Myanmar tops the charts for the most internet shutdowns in 2024

Myanmar tops the charts for the most internet shutdowns in 2024 India stands as a global leader in various sectors - technology, innovation, space exploration, and education in science and engineering. However, it has also consistently ranked first in internet shutdowns for six consecutive years. From 2016 to 2023, there were a total of 771 recorded incidents. According to the Freedom Law Centre India, a digital rights organization, the criteria for implementing these shutdowns are often lacking in transparency. Notably, in the past year, Myanmar has surpassed India, with the military regime responsible for 85 internet shutdowns, while India recorded 84. We check out the annual report on Internet Shutdowns from the digital civil rights NGO Access Now. Glasses that improve the vision of patients with macular degeneration 200 million people worldwide have macular degeneration – a form of sight loss often associated with ageing. Now a US company say they have developed glasses that can improve their vision significantly. Jez Donaldson has been finding out more.  The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Chhavi Sachdev. More on this week's stories: Emboldened offenders, endangered communities: internet shutdowns in 2024 SolidddVision Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first African-born Arab woman to go into Space Sara Sabry, is an engineer, citizen astronaut, and entrepreneur of Egyptian-Lebanese descent. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first Egyptian to journey into space during the Blue Origin NS-22 mission, as well as the first woman of African descent and Arab heritage to achieve this milestone. Additionally, she is the founder and CEO of the Deep Space Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing space exploration. In 2021, Sara completed a two-week simulation of a lunar mission and astronaut training program at Florida Tech, distinguishing herself as the first Egyptian woman qualified to conduct research in sub-orbital space. Sara spoke with Somewhere on Earth at Web Summit Qatar, in front of a live audience. More than 25,000 people attended the summit, where thousands of tech start-ups, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, were bidding for investments.   The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.   More on this week's stories: Sara Sabry Sara Sabry at Web Summit Qatar Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky   If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are teachers keeping up with their pupils when it comes to AI in the classroom? A recent survey in the United States showed that more than 70% of students report using AI for their school assignments, even in the face of institutional restrictions on tools like ChatGPT. This finding comes from a study conducted by The Harker School, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The data shows that pupils are engaging with these LLMs more often than adults, suggesting that younger users are adapting to AI technologies quicker. But that begs the question are educators keeping pace with these developments? In a special edition about AI and the future of education Gareth and Ghislaine are joined by Mutlu Cukurova, a Professor of Learning and Artificial Intelligence at University College London. We also hear more tech for Good from CES in Las Vegas. The BeeKee Box is a classroom in a box that can be used where there is no connectivity. The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ghislaine Boddington. More on this week's stories: Professor Mutlu Cukurova BeeKee Box Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz Recorded at Lansons Team Farner For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI can now sell your intentions – marketing your decisions before you make them Machine learning is on the verge of commercialising your decisions even before you make them. New research shows that we are moving away from an attention economy to an intention economy as machine learning models, which can already imitate the way we write or talk, can now map previous activity onto future actions. Writing in the Harvard Data Science Review, Dr Yaqub Chaudhary, visiting scholar at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, and Dr Jonnie Penn of the University of Cambridge ask if AI predicting our intentions could be misused against us.   Geothermal Energy without the digging Geothermal energy is going drill-free, using already available underground spaces, like car parks. Reporter Jez Donaldson met Margaux Peltier, Co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company uses pre-cooled or pre-heated geothermal panels in walls, which capture heat from the surrounding concrete or the ground itself, making this energy renewable as no new heat is created. This is then redistributed around the building using a heat pump.  The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ghislaine Boddington. More on this week's stories: AI selling your decisions before you make them Enerdrape   Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz Recorded at Lansons Team Farner For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Arabic another language that goes unchecked online? A few weeks ago we reported on the almost impossible task of monitoring Kiswahili content online. This situation exposes millions of people to harmful and abusive content while the major social media companies continue to profit. In another report by the Centre for Democracy and Technology, similar conclusions have been drawn about Maghrebi Arabic – a language spoken by about 100 million people across western and central North Africa. Just like Kiswahili, monitoring Maghrebi Arabic is very difficult and current methods are completely inadequate. Dr. Mona Elswah is the lead author of the report on the Maghreb region and joins us on the show. An AI that identifies prostate cancer Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has one of the lowest survival rates among major cancers.  The absence of early symptoms and the lack of effective screening methods result in over 80% of cases being identified only after the cancer has metastasized and spread around the body. At this advanced stage, survival rates drop to below 10%. Treatment is available when detected early and this is where AI comes into the screening process.  Jez Donaldson meets Dr. Logan Nye, a physician & computational scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, who is behind Galen Health, the company that’s designed the cancer detecting algorithm.   The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert Ania Lichtarowicz. More on this week's stories: Moderating Maghrebi Arabic Content on Social Media Galen Health – revolutionizing cancer screening with AI   Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky   If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is AI going to replace your job? Is artificial intelligence a threat to your employment? If your profession involves machine learning or chatbot development, the outlook appears promising but for translators and some writing roles it’s not.  Those are the findings of a study recently published in the Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation.  Researchers analysed over three million job postings from a global freelancing platform since 2019. They identified which skills are being replaced, complemented, or remain unaffected by AI. Two of the authors, Dr. Fabian Braesemann from the Oxford Internet Institute, and Dr. Ole Tuetloff from the Copenhagen Centre for Social Data Science join Gareth and Ania on the show. The World’s First Inclusive Digital Map Jez Donaldson continues his search for the very best tech for good stories from the Consumer Electronics Show.  This week he meets Brandon Biggs, CEO and Co-founder of XR Navigation (Audiom) inclusive map viewer.  Using enhanced visual tech, audio and text it makes maps accessible to blind people, as well as those with other disabilities. The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ania Lichtarowicz. More on this week's stories: Winners and Losers of Generative AI XR Navigation Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podextra - how you can get a bit more of Somewhere on Earth... Just a gentle reminder that we produce two versions of each show of Somewhere on Earth. There's the main show, which is available to everyone for free and there's an extended PODEXTRA edition where we delve a little deeper and chat longer to our guests - there are also no ads in this one. That's just $10US a month and you can cancel anytime - there's no tie in period. We welcome your support of any size, any time as without it we simply wouldn't be able to make the show. You can also support us online - please do join, like, follow or repost - we appreciate every click and comment. Thank you from the SOEP Team. Facebook Bluesky Instagram Threads YouTube LinkedIn TikTok WhatsApp: +44 7846 329 484 Subscribe to the PodExtra Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz Production Manager: Liz Tuohy For new episodes, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or visit our website: Somewhere on Earth Productions If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts Contact us by email: [email protected] Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robobees – could they help solve world hunger? A drone approximately the size of a thumb and weighing less than one gram is currently under development by a team at MIT. This team is focused on creating robotic insects that could serve various purposes, including functioning as pollinators in vertical farms—environments where crops are cultivated within tall structures designed for optimal growth conditions. The engineering challenge of designing such a tiny flying robot is huge. One major obstacle is replacing rotors with small, flapping wings. However, this approach presents its own difficulties, particularly that the wings tend to break at the hinge. The team at MIT have made some significant progress with this. Gareth spoke to co-lead author Suhan Kim. The research is published in the journal Science Robotics. The latest tech for good gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show Somewhere on Earth reporter Jez Donaldson has been to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This event is the largest of its kind globally, featuring the most recent advancements in technology and gadgets. Jez was on a mission to find tech for good. Over the coming weeks we will hear what he found. He starts with a company named OnMed, which is developing standalone hybrid telemedicine clinics that can be easily connected to a power source and the internet, allowing patients to consult with a real doctor via a screen.   The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Wairimu Gitahi. Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram BlueSky   If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can Kiswahili online content be moderated? It appears that 2025 will see a significant shift in content moderation practices, as Meta plans to eliminate independent fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram.  This change may suggest a decline in standards, particularly in regions that have historically experienced limited online moderation. In many parts of Africa, small content teams have been tasked with overseeing entire countries or regions. Interestingly, while there are numerous content moderators in Africa, they are primarily employed as outsourced workers to assist with content moderation for major platforms based in the United States. These jobs are often mis-advertised too – with no warning about the harmful content moderators will be forced to watch.  A report by the Center for Democracy and Technology “Moderating Kiswahili content on Social Media” has looked at why it’s so difficult to moderate posts in Kiswahili.     The Strettons Podcast The Strettons podcast proudly claims the title of the United Kingdom's inaugural dedicated village podcast. This initiative targets a collection of small villages located in the picturesque rural county of Shropshire, just next to Wales. While it may seem like yet another addition to the podcasting landscape—perhaps one you have already encountered and subscribed to—there is an intriguing technological narrative behind it, as shared by the presenters and producers, Sian Lovegrove and Pete Johnson who are on the show.   The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Wairimu Gitahi.   More on this week's stories: Moderating Kiswahili content on Social Meda More than 140 Kenya Facebook moderators diagnosed with severe PTSD The Strettons Podcast   Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For new episodes, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on all the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram Twitter/X   If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484 Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capturing shooting stars with your doorbell cam We’ve had the first meteor shower of 2025 – you may have missed it but your doorbell cam may have recorded it. The Quadrantids shower has captivated both amateur and professional astronomers, some of whom are now working together to find the meteors once they land on the Earth’s surface. When this occurs, there is a strong likelihood that the aptly named UK Fireball Alliance will identify them. This alliance consolidates images and videos from various sources, including doorbell cameras, dash-cams, security systems, and professional telescopes. The primary objective is to issue a comprehensive alert to scientists, indicating where they can locate the fallen meteors. Gareth met with Luke Daly, a lecturer in planetary geoscience at the University of Glasgow. He is also the treasurer of the UK Fireball Alliance and is on the show to tell us more.   EdTech Apps – are they any good? The EdTech App market is worth billions of dollars a year but many of these apps are, in fact, counterproductive and may be causing more harm than good. That’s according to an Educational Technology researcher who has recently expressed her concerns in the journal Nature. Natalia Kucirkova, the Director of the International Centre for EdTech Impact and a professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway, is concerned that educational institutions, along with families, are squandering resources on apps that do not yield effective results. As she tells Gareth, better testing of these apps is needed, as is a certification process to identify those that are truly beneficial to children.   The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Angelica Mari.   More on this week's stories: UK Fireball Alliance Educational apps are worth billions. We need to make sure they work   Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For new episodes, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or via this link for the PodExtra: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram Twitter/X Bluesky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts Contact us by email: [email protected] Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484  Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices