Think: Digital Futures

Would you make love to a robot?

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Techno-sexuality. Digi-sexuality. I-dollatry and Robophilia are new sexualities made possible by technology. So who is behind these identities? And wh...

Musical Robots

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ya like robo-jazz? Featured:   Dr. Richard Savery: Macquarie University Research Fellow (MQRF), Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, L...

The comeback of stem cells: why this time, they might work.

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, stem cells have been the technology that’s just around the corner. The medicine that would fix just about part of the body. But stem ce...

Conscious AI and the Universe

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What is 'consciousness'? Featured: Dr Mahendra Samarawickrama; Director of the Centre for Consciousness Studies, Director of the Centre for Sustainabl...

Is AI Art, 'Art'?

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Where do AI generated imagery fall in the world of art? In September 2022, Jason M. Allen controversially won first prize in the Colorado State Fair's...

Collecting Music in the Digital Age

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

All of us have our own relationship with music, for some it provides some background colour to the day, for others it’s an integral part of life. Bu...

Preserving Video Game History

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Advances in technology and art require a solid foundation of history in order to improve, progress and innovate. What happens when that history is tie...

Deepfakes and Social Identity

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial Intelligence and Beer

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do you trust a robot with your beer? Featured: Doctor Nick Bennett: Senior Lecturer, School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering Danielle MacDo...

3D Printing Stem Cells

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Can a printer save a life? Featured: Professor Majid Warkiani: Biomedical Engineer, University of Technology Sydney Sajad Razavi Bazaz: Biomedical E...

Robot and Human Trust

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Does your robot trust you? As research hastens to making Brain-Computer Interfaces between robots and human a reality, we ought to examine the cultura...

Hey Google, Is That a Fact?

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when you ask Google to tell you the truth? Featured: Associate Professor Heather Ford: Head Of Discipline Digital and Social Media, UTS P...

A Kenyan Superhero VS Wikipedia

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Just how representative is the world’s largest encyclopedia? Featured: Associate Professor Heather Ford: Head Of Discipline Digital and Social Media...

Fairness in Artificial Intelligence

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are the decisions made by AI really as unbiased as we think they are? Featured: Distinguished Professor Fang Chen: Executive Director of The Data Sci...

Whiskey Sniffing Electronic Nose

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the last 5 years, Dr. Su and his team have been developing an electronic nose that can sense gas compound patterns in the air. The E-nose that the...

The Gender Legislative Index

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can AI help in ensuring gender equality in legislation? Featured: Dr. Ramona Vijeyarasa: Senior Lecturer Faculty of Law, UTS; Architect of the Gen...

Being queer on dating apps

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Most of our search for love and sex has been uploaded onto apps - for better or worse. What effect is this having on queer communities, and what are t...

Empathy in the digital world

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As technology and social media algorithms evolve faster than we can monitor them, how has our ability to empathise with others been affected? Featuri...

Navigating the fertility industry online

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What are the experiences of women using technology to make a baby? And how are they navigating the fertility industry online? Featuring: Natalie Har...

Digital vaccine passports and mass data collection

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In order to open up safely after two years of restricted movement, many countries are introducing COVID-19 vaccination passports. But how will this wo...

Streamers go dark over hate raids

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we observe how online hate speech can result in real-life consequences. How gaming and social media platforms are failing to censor da...

Neurotechnology and the law

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Technologies used to read and alter the brain are being introduced in courts around the world. But how will neuro-based evidence revolutionise the way...

3D-printed housing in the face of climate change

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As communities become increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, how are architects using 3D-printing to ensure buildings are energy ef...

A billionaire space race

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon CEO and billionaire Jeff Bezos recently flew into space, days after billionaire Richard Branson made it into orbit. Space has always been a fro...

A game to support dementia diagnosis

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dementia is a confronting disease, with many barriers to early diagnosis and lengthy diagnostic processes. Researchers are developing new technologies...

A digital archive to support Indigenous repatriation

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A huge repatriation effort has been ongoing for decades, in an attempt to return the ancestors and sacred objects of Indigenous people back to their h...

How do we extract renewables minerals sustainably?

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As we expand our mining of minerals for the green energy transition, we may harm the biodiversity of surrounding areas and cause other environmental c...

Are new surveillance laws encroaching on privacy?

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has jumped on the opportunity to expand surveillance laws following the success of Operation Ironside. But members of th...

The ethics of genetic testing in IVF

11 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a parent, you would do whatever you could to ensure that your child has a good life. But what if you knew that your unborn child would have a condi...

Are digital mental health services working?

06 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Which groups of Australians are benefiting most from digital mental health services? And how are psychologists adapting their practice to incorporate ...

3D printing hearts, ears and skin

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The technological capabilities of 3D printers continue to advance. In this episode, we explore the capability of 3D bio-printing, the printing of biol...

Automation and redefining work

23 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Machines are beginning to replace human judgement and other cognitive tasks, not just physical labour, seeing millions of unemployed in coming decades...

NFTs and the future of digital art

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How are NFTs redefining the art world? Are blockchain powered marketplaces empowering artists or harming the environment? Featured: Craig Blackmoore,...

Google and ethical AI

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why has Google fired members of its ethical AI team? How pervasive are problematic algorithms in society? And who is holding developers of new technol...

Online devices and privacy

24 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Online devices are becoming ubiquitous in our lives. Some of them are convenient, or even essential- others are just fun novelties. But many people ha...

1800-dial-a-government

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

They say that nothing gets things moving like a crisis. In this episode of Think: Digital Futures, we’ll take a closer look at how your smartphone ...

Sensing the future

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sensors, ever smaller and cheaper, can collect ever more nuanced sets of data. With that data, we can understand our world in ever more detail. That c...

Farming futures

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As climate breakdown makes farming an evermore unstable and unpredictable industry, technology is developing ways to maximise the efficiency of agricu...

A constant drone

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Drones are all around us these days... everyone seems to own one, for better or worse. But should we be more wary of these flying sentinels? While the...

The fourth industrial revolution

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're living in an era of unprecedented change... just like previous industrial revolutions, our current one (well underway) is more than the sum of i...

Predicting super bugs

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Scientists have been warning the world about the rise of anti-microbial resistance for decades now- some strains of diseases like gonorrhea, tuberculo...

Block to the future

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Blockchain, Bitcoin... maybe you switch off when you hear those terms. But the cutting edge technology, and all the exciting possibilities it raises, ...

Online elections

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As more of our lives move online, could our democratic rights also be exercised on the internet? Is voting from your phone or computer as safe as popp...

Creeping capability

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2015, Australia has been developing a database of citizen's biometrics, to be fed into facial recognition software for the purpose of combating ...

A fair fight

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The world's biggest tech companies are in a big fight... with an Australian organisation. The ACCC has presented a plan that will force Facebook and G...

How will tech affect our human rights?

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode, we sit down with the Human Rights Commissioner Ed Santow. How does technology stand to affect our human rights? Facial recogn...

Can a hashtag save a life?

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Social media has well and truly become a place of activism. With current COVID restrictions, that is now necessary, with public gatherings banned. How...

All quiet on the regional front

07 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Regional news has been on the decline ever since the advent of the internet. COVID has exacerbated the decline sharply. Without a local publication,...

The Gambling Bug

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It doesn’t take much to realise that gambling is fast becoming part of our everyday. From the pokies, sports betting, online games and apps, gamblin...

Is telehealth here to stay?

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Telehealth has seen a rapid expansion since March, as the government scrambled to slow the spread of coronavirus. Medical professionals have welcomed ...

Garden Cities

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Climate breakdown is changing the way people live- in cities, already soaring temperatures are compounded by the concrete, treeless layouts of most ur...

COVID culture

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Even before restaurants and pubs were shut down, the bans on public gatherings essentially outlawed our artistic institutions. Along with work meeting...

The Infodemic

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Misinformation around COVID is just as dangerous as the virus itself. From injecting bleach to destroying 5G towers, myths around corona have spread o...

Rethinking Repair

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Electronic waste is a mounting problem, with hundreds of thousand of tonnes of electronics going into landfill every year, in Australia alone. You're ...

We Have No Choice But To Stan

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Social and digital media have revolutionised what it means to be a fan. But in a connected world, passion runs on overdrive where gushing over your fa...

The Digital Whistleblower

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Within any organisation, professional or governmental environment there's some level of digital infrastructure enabling people with sensitive informat...

The Truth About Digital Addictions and Detoxes

04 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of us joke around and say we're addicted to our phones, but when does the endless scrolling and hours of screen time turn into a full blown addi...

And I Oop!

27 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Humour has taken on new life in the digital age and TikTok is leading the march into obscurity. This episode we dive into the world of the VSCO girl a...

What Do Your Google Searches Say About You?

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Google will answer somewhere between 3-5 billion searches every day. But overtime, Google has evolved into so much more than a search engine. It's bec...

Print Your Next Meal

25 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What is 3D food printing and why are we doing it? Featuring: Professor Bronwyn Hemsley - Head of Speech Pathology at the University of Technology Syd...

Viral Scarelore

10 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What is a viral scare and where do they come from? This episode we look at internet urban legends and how hoaxes spread in the age of online misinform...

What Happens To Your Opal Card Data

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

And why it's not being used to improve the public transport system. Featuring: Claudine Moutou - Transport Sociologist at the Institute for Sustaina...

Your Digital Life and Death

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What happens to your digital life when you die? Featuring: James Meese - Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication at the University of Technol...

Video Game Nostalgia

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What makes video games such a nostalgic medium? This episode we look at the uniquely nostalgic qualities of video games and how the gaming industry is...

Intellectual Disability and the Gig Economy

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The rate of unemployment for those with intellectual disability is more than four times that of the non-disabled population. Stigma and ableism contin...

The Modders

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The video gaming world is full of digital geniuses, but this isn't limited to those designing the games. The Modders are an international community of...

The Mental Health Crisis in the Adult Industry

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Porn performers and sex workers face heavy stigma. This stigma is pervasive and socially excludes in multiple ways. In this episode, we look at how ma...

Why Space Travel is a Colonial Crisis

04 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

With Earth's natural resources diminishing at a rapid rate, many tech giants are dubbing space as our salvation. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon...

Technology and Inspiration Porn

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The stories we tell about technology are mostly positive, they connect our world and make the impossible possible. But when it comes to the technologi...

Introducing Uniform - A new season of All Things Equal

09 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Waiting for your next Think: Digital Futures fix? We’ve got something else for you in the meantime. Introducing a new season of All Things Equal. Th...

Automating CPR

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The survival rate of CPR is incredibly low and hasn't changed in more than 25 years. While a compulsory skill for health professionals, research shows...

Why Online Privacy Isn't a Priority

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Smart devices have connected our world, but not without a price. The rise of the internet of things, an interconnected ecosystem of smart devices, rai...

The War on Piracy

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The narrative of the pirate is a potent one. The pirate is a devious, morally corrupt criminal who doesn't care about you or the law. But where does t...

The Adult Industry Goes Crypto

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The adult industry continues to face heavy stigma. Not only are they demoralised for what they do, they're excluded from the financial institutions th...

Why are we Gendering Artificial Intelligence?

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Virtual assistants have become core to smartphones and speakers, but why are they all women? In this episode, feminist AI researcher Josie Young expla...

STEMM-INISM

04 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to the workplace, nowhere are the barriers of gender-based discrimination felt more keenly than in the STEMM fields. This episode we exp...

The Race Filter

29 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As the world's pre-eminent gay networking service and the first gay geosocial app to launch on iTunes, Grindr offers its users a filter heavy experien...

Anorexia and Algorithms

22 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Across all mental illnesses, anorexia nervosa has the highest rate of mortality. But pro-eating disorder websites on social media platforms like Ins...

Enforcing Apprehended Violence Orders Online

15 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Digital technology is increasingly used in domestic and family violence. Research from the University of Queensland shows that almost any technology, ...

Why NAPLAN is Widening The Education Gap

17 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year students in years three, five, seven, and nine were assessed on their reading, writing, language and numeracy as part of the Nationa...

Automating Inequality

10 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The rise of artificial intelligence has as many anxious as it does excited, with people concerned that autonomous technologies could automate them out...

The Digital Divide in Australian Detention Centres

03 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Journalist and novelist Behrouz Boochani has been detained on Manus Island since 2013. And despite living in a highly controlled environment designed...

The Rise of 3D Printed Guns

27 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013, Texan crypto-anarchist Cody Wilson uploaded blueprints for The Liberator, the world's first 3D printed gun. What followed was a fiery debate ...

How You Were "Nudged" by My Health Record

20 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Australians have until the 15th of November to opt out of having a My Health Record. This episode, producer Joe Koning explores why "opting out" is a...

A Life Online

30 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Would you spend hours watching someone you’ve never met play computer games? What about watching them hang out in the living room with their dog or ...

EXTRA: Algorithms, Aesthetics and ASMR

27 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A conversation with Rob Gallagher from King's College London on identity, aesthetics and the ASMR community. He wrote the article Eliciting Euphoria O...

EXTRA: How to Spot the Celestial Emu

23 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Wiradjuri physics and astronomy student Kirsten Banks chats to Myles Houlbrook-Walk about what she sees when she looks up at the stars

Do It Yourself Internet

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The NBN rollout is nearly complete across rural and regional Australia and with it the promise to shrink the digital divide. But it still doesn’t fe...

Data of Disregard

08 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Whoever controls the data controls the story. Across the globe, Indigenous peoples are coming together to take control of the data collected “about”...

I Was Here

02 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A reflection on time, and how we mediate it through digital technology. Thanks to Tara and Andrew McLennan. 

The Carbon Footprint of Data

04 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How are your Facebook posts impacting the health of the planet? It might sound like a contradiction in terms but this episode from Think: Sustainabili...

The Internet and Radicalised Misogyny

28 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On April 25th 2018, 25 year old Alex Minassian drove a passenger van into pedestrians on a crowded Toronto footpath, killing 10 people and injuring 16...

Is China a Surveillance State?

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve tuned in to news from China over the past couple of months you’d be forgiven for thinking Xi Jinping spent the Summer reading Orwell and...

Is Your Algorithm Broken?

14 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If your toddler is accidentally watching gory videos on Youtube Kids, or your Facebook feed won’t stop recommending you ads for formal track pants -...

Backpage and Moral Outrage

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The recent anti-sex trafficking bill SESTA-FOSTA sent shock waves through sex industries around the world. But it’s not just income sex workers are ...

Engineering for Humanity

09 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Behind every major technological innovation is an engineer. Whether inventing, planning, or building, engineers are instrumental to stuff getting done...

Wide World of Esports

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

With five times more viewers than the NRL Grand Final, and a higher prize money than Wimbledon, the world of competitive video gaming has flown curiou...

Why Don’t We Want to Eat Future Foods?

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to overpopulation and man made climate change, global food stocks are running low. Enter the “future foods” - the gross, weird and wonderfu...

EXTRA: What really happened to Scott Kelly's DNA in space?

23 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

You might have seen the headlines proclaiming astronaut Scott Kelly has returned from a year on the International Space Station with a whopping 7% cha...

Can You Build a Society on the Blockchain?

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When you think about Puerto Rico—decimated by Hurricane Maria, a debt crisis and the longest power blackout in US history—most people see destruct...