Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer at the Center for Humane Technology, Casey Mock joins Johanna for a discussion on incentives for building safer and more humane technology. Casey and Johanna discuss designing platforms for people and not just profit, how to realign incentives in tech using the well-established concept of legal liability, what to expect from a Trump administration in regards to tech policy, creative ways to overcome legal logjams, and how – contrary to popular belief – clear liability legislation empowers innovation. They also explore Australia’s under 16 social media ba ..read more

Angie Abdilla, Professor and the ANU School of Cybernetics, founder of Old Ways, New, and co-author of the Indigenous Protocols for Artificial Intelligence, joins Johanna for an exploration of Indigenous Knowledge and the lessons we can all draw from it. Angie and Johanna talk about the value of viewing technology, science, and engineering through a non-western worldview, Indigenous Knowledge systems and Deep Time technologies, Country Centred Design Practices, the Closing the Gap reforms and how they relate to Indigenous data sovereignty, and some of Angie’s recent projects around AI They exp ..read more

Taiwan’s inaugural Digital Minister, Audrey Tang, and author and founder of RadicalxChange Glen Weyl, join Johanna for an in-depth conversation on utilising technology to reduce division,improve governance, and regulate and the speed of innovation Audrey and Glen share their inspiring stories of grass-roots political action turned tech revolution and speak about Australia’s unique democratic inventiveness, their experiences unifying groups of people through new types of social media, opposing foreign state actors, prebunking misinformation, building bridges between diverse political positions ..read more

Brendan Dowling Australia's Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology is Johanna's guest for this episode of Tech Mirror. Join them as they unravel the complexities of cyber diplomacy and Australia’s role in shaping tech policy on the global stage.   The pair explore the intricacies of international tech alliances, the challenges, and motivations of attributing cyber threats—including Australia's recently attribution of APT40 to China—and the impact of recent cyber sanctions against Russian citizens. They also discuss the implications of the CrowdStrike global tech outage, incl ..read more

Frances Haugen came to the world’s attention in 2021 as a whistle-blower, after filing a series of complaints about Facebook (now Meta) with the U.S. Federal Government about the harms caused by their business practices. She now works to champion accountability, transparency, and driving social media for the common good. In this new episode of Tech Mirror, TPDC Director Professor Johanna Weaver and Frances Haugen cover a lot of ground discussing topics including: - the importance of whistle-blower protections - recognising linguistic diversity in online safety - the power of collective action ..read more

We’re excited to announce that the Tech Mirror Podcast will be returning to its regular scheduling very soon - we’re cooking up a great season with an all-star line-up of guests, so stay tuned! In the interim, here’s a quick update on what TPDC has been doing for the past few months. In particular, we’re especially excited to tell you about our brand new education program aimed at upskilling existing tech policy professionals and establishing a career pathway into the field. As part of the program’s co-design process, we’re asking you, our listeners, for your input. Whether you’re an expert in ..read more

This is a special episode of Tech Mirror on the imperative to protect civilians from digital threats during war. Johanna is in conversation with Dr. Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer and Head of the legal division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Dr. Tilman Rodenhäuser, Thematic Legal Adviser at the ICRC.   The trio discuss the work of a high-level ICRC Advisory Board, which was convened by the ICRC to develop concrete recommendations on the legal and policy challenges to protect civilians from digital threats during armed conflict. The trio also discuss the i ..read more

Curious about the future of privacy in Australia? Join us as we delve into the world of privacy regulation in Australia. Our expert panel shares their thoughts on the Government’s response to the Privacy Act Review Report.  It’s a follow-up to episode #22 ‘Privacy is Not Dead’. Returning guest Anna Johnston, founder and Principal of Salinger Privacy, is joined by Ryan Black, Head of Policy for the Tech Council of Australia, and Kate Bower, a fellow at the UTS Human Technology Institute, currently on sabbatical from CHOICE as Consumer Data Advocate.     The panel discuss:&nb ..read more

Ever wish you could sit down with a real-deal AI technologist and ask them what’s on earth is going on? In this double-episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna chats with Bill Simpson Young and Tiberio Cataneo, CEO and Chief Scientist at Gradient Institute. This independent, non-profit research institute works to build safety, ethics, accountability and transparency into AI systems.   In Part One of this wide-ranging conversation, the trio: -          define key terms like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Frontier v ..read more

Ever wish you could sit down with a real-deal AI technologist and ask them what’s on earth is going on? In this double-episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna chats with Bill Simpson Young and Tiberio Cataneo, CEO and Chief Scientist at Gradient Institute. This independent, non-profit research institute works to build safety, ethics, accountability and transparency into AI systems.   In Part One of this wide-ranging conversation, the trio: -          define key terms like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Frontier v ..read more