Humans vs. Algorithms

Hello and welcome to yet another episode of the Tech for Good Live podcast. If you’re keeping count, today is something like our ten thousand and five hundredth episode or something. Who knows? The main takeaway is that this has gone on too long. 

But this weeks show looks like it’ll be worth the price of admission. 

Today we’ll be imagining a world where social media is ruled by people, not algorithms.

In the US they’ve banned TikTok apparently, to some extent. So we’ll be talking about this and deciding if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. 

Greg Aston is on hosting duties again, and he is joined by Tech For Good Live team member Paul Jakubowski.

Our special guest for the next couple of episodes is Nicki Lyons, UK Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer at Vodafone!

Nicki became Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability in October 2021. She’s responsible for external communications, government and regulatory affairs, and sustainable business. Before this, she worked in senior roles at Walgreen Boots Alliance, Unilever, PepsiCo, in the UK government and in international development.

We’ll be speaking to Nicki again next week all about her role as UK Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer at Vodafone, so tune in again for that.

Good story of the week:

A lot of people think algorithms are the root of all evil with social media. What if we could have social media without it?:

The Latest Online Culture War Is Humans vs. Algorithms - Wired 

Bad news story of the week:

The US government has voted to force Tiktok to sell their American part of their business. Is that good? What does this mean for fans in the US and globally?:

The legal challenges that lie ahead for TikTok — in both the US and China - The Verge 

US TikTok ban would be 'devastating', UK firms warn - BBC 

And finally

Apparently a good view can slow down time: 

Try something new to stop the days whizzing past, researchers suggest - The Guardian 

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