Good Code

How do foreign actors spread disinformation online? What have we learned from the campaign of Russian meddling into the 2016 US Presidential elections, and are we ready for what's coming in 2020? Our guest this week is Camille Francois, Chief Innovation Officer at Graphika, a network analysis company that studies the spread of disinformation online. She explains how Russian trolls have been trying to sow chaos in the US since 2014, and she details the new threats she's seen emerge in recent years. 

Big Tech companies have grown beyond their core products and services — influencing not only our digital lives, but our physical lives, and working in territory that used to be government turf : counterterrorism, space exploration, electricity, agriculture. Alexis Wichowski, deputy chief technology officer for the City of New York, warns that we should not accept lightly that these new giants provide our electricity or other essential services. Even if they are more efficient than governments. 

Last October, Facebook announced that it would not fact-check political ads. And that decision angered a lot of people: outside, but also inside the company. To talk about Facebook's policy, and the potential risks of such a decision ahead of the 2020 presidential election, we sit down with Yaël Eisenstat. She's a former CIA officer and national security advisor to Vice-President Joe Biden. And in 2018, she served as Facebook's Head of Global Elections Integrity Operations for six months.

From Gmail and Google Documents to Google's Cloud, our reliance on Google services has extended to more and more realms of our lives. And academia is not immune from this growing dependency. Our guest this week is Jake Goldenfein, a Postdoctoral fellow at the Digital Life Initiative. His most recent piece of research looks at Google Scholar, a free web search engine that indexes scholarly work. And it asks: should we feel that comfortable using yet another Google service as if it was a disinterested actor?

What can board of directors of big tech companies do to push for more ethical practices in the field? Lisa Lewin is the managing partner at Ethical Ventures, a management consulting firm. Because the problem of ethics in tech is so monumental, she thinks we need to include all stakeholders in finding a solution. From tech workers and consumers to boards of directors. Why them? Because they get a unique access to these companies' CEOs. Mandatory face-to-face time that can make a real difference. 

Over two billion people play games globally. And live, multi-players games are more than just games: they are social platforms, where people interact, chat, and get harassed. Daniel Kelley is the associate director of the Center for Technology and Society at the Anti-Defamation League. He leads the center's work to fight hate, bias and harassment in online gaming. And he explains why games should be considered as social spaces, and toughen their moderation and harassment policies.   

How do we love online? What does dating and love look like in an era dominated by swipes, likes and matches ? In may ways, online dating has become the new norm. And Tinder, our new reality. Judith Duportail, a French journalist and Tinder user, spent two years investigating the app: its algorithm, its patent, and the data it had accumulated on her. She tells us what this investigation taught her about herself, the future of dating, and the company's philosophy. 

What is screen time doing to our relationships? More specifically,  what is us being on our screens so much, doing to our kids? What happens when mothers, fathers, caregivers disappear into their phones in front of infants and toddlers? Tracy Dennis-Tiwary is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the City University of New York, and she has conducted a study to find out. We talk about her research on technology and mental health, and she warns against always blaming the technology. 

In 2018 and 2019, tech workers stood up, pushed back and said no, to projects and working environments they disagreed with. At Amazon, Google, Microsoft: they said no to government contracts, no to sexual harassment. Are we witnessing a revolution? A unique movement led by a new generation of data scientists with a strong conscience? We explore this question with Guillaume Chaslot, who worked on YouTube's controversial recommendation algorithm, and with computer science PhD students.

Ever wished you found the perfect Blockchain 101 presentation? Well this episode's for you. Cara LaPointe is a non-resident fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University. And she's created the "Blockchain Ethical Design Framework," to help entrepreneurs develop socially responsible blockchain technologies. What is Blockchain? Is it really the truth technology? LaPointe answers all the questions you might have on this hot new technology.