Time for Trust

The UK has followed Australia’s lead by banning social media for under-16s. In a parting move made by the Starmer government, it’s left public opinion divided.  We all want children to be safe online. But is this global movement a necessary stand against Big Tech, or does it ignore how the modern world works?   Julian Sefton-Green is a Professor of New Media and Education at Deakin University. He argues the ban is contradictory because we forbid a 15-year-old from using these apps, but expect them to log on the day they turn 16. As he puts it, "you can't attend a university without some form of social media relationship - you can't be in employment, you can't be on LinkedIn, every role that you occupy as a citizen is to some degree some kind of social media."  Professor Sefton-Green explains both sides of the debate. He unpacks what you need to understand, and why this legislation could open the door to more regulations around algorithms and addictive app design.  +++ Interested in hearing more about age restrictions on social media? Listen to our episode with Professor Sonia Livingstone, one of the global leading voices in this debate.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Communication is a two-way street. Or at least, it’s meant to be. So why don’t organisations ever seem to really listen to us?  Jim Macnamara, the Distinguished Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, is a pioneer in the field of organisation listening, and he argues it’s the critical missing piece for nearly every institution trying to build and maintain trust. He explains why it’s so beneficial, and why so many organisations don’t do it even if it’s so effective. He also outlines how two-way communication has and will continue to change as digital technologies transform the way we talk to each other.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are companies racing to build dancing robots when human dancers are fighting harder than ever to earn a living? Why does it feel like technology is becoming rapidly more powerful, but so few people seem to actually gain anything from it?  Institutions large and small are central to all democracies, and they’re anything but simple. A great institution can protect and increase knowledge across generations, but the very thing that keeps them alive can also make them stagnant.   Sir Geoff Mulgan knows institutions better than almost anyone. He’s Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London, and from 2011 to 2019 he was Chief Executive at the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. He explains why our biggest and most important institutions so often seem averse to innovation, and outlines how groups of people can be more (and sometimes less) than the sum of their parts.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.