For Tech’s Sake

Parts of this episode were made possible by the posts of Joyce Carol Oates, @evilbatwitch.cryptoanarchy.network and @waterotter.bsky.social.

Thank you for your contributions to online culture 🙏

Plz, no more apps. My children are disappearing.

@elaineburke.bsky.social and @earley.bsky.social are talking all about Ryanair’s app trap, Bluesky’s over-reach in moderation, looming threats to GDPR, and the signs from All’s Fair that microdramas are influencing TV.

Listen here: pod.fo/e/351e01

Headshot of Elaine Burke smiling gently at the camera with her arms folded. Her hair is tied back and she is wearing a short sleeved red top.

We're pleased to announce our 2026 #CESIcon keynote speaker, @elaineburke.bsky.social. 🥳

You might know Elaine from her journalism, the @fortechssakepod.bsky.social, or for her appearance on @rte.ie Prime Time last night. www.rte.ie/news/primeti...

@lcetb.com @denistreacy.com

If you know me, I love a bit of critical tech talk, and I adore a good podcast. I've been enjoying a deep dive into the @fortechssakepod.bsky.social podcast since @cesi-ie.bsky.social invited @elaineburke.bsky.social to be our 2026 #CESIcon keynote speaker.

shows.acast.com/for-techs-sake

Ekaterina Uetova from the MOvD research project and @tudublin.bsky.social joined us to explain why a group chat might be more motivational than a gamified fitness app when it comes to making you move.

Catch her full interview here: pod.fo/e/34c694

Fun exercise in data literacy you can do for #ScienceWeek:

hidden-selves.wove.co

Who is the good guy of tech? 🤔

@earley.bsky.social picked Clippy. 📎

@elaineburke.bsky.social picked Tim Berners-Lee. 💻

We had a good chat about it, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. (Episode 4.16: The good guy of tech)

But who would you pick???

Lots of thought-provoking stuff in this episode, if I do say so myself.

calling all queer and trans people who were involved in the catherine connolly campaign: would you like to speak to me for an article i am writing? (i would love to get as many different perspectives as possible)

Have you ever thought about your data after life? And who you would trust with your data after you die?

Researcher @dannysnow.bsky.social certainly has, and he has some advice.

Listen to the full interview: pod.fo/e/3472a6

It's a Halloween special from us this week, sharing (barely) spooky stories about emotional bog bodies and the data after life with special guest @dannysnow.bsky.social from @ucdischool.bsky.social 👻

Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh! 🎃
pod.fo/e/3472a6

Someone please tell Amazon they're practising the wrong kind of tech redundancy.

These latest layoffs were signalled last week, in time for our post-outage ep: pod.fo/e/342e80

For Tech’s Sake: Return of the dead It’s no coincidence that the launch of endless feeds of AI-generated video from Meta’s Vibes and OpenAI’s Sora have coincided with a marked increase in video slop online, but what kind of soc...

Listen here: pod.fo/e/33e2ad

@elaineburke.bsky.social doesn't mince her words when it comes to her thoughts on AI slop...

Find the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts.

Screenshot of three filenames: ep13 clip sloppy farts.mp4 ep13 final sequence.wav 573080__squ...-birdsong.wav

Tomorrow's episode of @fortechssakepod.bsky.social contains multitudes.

(Including a layer of irony in me finding this funny but also complaining about the juvenile humour in AI slop.)

What can I say, the duality of me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Miraculously, in a chat about Big Tech’s impact on democracy, @lizcarolan.com was able to leave us on a hopeful note.

Catch her full interview here: pod.fo/e/33a104

This is already having an impact beyond campaign ads. Get the full download on what's happening from Liz's interview: pod.fo/e/33a104

As of today, 10 October, the rules governing online political advertising in the EU have changed.

Listen to tech and democracy expert @lizcarolan.com explain how “malicious compliance” with these rules might make things even murkier:

pod.fo/e/33a104

Two of CÚRAM's Investigators Prof Madeleine Lowery and Prof Garry P. Duffy recently joined the @fortechssakepod.bsky.social to explain their work on sensors and soft robotics..
@researchireland.ie @universityofgalway.bsky.social @ucddublin.bsky.social Listen at shows.acast.com/for-techs-sake

Could you do with a squeeze from a soft robot?

Check out the full interview with @uniofgalway.bsky.social's Prof Garry Duffy and learn about more medtech marvels wherever you get your podcasts: pod.fo/e/335729

@researchireland.ie

How does Meta's gesture-based control for its smart glasses work?

We asked Madeleine Lowery, an expert in measuring electrical signals from muscles, known as electromyography (EMG).

Full interview: pod.fo/e/335729

@ucddublin.bsky.social @insightcentre.bsky.social @researchireland.ie

The amount of people I know who were suspect of Connolly's keepy-uppy video being AI and who looked closer to be sure of it is a good sign for media literacy.

We're just not sold on Meta's glasses. 🤓

But there's one piece of tech from that failed demo that intrigued us...

Find out in our new episode: pod.fo/e/335729

Good grief. Someone put my ugly mug on the interwebs. And they put my voice in a podcast talking about stuff. Thanks to @elaineburke.bsky.social for letting this @tupped.bsky.social budget covers band share some thoughts on terms and conditions and what people can do to nudge dial on things.

Have you read the Ts&Cs?

@castlebridgechief.bsky.social explains what you should look out for when you make a deal with tech platforms.

Take a listen! pod.fo/e/3315d5

For Tech’s Sake: Terms of abuse Platforms are really stretching the bounds of privacy rights with their terms of use these days. With recent changes to terms at Spotify, LinkedIn and Academia.edu in the spotlight, we called on da...

In our latest @fortechssakepod.bsky.social we're talking about terms of use and how they push the bounds of user expectations and privacy regulations.

Very grateful to have had @castlebridgechief.bsky.social join us for the chat and lending us his expertise.

Take a listen! pod.fo/e/3315d5

Amazon tried to disrupt this week's recording, but we can't be stopped! 😆

Find our latest episode wherever you get your podcasts.

@earley.bsky.social @elaineburke.bsky.social

Before you get sucked into an online argument, ask yourself: could this be a bot? 🤖

Listen to For Tech's Sake.
Out every Thursday. ❤️

@earley.bsky.social @elaineburke.bsky.social

Proving the For Tech's Sake maxim that there are only two absolute truths in life: Tech will fail and you will die.