Activists Of Tech — The responsible tech podcast

by Mel

Shifting the narrative from Big Tech to Responsible Tech by sharing & archiving the work of change makers.

At the intersection of technology and social justice, Activists Of Tech is a seasonal weekly podcast dedicated to the amplification and archival of minority voices among activists, thought leaders, academics, and practitioners of responsible tech. Shifting the narrative from Big Tech to responsible tech takes  ... 

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Podcast episodes

  • Season 3

  • How to fix the patriartech with Mia Shah-Dand, founder of Women in AI ethics

    How to fix the patriartech with Mia Shah-Dand, founder of Women in AI ethics

    Sexism and oppression are tied to culture, which in turn impacts the tech industry, tech design and deployment. To talk about the relationship between the patriarchy, women in tech, and how to fight back, I talked with Mia Shah-Dand, founder of Women in AI ethics and creator of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics. In this episode, Mia talks about her personal story and upbringing, what women have to put up with when they work in tech, gender based violence enabled by technologies, diversity in tech, and how to fight back to reclaim space.

  • Season 2

  • Decolonizing Digital Rights and the collective imaginary of technology with Laurence Meyer from the Digital Freedom Fund

    Decolonizing Digital Rights and the collective imaginary of technology with Laurence Meyer from the Digital Freedom Fund

    What does it take for Big Tech to exist? Who does it take? What knowledge do we value and amplify in AI systems? In this episode, Laurence Meyer, Racial and Social Justice Lead at the Digital Freedom Fund and co-director at Weaving Liberation teaches us about the importance of decolonization, questioning the system, and how to do it. Our guest unpacks the narratives surrounding technology and AI, and she brings us on a hell of a ride to understand the relationship between tech, digital rights, data colonialism, colonization, and post-colonial culture. Check out weavingliberation.org

  • Environmental justice, social media, and the promises of the Digital Services Act with Rachel Griffin, PhD candidate at Sciences Po Paris School of Law

    Environmental justice, social media, and the promises of the Digital Services Act with Rachel Griffin, PhD candidate at Sciences Po Paris School of Law

    The Digital Services Act was recently passed in the European Union, and I wondered how did this piece of regulation related to climate change and how did it impact online activism? In this episode, Rachel Griffin, PhD candidate and lecturer in law at Sciences Po Paris, talks about the intersections between platform regulation and digital justice, the impacts of tech on the environment, shadow banning, and more. Check out Rachel’s policy brief on environmental risks in the DSA: https://www.hertie-school.org/en/news/detail/content/climate-breakdown-as-a-systemic-risk-in-the-digital-services-act

  • "Every bubble will burst at some point": digital rights, encryption, and the AI hype with Elina Eickstädt from the Chaos Computer Club

    "Every bubble will burst at some point": digital rights, encryption, and the AI hype with Elina Eickstädt from the Chaos Computer Club

    Did you know that encryption could save lives? In this episode, Elina Eickstaedt, spokesperson at the Chaos Computer Club, answers my questions with no BS about privacy, surveillance, German and European tech policies and their impacts, surveillance capitalism, and explains why tech solutionism is not the magical answer to all of our problems.

  • Bye bye, Clearview AI ✌️: Greek digital rights advocacy in times of mass surveillance with Lamprini Gyftokosta from Homo Digitalis

    Bye bye, Clearview AI ✌️: Greek digital rights advocacy in times of mass surveillance with Lamprini Gyftokosta from Homo Digitalis

    Remember when Clearview AI got fined 20 million euros by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority for its intrusive Facial Recognition & data collection practices? Yeah, that wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible work of the non-profit Homo Digitalis. In this episode, Lamprini Gyftokosta, Director of Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights at Homo Digitalis, talks about mass surveillance in Greece, digital rights, and the three pillars of Homo Digitalis: raising awareness, advocacy, and litigation. PS: do NOT accept cookies!