitting down with Alva Noë. We talk about his new book, The En...

The QWERTY Keyboard and the Chinese Computer

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I speak with Dr. Thomas Mullaney about his new book, The Chinese Computer. In the book, Dr. Mullaney outlines the history...

Agree to Disagree: Are we living in an age of techno-pessimism?

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Technically Human Listeners! After a long summer break we are back with a brand season and brand new episodes of the show! To kick off the season, ...

The Ethics and Technology of Teams in the Age of AI

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today I’m speaking with Projjal Ghatak, CEO & Co-Founder At Onloop, about the ethics of teamwork, collaboration, and providing constructive feed...

Ethics Works: A day in the life of an ethics worker in tech

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I speak with Sarah Fairweather about what it is like to be an ethics worker. We talk about how ethical work can sync up w...

Feel the Burn: A new novel explores the financial crisis in tech

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I sit down with author Mike Trigg about his new novel, Burner. Mike Trigg is an author, a novelist, a tech executive, a t...

Dr. Strangelanguage: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Generative AI in Medicine

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I sit down with Dr. Robert Pearl to talk about his new book, ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Ta...

Taking the Temperature of AI: Measuring AI's Environmental Impact

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I talk to Dr. Tamara Kneese about Data and Society's initiative to develop standards and ways to measure the environmenta...

Brain Storm: The new technologies that are changing how we think about brain function

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode, I sit down with Dr. Peter Bonutti to talk about the ways in which technologies are revolutionizing our understanding of the brain,...

The Singularity of Hope: The case for AI optimism

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today I am interviewing Dr. Sam Sammane about his forthcoming book, "The Singularity of Hope”, which aims to guide readers through the challenges an...

The Count: The politics of data science

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to a brand-new season of Technically Human! We’re thrilled to be back with new episodes of the show. We are kicking off the new season,...

Getting Public About Privacy: Understanding data privacy in the digital age

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I talk with Jared Maslin about what it means to have privacy on the internet. We talk about the difference between privac...

The Case for Cryptocurrency: The future of digital assets post Sam Bankman-Fried

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode of the show I sit down with Dr. Tonya Evans to talk about the state of crypto in the wake of last week’s landmark criminal ...

The New Rules: challenging Big Tech’s reign over legal reform

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, I talk about how to create new legal rules to guide tech toward reflecting human values with Brian Beckcom, one of the leading l...

Soul Machines: Can AI have a body?

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I sit down with Dr. Mark Sagar to talk about his vision of an embodied form of AI. Dr. Sagar is the co-founder and Chief...

Saving Israeli and Palestinian Lives: Technology For Life: Disaster relief and life-saving tech *From the Archives*

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Technically Human listeners. This is a show about ethics and tech, but it’s also a show about what it means to be human. There is no area of bein...

The Romance of AI: Discussing Love and Artificial Intelligence with Amy Kurzweil

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s conversation, I sit down with Amy Kurzweil, the author of the new graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story. Artificial: A Love Story tell...

Funny Business: ”Silicon Valley” writer and co-producer Dan Lyons explains what‘s funny about tech culture *From the Archives*

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Technically Human listeners! I’m on vacation this week, and our team has pulled one of our favorite interviews, and definitely hands down our fun...

The American Dream Goes Digital: The myths and technologies that bind us with Dr. Julie Albright *From the Archives*

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Technically Human, I sit down with Dr. Julie Albright to talk about her new book: Left to Their Own Devices: How Digital Natives Ar...

Bad Input: Raising public awareness about AI bias

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, Consumer Reports, in collaboration with the Kapor Center, debuted "Bad Input," three short films that set out to explore and to cre...

Instituting Greenlining: how policy can promote digital inclusion

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, I sit down with Vinhcent Le, Senior Legal Counsel of Tech Equity at the Greenlining Institute, an organization that works toward...

Designing Data Governance

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the show, I continue my deep dive into data, human values, and governance with an interview featuring Lauren Maffeo. We talk about ...

Behind the Data: data, human values, and society

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back, after a long and restful break, with a brand new season of Technically Human! In our first episode of the season, I am joined by a guest...

East Meets West: The place of Asia in the technological imagination

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the final episode of the "Technically Human" season! We’re ending the season with an episode of the 22 lessons on ethics and technology s...

*From the Archives*: Tech, democracy, human rights, and the urgent crisis in Sudan

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

These past few weeks, as violence and instability have escalated in Sudan, I’ve had one particular conversation on my mind, an episode of the show t...

Compliance and Governance in the Age of Tech

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode focuses on the growing field of compliance and regulation. Compliance is a field that is growing in importance at both national and ...

Returning the Power of AI to the People

20 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Any long-time listeners of the show know that I’m passionate about accessibility and disability technology. Technologies that support the idea that ...

Indigeneity in the Digital Age

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to another episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology" series! In this episode, I sit down with Jason Edward Lewis to talk about how ...

Technology and Genocide: What the Holocaust can tell us about perils of technological utopianism

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back for another episode in the "22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology Series! In this episode of the series, I speak to Dr. Eric Katz, and we t...

Instituting Integrity: The rise of the integrity worker collective

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today I’m sitting down with Talha Baig to talk about a new to me organization, the Integrity Institute. On the show, I’ve spent a lot of time talk...

How We Breathe: how technology is changing approaches to ventilation

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Between 2020 and 2022, I spent a lot of time reading about ventilators. So did a lot of the country. News coverage of the pandemic talked about everyt...

Technically Human Rights: How technologies are changing the state of human rights

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another episode in the “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology for the 21st Century” series. In this episode of the series, we take a...

The Global Technological Imaginary: Sci-Fi, Tech, and the Ethics of Representation

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to a brand new season of “Technically Human!” Today’s episode features another conversation in the "22 Lessons on Ethics and Techno...

Zoom Fatigue: Distance Learning and Social Engagement in the Age of Social Distancing

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to another episode of the 22 lessons on ethics and technology series, in a conversation with Dr. Judith Kalb about the growth of online e...

Data Feminism

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back, for another episode of the “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology” series. In this episode, I speak with Dr. Lauren Klein about the co...

The Threshold: Leading in the Age of AI

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Nick Chatrath about the crucial role that leadership plays in the future of AI development. We talk about organizati...

The Ethics of the Blockchain

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode features a conversation with Medha Parlikar, about the ethics of the blockchain and cryptocurrency. We talk about the vision of what...

Digital Democracy: How Tech Shapes Democratic Participation and Social Justice

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s edition of the “22 lessons on ethics and technology series,” I speak with Dr. Nassim Parvin. We talk about the ethical and politi...

Computing Women: Gender Disparity in STEM Education

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back for another installment of the “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology” special series. In this week’s episode of the series, I am joi...

Human First AI

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode, I am joined by Dr. Christopher Nguyen. We talk about the emerging concept of "human first AI," and the changing terrain of bot...

Science for the 21st Century: Understanding Systems Biology

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, I turn my mic over to a guest host, for an interview with Dr. Jared Roach about the growing field of systems biology, an interdisciplinary ...

The Diversity Challenge: Race, gender, and how the histories of medicine and technology got made

13 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology" special series, I sit down with Dr. Evelynn Hammonds to talk about how race and gender have sha...

The Ethic of Life

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we continue our “22 Lessons on Ethics and Technology series” with a conversation with Dr. John Basl about how our relationship with tec...

Socio Paths: Navigating the terrain of sociotechnical systems

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I host Chris Leong and Maria Santacaterina for a conversation about the growing pervasiveness of sociotechnica...

Outside Voices: Transcisciplinary Approaches to Ethics and Technology

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to another interview in the "22 Lessons in Ethics and Technology" series! In this episode, I speak with Dr. Pavel Cenkl, about the need for in...

The Age of Posthumanism

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to our 3rd episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethical Technology" series! We will be releasing new episodes in the series every first and second Fr...

What it Means to Care: Ethical medicine in the age of tech

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I give my mic over to two guest hosts, David Geitner and Roman Rosser, to interview Dr. Robert Pearl about the...

The age of privacism

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Michael Huth to talk about the ethics of data collection, privacy, and the new age of “privacism.” We talk ab...

From Tech to Action: Are our technologies changing our ethics?

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to our 2nd episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethical Technology" series! In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mark Coeckelbergh, one of the world'...

Defining ethical technology: Urgent debates, global dilemmas, and key definitions

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to our very first episode of the "22 Lessons on Ethical Technology" series!   In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Herman Tavani to introduce...

Gary Bengier’s Unfettered Journey

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of “Technically Human,” I interview Gary Bengier, the author of the award-winning science fiction novel, Unfettered Journey. We ta...

Command Code: Ethics, technology, and the debate about free will

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to a new season of “Technically Human!” To kick off the year, I wanted to start out with a topic that has been coming up for me incre...

NEW! ”22 Lessons on Ethical Technology for the 21st Century” Special Series Trailer

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey Technically Human listeners! We’re very excited to introduce a special series of episodes that we’ll run throughout the year—“22 Lessons o...

Millennial Action Technology: US Senate Candidate Steven Olikara talks tech and political activism for a new generation of leaders **RE-RELEASE**

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

**RE-RELEASE** Ok, ok ok. So I know I said that we weren’t releasing episodes until September. But this week, we learned that one of our previous gu...

The Future of the Ethical Technology Workforce

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For our last episode of the season, I sit down with Rebekah Tweed to talk about the topic that has animated my research for the past year: The future ...

Battery Power: Dr. John Cooley on the technology replacing fossil fuels

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I talk to Dr. John Cooley, the Founder and Chief of Products of Nanoramic Laboratories, a company reinventing the transportation indu...

Disconnect: Millennials, media, and mental health

20 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, I’ll turn the mic over to two guest hosts, for a conversation about mental health and technology with Dr. Elizabeth Barrett, licensed fam...

The Clean Meat Revolution

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the technology of “Clean Meat,” with Paul Shapiro. We talk about the ethics of eating non-human animals,...

Intercode: Part 2

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode is the second episode of a 2 part series of Technically Human. Over the next two episodes, I speak with six women/nonbinary/trans ...

Intercode: A panel discussion about gender and transitioning into tech

30 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode is the first of a 2 part series of Technically Human. Over the next two episodes, I speak with six women/nonbinary/trans individua...

Technology For Life: Disaster relief and life-saving tech

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of “Technically Human” I talk to Dov Maisel, the cofounder of United Hatzalah, an organization that leverages technologies to prov...

AI for the Developing World

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I interview Prateek Joshi, Founder and CEO of Plutoshift. We talk about the importance of local and cultural knowledge in a global te...

The Opportunity Trap: tech’s visa problem

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Dr. Pallavi Banerjee joins me to talk about her new book, The Opportunity Trap: High-Skilled Workers, Indian Families and the Failure...

Market Values: Dr. Steven Kelts on corporate ethics in the tech industry

01 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are back, with another season of “Technically Human.” For our first episode of the season, we're bringing you a conversation with Dr. Steven Ke...

Body Snatchers: Manjula Padmanabhan discusses the drama of technology and the black market of organ harvesting

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode is the final episode of our season. The episode features a very special conversation, one that I have wanted to have since I started...

Word Processing: how tech transforms translation

05 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I chat with Christopher Willis, the Chief Marketing Officer of Acrolinx. We discuss how our digital and globally connected world is p...

The Next Generation of AI

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of “Technically Human,” I sit down with Dr. Eric Daimler. We talk about one of the biggest technology problems facing us today—d...

Creative (R)evolution: PJ Manney and science fiction for good

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with science fiction writer, essayist, innovator, and cultural icon PJ Manney. We talk about the relationship between lite...

Running Interference: will democracy survive foreign cyber attacks?

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the final episode of our 3 part series on democracy and technology, I am bringing you a conversation with Professor Chimène Keitner on cyber inte...

The Private Square: democracy and the attention economy

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we are continuing our series on the theme of democracy and technology by bringing you a conversation with Ram Fish, on the impact of social...

Digital Democracy

28 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we are kicking off a special series of “Technically Human” focused on the intersection of democracy and tech. In the first episode in t...

The LAWS of War: Lethal autonomous weapons systems and the new ethics of warfare

21 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I speak with Dr. John C. Williams about the ethics of automated weapons systems. We talk about the concept of meaningful human contro...

Grimm Futures: Technology’s fairy tales

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I sit down with D.J. MacLennan to talk about the relationship between technological realities and fairy tale m...

Moving Pictures: Film director Jake Wachtel discusses his new film, Karmalink, and sci-fi in Cambodia

07 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

"Technically Human" is back with a brand new season of the show! In our first episode of the season, I sit down with film director Jake Wachtel to tal...

How Women Work: Gender, digital labor, and (not) getting paid to do what you love

03 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Brooke Duffy about the structure of digital labor. We talk about Instagram influencers and the people who love to ha...

A Conversation with Open Dyalog: civil discourse in the digital age

19 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, we bring you a conversation about, well, how we have conversations. Listeners of this podcast, students who have taken my cl...

Cybersecurity in the age of Zero Trust

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I talk to Rob Dickinson, the CEO of Resurface. We talk about the ethic behind cybersecurity technology, the ethics of data ownership,...

Technically Human 101: a crash course on being human in the age of tech

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we do a deep dive into the Technically Human show archive to bring you an episode that puts together some of the show's top moments. ...

Embodied Technology and the Quantified Self with Dr. Steven LeBoeuf

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I dive into the history, the sociology, and the ethics of wearables with Dr. Steven LeBoeuf, the President and...

The Fork in the Road to Ethical Technology: Vivek Wadhwa on navigating ethical roadmaps in a perilous tech landscape

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with Vivek Wadhwa to talk about his pivot from tech entrepreneur and big tech enthusiast, to critic and activist. We talk ...

Principled Dissent: Joe Toscano explains why he left the tech industry and what real change looks like

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I speak with Joe Toscano about why he left Google in 2017, and how he became one of tech's leading critics. We talk about what he saw...

Memory Drive: The ethics of Holocaust memory in the age of virtual reality

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I sit down with Dr. Steven Smith, the director USC's Dimensions in Holocaust Testimony.   We talk about the ...

Public Service: Yaël Eisenstat Tackles the Intersection of Ethics, Tech, and Democracy

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special edition of "Technically Human," we feature a live public conversation about the future of democracy, technology, and public policy. In...

Funny Business: ”Silicon Valley” writer and co-producer Dan Lyons explains what‘s funny about tech culture

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with a personal hero, the iconic literary giant Dan Lyons. We discuss Dan's experience writing about tech culture for the ...

The TransHuman Code: Carlos Moreira imagines a human-centered technological future

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Carlos Moreira, the CEO of WISeKey. We discuss the possibilities for building a human-centered technologi...

Explaining AI: Kordel France's quest to create Ethical AI

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I speak to Kordel France, the CEO of Seekar Technology. We discuss the challenges of building an ethical tech company, the importance...

Chris Wexler's Quest to Detoxify the Internet: AI and Krunam's Fight to Stop Human Trafficking

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Wexler, the CEO of Krunam, one of the world’s leading image and video classifiers of Child Sexual Abuse Mater...

The Rise of the Ethical Hacker: The Wild, Wild West of Cybersecurity with Ted Harrington

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with Ted Harrington, the author of Hackable: How to Do Application Security Right, and the Executive Partner at Independen...

Captivating Technology: How surveillance technology is taking over our prisons and our bodies

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We are back with a brand-new season of the Technically Human podcast! This week's episode features Dr. Anthony Hatch. We discuss the use of psychotrop...

Network Technology: Dr. Ethel Mickey explains how networks structure the tech workforce

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I talk to Dr. Ethel Mickey about tech's "pipeline problem." We discuss STEM culture in universities, how inequ...

Millennial Action Technology: Steven Olikara talks tech and political activism for a new generation of leaders

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode, I speak to Steven Olikara, founder of the Millenial Action Project (MAP), the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmak...

Hard at Work: Sharla Alegria discusses inequality in the tech workforce

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Sharla Alegria about inequality in the tech workforce. We discuss tech workplace culture, the relationship between ethi...

Digital Justice: Tech, policing, and the digital divide with Dr. Rashawn Ray and Dr. Nicol Turner Lee

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of "Technically Human," I talk to Dr. Rashawn Ray and Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, both Fellows at the Brookings Institution, about race, tec...

Nintendo Nation: Jeff Ryan on Super Mario, gaming culture, and the ludology of play

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I talk to Jeff Ryan, author of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. We discuss gaming culture, the gender dynamics of the ga...

Climate, Chemicals, Carcinogens, Cancer: Dr.Sandra Steingraber challenges the system

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I speak to Dr. Sandra Steingraber. We discuss the links between environmental destruction, contamination of vital resources, and the ...

Natural Technology: Defining Technology in New Ways with Dr.Timothy Morton

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I sit down with ecocritic Dr. Timothy Morton to talk about the relationship between tech and ecocriticism. We talk about the human re...