TechSequences

Author and journalist Michael Pollan characterizes our era as the “Second Copernican Shock,” a civilizational turning point where the boundary between human empathy and algorithmic calculation is increasingly blurred. From AI companions like ElliQ providing “virtual hugs” to the elderly, to “moral machines” tasked with navigating life-and-death dilemmas, we are entering a global experiment in the outsourcing of ethics and accountability. As we delegate our conscience to systems that exist outside the weight of consequence—systems not haunted by regret nor soothed by redemption—are we experiencing a dangerous “ethical de-skilling”? And if so, what are the consequences? Join us for a conversation with Dr. Robert Sparrow, Professor of Philosophy, and Associate Investigator in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society at Monash University,  and founding member of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: Michael Pollan warns humanity is on the brink of a radical shift She's 85, and Her Roommate Is a Robot Why machines cannot be moral Robots and Respect: Assessing the Case Against Autonomous Weapons Systems Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation Minotaurs, Not Centaurs: The Myth of Human-AI Teaming The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

Six years after launching in the uncertainty of April 2020, Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle revisit the origins of TechSequences and the world that shaped it. What began as a conversation about contact tracing, digital privacy, and the early influence of “the algorithm” now reads like a snapshot of a more stable reality—one where truth still felt anchored and shared. In this milestone 101st episode, they reflect on how quickly that foundation shifted, and how the systems we once trusted to inform us have been transformed by an escalating competition for attention. As the Internet evolved from a collaborative frontier into a hyper-optimized commercial ecosystem, the incentives changed—and with them, our experience of reality itself. News became content, attention became currency, and AI accelerated everything: from the rise of synthetic media and “hallucinated” facts to the emergence of fully personalized information environments. Alexa and Leslie explore how these forces have blurred the line between signal and simulation, raising urgent questions about trust, consent, accountability, and whether a shared understanding of truth can still exist in an age of infinite, tailored persuasion. Looking ahead, the conversation turns to what comes next. If the past six years caught us off guard, what are we missing now? From the growing value of human authenticity to the risk of deepening digital divides, and the possibility of new innovation cycles beyond today's tech giants, this episode is both a reflection and a reckoning. Six years in, TechSequences is no longer just tracking the evolution of technology—it's grappling with how that evolution is reshaping reality itself, and what it means for the future we're building. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

The human-speed defense of small business is being obliterated by the machine-speed offense of AI-driven cybercrime. Today, what large companies treat as a manageable risk is a terminal expense for small enterprises, with 60% of small enterprises shutting down within six months of a major attack. As AI-crafted phishing lures achieve a 54% click-through rate, traditional “awareness” training has become a shallow defense against an automated tide. We are at a strategic crossroads: do we outsource our security to Big Tech, wait for the government to mandate a minimum level of security, or return to the “radical collaboration” that built the Internet itself? Can we bake immunity directly into the Internet’s plumbing before the 400 million small businesses that form our economic backbone become mere collateral damage? Join us for a conversation with Brian Cute, the CEO of the Global Cyber Alliance. A veteran of Internet governance, he has held leadership roles at ICANN and the Public Interest Registry (the .org registry). He now leads The Global Cyber Alliance’s mission to deliver practical and effective tools to those most at risk in a fractured digital landscape. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon 110+ of the Latest Data Breach Statistics to Know for 2026 & Beyond ElectroIQ Small Business Stats 2025 SentinelOne 2026 CVE Forecast GCA Cybersecurity Toolkit for Small Business Cyber Basics: A free three-week training series for small businesses The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

“The homeland has never been less secure.” This was the testimony of Retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery to the United States Congress on the first day of the Committee for Homeland Security in 2025. Why? We are facing a new era of state-sponsored espionage where foreign adversaries l aren’t just stealing data—they are planting “sleeper bots” deep within our networks, waiting for the signal to strike. But even as US federal budgets rise, front-line defenses at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are struggling with massive staffing attrition and the sudden dissolution of critical advisory structures, such as the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB). Is the US equipped to defend against an enemy that is already inside, patiently waiting for the signal to strike? Join us for a conversation with Dr. Nadya Bliss, the Executive Director of the Global Security Initiative at Arizona State University. Formerly, she was the founding group leader of the Computing and Analytics Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and past chair and current steering committee member of DARPA's Information Science and Technology Study Group. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: Unconstrained Actors: Assessing Global Cyber Threats to the Homeland: The Committee on Homeland Security Hearing, Jan 22 2025 State-Sponsored Actors Compromise and Maintain Persistent Access to U.S. Critical Infrastructure CISA faces budget cuts, workforce loss amid cyber threats CSET; Securing Critical Infrastructure in the Age of AI Lawfare; The Cybersecurity Patchwork Quilt Remains Incomplete Computing Research Association; The Post-Quantum Cryptography Transition: Making Progress, But Still a Long Road Ahead National Academies Consensus Study Report; Cyber Hard Problems: Focused Steps Toward a Resilient Digital Future (2025) The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

The fundamental rules of creativity and ownership, established in law since the time of the printing press, are now collapsing under the weight of Generative AI. Its rapid-fire creation is built upon billions of human-authored works, leading to the “Original Sin” of the algorithm: the unauthorized copying of protected content for training. This conflict has ignited high-stakes lawsuits—from the New York Times challenging the AI input phase to the music industry battling against the creation of “almost identical” outputs—forcing the legal system to confront the “Authorship Challenge” and the threat of voice cloning. Join us as we explore the legal and ethical price of convenience with our guest, Dr. Andrés Guadamuz, a Reader in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Sussex and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of World Intellectual Property. Dr. Guadamuz's groundbreaking research illuminates how centuries-old copyright principles must adapt to find a functional middle way that protects human ingenuity while allowing for technological innovation. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: A Scanner Darkly: Copyright Liability and Exceptions in Artificial Intelligence Inputs and Outputs Do Androids Dream of Electric Copyright? Comparative Analysis of Originality in Artificial Intelligence-Generated Works Record Companies Bring Landmark Cases for Responsible AI Against Suno and Udio in Boston and New York Federal Courts, Respectively IP/ENTERTAINMENT CASE LAW UPDATES: New York Times v. Microsoft Corp. The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

When the disruptive power of Artificial Intelligence is discussed, the fate of the radiologist is often the cautionary tale: a specialist whose job is supposedly obsolete. In fact, the opposite is true. We face a severe global shortage of medical imaging specialists, worsened by a 10% annual increase in studies. Not to mention burnout, as specialists have to interpret more than one image per second just to keep up. AI is emerging not as a threat, but as a critical complement. AI is poised to offer opportunities beyond better diagnosis and access to care.  Join us as we explore the future of diagnostic imaging  with our guest, Dr. Akshay Chaudhari, Assistant Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Data Science at Stanford, and the co-founder of Cognita Imaging, a pioneering clinical AI company. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: The growing demand for imaging services: key trends shaping the future Deep learning in radiology: an overview of the concepts and a survey of the state of the art with focus on MRI Using AI to Catch Aneurysms in Routine, Nonvascular Chest CTs Data-Efficient AI for Accelerating MRI Acquisition Mandating Limits on Workload, Duty, and Speed in Radiology The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

We assume the internet is a resilient, always-on utility. But is it?  Today, the principles that made the Internet an open, unified platform are under threat. Why? Simply put, because of a convergence of policy overreach and technical mandates that threaten to create a slow, expensive, and insecure “splinternet.” This threat is complicated by a push for “digital sovereignty”, as was most recently on display at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), where the core principles of openness, multi-stakeholder governance, and decentralization were challenged. How do we preserve the utility we all rely on from being choked, fragmented, and/or controlled? Join us for a conversation with Sally Wentworth, the President and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC). Formerly the Assistant Director for Telecommunications and Information Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and a leading voice in bridging the gap between technical experts and global policymakers. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: Russia blocks Snapchat and restricts Apple's FaceTime, state officials say How Pakistan Accidentally Took Down YouTube for the World in 2008 The PRC's Evolving Cyber Laws and Implications for Southeast Asia's Digital Economy and Integration The Fight to Overturn FOSTA, an Unconstitutional Internet Censorship Law, Continues Statement on behalf of the Internet Society at WSIS+20 HLM The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

Have you ever experienced that moment of panic when you can’t recall a familiar phone number or navigate without a map app? This growing reliance on external memory—known as the “Google Effect”—is a real-world example of how we’ve outsourced core cognitive functions to our devices. Over a decade ago, a neuroscientist warned of “Digital Dementia,” cautioning that the over-outsourcing of tasks like calculation and navigation would lead to a measurable decline in our mental faculties. Today, that crisis is accelerating, amplified by Generative AI, which now takes over more complex mental powers, threatening the cognitive reserve crucial for preventing later-life dementia. But the consequences of this digital reliance extend far beyond the mind. Join us as we explore the price we are paying for entertainment and convenience with our guest, one of Germany’s most prestigious neuroscientists, Professor Manfred Spitzer. As a medical doctor, psychologist, and philosopher, he has dedicated his career to bridging neuroscience and education, and his work illuminates how technologies designed to save us time are actually undermining the fundamental structures of our mind and body. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: Wuhan Study Insight on Screen Time and Eye  The Lancet Global Health: Expanding our understanding of the global impact of physical inactivity The Neurobiology of Addiction The Effects of Digital Addiction on Brain Function and Structure of Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.

The way we learn and communicate is being fundamentally reshaped by generative AI, a force as significant as the printing press. Traditional definitions of literacy are now insufficient. This shift demands a new “grammar” of literacy that embraces multimodal interaction,

Many of us have witnessed the heart-wrenching journey of relatives or loved ones diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia, often long after the disease's subtle onset. But what if we could detect these conditions much earlier, before precious years of potential

Each time you swipe a loyalty card, you're not just saving on groceries—you're feeding a powerful data machine known as retail media. What began as a scheme to offer loyalty discounts has morphed into a multibillion-dollar industry where retailers like

The emergence of AI is generating an unprecedented hunger for electricity, fundamentally reshaping global energy consumption. The International Energy Agency projects that data center electricity consumption will double to 945 terawatt hours by 2030, growing at 15% annually, four times

“Careless People,” the recent memoir by Meta's former Global Public Policy Director, Sarah Wynn-Williams, has caused a furor. Not only did it share revelations that Meta prioritized growth and engagement over safety and democracy, but it also provided confirmation of

AI is forcing a seismic shift in our energy landscape. News that China's DeepSeek AI operates with up to 40 times less power than American competitors has already rattled markets and put its American counterparts on the defensive.  Why? Currently,

Today's social media platforms have transformed human communication into algorithm-friendly “content” units that can be efficiently processed, ranked, and moderated. While this approach has powered extraordinary growth, it has also created an online environments that often bring out the worst

Ransomware has emerged as a critical global cybersecurity threat, with attacks costing organizations $2 million on average and causing $4.54 million in total damages per incident. From paralyzing critical infrastructure like the US Colonial Pipeline to disrupting healthcare systems, these

Today's journalists use sophisticated tools to scrape, analyze, and visualize complex datasets, transforming investigative reporting across fields like political corruption and climate change. Yet this technological evolution comes at a critical moment when major tech platforms are scaling back fact-checking,

Despite a $145.5 billion investment in pharmaceutical R&D in 2023, US Federal Drug Administration novel drug approvals remain stagnant at around 43 annually, according to recent findings from Deloitte's 14th Annual Pharmaceutical Innovation Report. The complexity of modern diseases, combined

In recent years, Internet-enabled wearable devices have emerged as powerful tools for monitoring and managing personal health, promising to revolutionize healthcare delivery. As these technologies have become more affordable and user-friendly, their adoption has skyrocketed – in 2022 alone, over

As Americans reflect on our own recent presidential election, the rest of the world faces a critical challenge: navigating elections in an era of increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence. From chatbots providing misleading voting information to deep fake videos of candidates,

While industrial and vertical farming have become commonplace in many parts of the world, these advanced techniques are not widely implemented in Africa, where the largest food deficit is expected. This even though Africa has the land and the climate

In the quest to revolutionize medicine, our bodies are becoming living laboratories. By 2030, it's estimated that bioprinting could address up to 20% of the organ transplant waiting list globally. These groundbreaking technologies are set to generate custom, patient-specific organs

In the race to the future, our cars are becoming supercomputers on wheels. By 2025, it's estimated that 70% of light-duty vehicles and trucks globally will be connected to the internet. These rolling data centers are set to generate a

With the dawn of AI, more and more applications that we rely on for work or play are being augmented by generative AI. According to Gartner, 55% of organizations have implemented or are piloting generative AI solutions. This rapid uptake

If you have ever come across a story that resonated with you because it sounded authentic, only to find out later that it was not true, you have experienced the paradox of “authenticity” versus “facticity”.  In fact, in the post

The introduction of the internet, a pivotal event in the Third Industrial Revolution, was shaped by crucial design and policy decisions made by early internet pioneers. Decisions such as adopting packet-switching for ARPANET, developing TCP/IP, and creating HTML and HTTP

Guest: Dave Hallett Cancer, called the “Emperor of All Maladies” has been a formidable adversary of mankind since time immemorial. With its multitude of forms and elusive nature, cancer presents a daunting challenge for drug discovery. However, AI offers a

Guest: Jen Sovada Quantum sensing is poised to revolutionize virtually every aspect of our world. Quantum sensing's distinctive ability to detect magnetic signatures is already aiding in navigation for countless fuel tankers worldwide, providing otherwise unachievable medical scans, and keeping

Guest: Alp Kucukelbir The manufacturing sector, notably cement and steel production, accounts for nearly 20% of global CO2 emissions. As artificial intelligence (AI) looms large in its potential to reshape all industries, there's mounting pressure to integrate AI into manufacturing

Guests: David Bellos and Alex Montagu Aside from IP lawyers, how many of us, particularly technologists, know about the origins of copyright laws and how they have evolved from the 18th century (yes pre-industrial revolution) to present? Our guess is

Guest: Magnus Revang Every year, Gartner unveils its Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report, spotlighting 25 pivotal technologies to keep a keen eye on. It is hardly surprising then that this year generative AI took center stage in the report

Guest: Jenny Reardon Since the mid 2000's the field of genetics has seen rapid technological innovation, particularly in DNA sequencing and genotyping technologies that enable analysis of large portions of an individual's genome at a relatively affordable cost. These advancements

Guest: Sally Lehrman There is no question that an informed public and a free press are critical requirements for a functioning democracy.  But what if the public has little to no trust in the news media? How can we have

Guest: Zoë MacDonald The increased number of Internet enabled cars affords us luxuries deemed unattainable a few decades ago.  We can now navigate roads in a way to avoid traffic jams, diagnose problems and often fix glitches with a software

Guest: Nestor Maslej Artificial intelligence has made inroads in each of the seven categories of art: architecture, cinema, literature, painting, music sculpture, and theater.  And in doing so, has challenged what it means to create art, as well as stirred

Guest: Courtney C. Radsch A revolution is afoot in media and by extension, journalism.  Economic factors have caused the decline of local media to the point where in the US two newspapers are forced to shut down every week.  Another

Guest: Sheldon Himelfarb With the advances in AI and increasing sophistication in creating misleading content such as deepfakes, there is growing concern especially amongst academics and researchers about the threat mis- and dis-information pose not only for the 2024 election

Guest: Nathaniel Lubin In the fall of 2021, Whistleblower Frances Haugen—a former member of the Civic Integrity team at Meta—shared a cache of more than 1,300 documents that would come to be known collectively as the Facebook Papers.  A key

Guest: Jef Caers The EU is requiring all cars sold in the European Union by 2035 to be zero-emission vehicles, and the US has set a target of 67% by 2032.  But there is a catch. Transition to Electric vehicles

Guest: Jane Pinelis A new movie called “The Creator” paints a vivid picture of humanity at war with AI in a dystopian future. Although the movie is science fiction, it highlights a major issue: How can we reliably assess and

Guest: Alex Engler ChatGPT has highlighted the excitement and fear about the potential consequences of AI for humanity, and in doing so has pushed forth the need to examine if and how to regulate AI. However, we currently lack a

Guest: Susie Alegre Freedom of thought — the right to form your own thoughts, keep them private and to not be persecuted for your thoughts alone — is one of the most fundamental human rights. This right, recognized in the

Guest: Dan York Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites such as Starlink have been credited with helping Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Their promise extends beyond military reconnaissance to everything from in-flight Internet access to disaster recovery, but challenges remain. Even

Guest: Enza Iannopollo The metaverse is already here.  Companies like Meta, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Nvidia, Epic Games and even SK Telecom have invested heavily. Thus far, even with 400 million users, the metaverse is still in its infancy.  The

For centuries, humans sought to control their future, by anticipating the possibilities and planning accordingly. This model, conditioned on observations and experience – does not work as well in a chaotic and unpredictable world dotted with Black Swan events. How

User Generated Content, known as UGC, has changed the media landscape and business models. UGC includes anything from video, images, text, blogs, and even audio. It has launched protest campaigns, provided eyewitness accounts of major events, been monetized by influencers

Cybercriminal gangs have evolved into fully-fledged for-profit enterprises that bank on our increasing dependence on digital access to profit handsomely with little to no repercussions.  Cybercrime costs $600 billion – or close to 1.0% of global GDP-  and that number

Globally there are 4 billion people who use social media an average of two hours and 30 minutes a day.  At the same time, social media has been simultaneously praised and denounced in equal measure for its influence on society.

The US national security and military complex has fostered scientific and technological innovations to gain and maintain the United States' security and strategic advantage over its adversaries. Yet as technology and models for innovation have evolved, the means by which

Guest: Chuck Brooks Ukraine has become ground zero for a new kind of war: a hybrid war that blends conventional warfare and cyberwarfare with tactics such propaganda, fake news, and even foreign electoral intervention. In doing so, both sides of the

Guest: Rafal Rohozinski The Ukrainian conflict is the world's first hybrid war. In other words, it is the first international conflict playing out on both the battlefield as well as cyberspace.  Despite fears about Russia's prowess in cyber offense capabilities,