Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.Diagnosing TB using AI and a mobile phone Diagnosing tuberculosis is cumbersome and not all tests are available in developing countries. Now a team of scientists has used AI to allow a mobile phone to identify if someone’s cough could be a sign of TB. Dr Manuja Sharma, from the University of Washington is on the show to tell us how they used machine learning to identify more than 33,000 coughs and tested the tech in a clinic in Kenya. ...

Send us a Text Message.A special guest on Somewhere on Earth, your help neededWe have a very special annoucement and we need you help. We have the co-founder of Wikipedia and founder of the Wikimedia Foundation Jimmy Wales coming on the show. But instead of us asking the questions, we want to hand over to you. What would you like to ask Jimmy Wales? Please send us your questions by Friday 16th February via our social media channels, email hello@somewhereonearth,c...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.A special guest on Somewhere on Earth, your help neededWe have a very special annoucement and we need you help. We have the co-founder of Wikipedia and founder of the Wikimedia Foundation Jimmy Wales coming on the show. But instead of us asking the questions, we want to hand over to you. What would you like to ask Jimmy Wales? Please send us your questions by Friday 16th February via our social media channels, email h...

Send us a Text Message.The British Post Office Technology ScandalThe British Post Office scandal saw more than 900 subpostmasters convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting. However, it was faulty account software called Horizon and made by Fujitsu, that was to blame. The personal tragedies of those involved have been documented recently in a TV drama in the UK. But what was actually wrong with the software itself? Susi O’Neill, business technology communications expert, is on the s...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.The British Post Office Technology ScandalThe British Post Office scandal saw more than 900 subpostmasters convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting. However, it was faulty account software called Horizon and made by Fujitsu, that was to blame. The personal tragedies of those involved have been documented recently in a TV drama in the UK. But what was actually wrong with the software itself? Susi O’Neill, business technology communicati...

Send us a Text Message.The Global AI Arms RaceLeading global powers have for some time been positioning themselves at the forefront of AI development. All these governments see AI as such a powerful tool they want to be first to be in control, however they also want to regulate it. But with regulations, development can be slow says Dr Kerry McInerney from the University of Cambridge and the AI Now Institute, which leaves the dilemma of who should control AI progress? Dr McInerney is on the sh...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.The Global AI Arms RaceLeading global powers have for some time been positioning themselves at the forefront of AI development. All these governments see AI as such a powerful tool they want to be first to be in control, however they also want to regulate it. But with regulations, development can be slow says Dr Kerry McInerney from the University of Cambridge and the AI Now Institute, which leaves the dilemma of who should control AI progress? Dr...

Send us a Text Message.A Bitcoin transaction ‘uses a swimming pool of water’ Every Bitcoin transaction uses about the same amount of water as a backyard swimming pool according to a study published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability. That’s around six million times more than a credit card swipe. The vast amounts of water are needed as Bitcoin uses so much computing power, and in turn, electricity to complete a single transaction on the blockchain ledger. Digiconomist and author of the...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.A Bitcoin transaction ‘uses a swimming pool of water’Every Bitcoin transaction uses about the same amount of water as a backyard swimming pool according to a study published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability. That’s around six million times more than a credit card swipe. The vast amounts of water are needed as Bitcoin uses so much computing power, and in turn, electricity to complete a single transaction on the blockchain ledger. Digicono...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.The true cost of Internet shutdowns across the world Internet shutdowns around the world cost more than $9 billion US according to Top10vpn.com. Their annual report “The Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns” shows that 196 major self-imposed internet blackouts happened in 25 countries and 747 million people were impacted. Russia, Ethiopia and Iran were the worst culprits. Unsurprisingly, 50% of the outages were linked to additional human rights abuse...