Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast

Send 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 abuses. Samuel Woodham...

Send us a Text Message.3D printed skin – huge advances could revolutionise wound healingTwo major advances in 3D printing human skin could lead to major advances in wound healing. A team of scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in the US have printed full thickness human skin for the first time. They successfully printed all six major human cell types present in human skin, creating normal skin layers - the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The bioprinted ...

Subscriber-only episodeSend us a Text Message.3D printed skin – huge advances could revolutionise wound healingTwo major advances in 3D printing human skin could lead to major advances in wound healing. A team of scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in the US have printed full thickness human skin for the first time. They successfully printed all six major human cell types present in human skin, creating normal skin layers - the epidermis, dermis, and hypo...

Send us a Text Message.Tech trends to watch out for in 2024 – the good and the bad We’re predicting the tech trends we may see in 2024. It's a big year with national elections in the US, South Africa and Bangladesh to name just a few - how will technology impact the outcomes? Misinformation is likely to be a big part of the story, and potentially could be a part of the result. The tech companies have been culling their online safety teams, and there have been court battles in the US over...

Send us a Text Message.The most hacked place in the world…and many more tech stories of 2023 The still gaping gap for women in tech in pay and position - the underdog and the underpaid, to climate tech – the problem or the solution, are just some of the stories discussed in this episode. Intelligence analyst, Agatha Christie fan and Computer Weekly’s 2023 Women in Tech winner Suki Fuller joins regular studio experts Ghislaine Boddington and Angelica Mari to take us thro...

Send us a Text Message.The risk of ransomware attacks - are governments taking them seriously?A report out this week by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy in the UK claims that because of the British government’s failures to tackle ransomware, there is a “high risk” the country faces a “catastrophic ransomware attack at any moment.” We discuss whether governments at all levels - national or local – are doing enough to protect themselves against these types of attack, ...

Send us a Text Message.Tackling youth unemployment in Africa and making data more accessible There is a huge unemployment problem among the youth in Africa, and there is a massive data research gap for companies that want to invest or have invested in the continent. A company behind an app called Rwazi is now employing more than 50,000 young people in Africa to collect data on who is buying what, for how much, from where, when, and why. The aim is to help these companies drive revenue an...

Send us a Text Message.Saving lives at sea with an autonomous lifeboatAn autonomous lifeboat is being tested in Scottish waters in a bid to save many more lives at sea. Currently, the main reason for not launching lifeboat rescue missions to distress calls is the risk to the rescuers – not only will those already in danger be probably lost but also those going out to save them. With a crew-less boat this is no longer a risk. The vessel will use an AI detection system to identify victims...

Send us a Text Message. AI could consume as much energy as a small country (Netherlands) by 2027 The rise of AI powered tech has been phenomenal over the past year, but with the explosion in its popularity the energy costs needed to support these services have also risen rapidly. AI uses much more power than more traditional tech and a new study in the journal Joule suggests that AI tech could use as much energy as a small country, like the Netherlands or Sweden, by 2027.&nbsp...

Send us a Text Message.Tech increases access to contraceptives in Cameroon A counselling app for family planning, used by nurses at a women and children’s hospital in Yaoundé, Cameroon, has increased the use of long-term reversable contraceptives (LARCs) threefold. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that the impact of the app was similar to giving large discounts on these contraceptives. Nurses used a tablet computer to conduct counselling sessions with clients, ...