logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
26m 29s

Predicting the future of tech

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The internet plays an important role in most of our lives today. What will it, and other tech, look like in the future ? We take a long view with a veteran of the tech industry. Also on Tech Life this week, some of the biggest social media platforms have been accused of obstructing information on abortion and reproductive healthcare in developing countries. And health tech helps to combat child malnutrition in Africa.

Presenter: Shiona McCallum Producer: Tom Quinn

(Photo: A photo of a computer taken in 1982. Credit: BBC)

Up next
Nov 18
Living the digital nomad life
<p>We look at how tech and visas have freed some employees from their desktops, allowing them to continue their work from other parts of the world. They're called digital nomads.</p><p>Also in this edition: Shiona McCallum speaks to a victim of online bullying in Kenya, and finds ... Show More
26m 28s
Nov 11
The King and AI
Seven pioneers of artificial intelligence gathered at St James's Palace to receive the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, presented by King Charles. Zoe Kleinman was there. In this week's edition you can hear Zoe talk to the 'godmother' of AI, Professor Fei-Fei Li, and Jensen ... Show More
26m 29s
Nov 4
Digital parenting
We look at a particular use of tech in family life - using trackers to know where your children are, or your partner, or other relatives. What are the safety and privacy issues ?Also on Tech Life: Shiona McCallum speaks to the BBC's cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy, about a gang of ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
Is technology our savior — or our slayer? | Ruha Benjamin
<p>When it comes to technology, we're often presented with two contrasting visions of the future: one where technology fulfills all our desires, and another where it leads to chaos and conflict. Sociologist Ruha Benjamin is here with a more radical vision of the future — one wher ... Show More
16m 20s
Oct 2023
The People vs. Meta + Marques Brownlee on YouTube and Future Tech + DALL-E 3 Arrives
<p>Dozens of state attorneys general has sued Meta, alleging the company knowingly created features that induce “extended, addictive, and compulsive social media use” among teenagers and children. In a country without wide-reaching internet regulations, are lawsuits the way to re ... Show More
1h 5m
Aug 2023
The disappearing computer -- and a world where you can take AI everywhere | Imran Chaudhri
<p>In this exclusive preview of groundbreaking, unreleased technology, former Apple designer and Humane cofounder Imran Chaudhri envisions a future where AI enables our devices to "disappear" -- seriously, like one day making a phone call on the palm of your hand. He gives a sne ... Show More
16m 39s
Feb 2019
TechStuff Classic: Old Tech Never Dies
What is legacy technology? Why do we still have old technology that should be obsolete? Will the fax machine ever die? Join Chris and Jonathan as they investigate the strange cases of technology that never seems to die. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcas ... Show More
46m 10s
Dec 2020
The best tech stories of 2020
This week Digital Planet looks back on some of the stories we’ve covered in 2020; electricity from Lake Kivu on the Rwandan/DRC border, internet shutdowns across the world, contact tracing apps during the pandemic and how technology has changed digital death rituals and allowed u ... Show More
43m 4s
Nov 2020
Accessibility and Computer Vision - #425
Digital imagery is pervasive today. More than a billion images per day are produced and uploaded to social media sites, with many more embedded within websites, apps, digital documents, and eBooks. Engaging with digital imagery has become fundamental to participating in contempor ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2012
Old Tech Never Dies
<p>What is legacy technology? Why do we still have old technology that should be obsolete? Will the fax machine ever die? Join Chris and Jonathan as they investigate the strange cases of technology that never seems to die.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href=" ... Show More
46m 33s
Jun 2023
Big Tech Wants You to Think AI Will Kill Us All
Did you know that AI is set to automate as many as a third of your tasks? In the future we’re all going to be saving a lot of time. That’s as long as no one invents artificial general intelligence that fires all the nukes or turns us all into paperclips. Which, some experts seem ... Show More
38m 5s