Future Tense

Global media players now dominate the entertainment business and hold the whip-hand when it comes to accessing local news content. In this program we get an update on Meta's ban on Canadian news content, specifically how it's impacted production of serious news and what's been the public reaction. We also get a reality check on just how interested the giant US steaming services are in Australian content. Guests Aengus Bridgman – Director, Media Ecosystem Observatory (Canada) Matthew Deaner – CEO, Screen Producers Association Professor Anna Potter – Digital Media and Cultural Studies, Queensland University of Technology Further information When journalism is turned off: Preliminary findings on the effects of Meta’s news ban in Canada Australian Television Drama’s Uncertain Future: How Cultural Policy is Failing Australians Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NASA's new telescope will revolutionise the search for non-Earth based life. It's to be called the Habitable Worlds Observatory and will be powerful enough to peer into the atmosphere of planets outside of our solar system. But if, or when, we do find evidence of a life form beyond our solar system what do we do next? And who should decide whether or even how we make contact? A new research hub at the University of Andrews is among those drawing up a plan. Guests Dr Megan Ansdell – Program Manager, Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA Professor Adam Frank – Astrobiologist and astrophysicist, University of Rochester, New York Dr John Elliott – Computational linguist and Coordinator of the SETI Post Detection Hub, University of St Andrews Professor Ian Roberts — Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While technology platforms increasingly dictate the way we write and converse, language is being modified to fight back, to subvert the platforms. In this show we examine the growth of "algospeak". And if you want to know how we'll all be communicating in the future, just listen to the way teenage girls speak, because young women lead the ongoing development of language. Guests Dr James Cohen – Assistant Professor, Media Studies, Queens College, City University of New York Dr Sali Tagliamonte – Professor of linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, University of Toronto Philip Seargeant – Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, Open University UK Further information Philip Seargeant's book "The Future Of Language" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to rethink what we mean by productivity, says work futurist, Dominic Price. What's important isn't output, but outcomes. And confusing the two, he says, is simply counter-productive! Also, benefit corporations — why many businesses are moving away from an obsession with profit at all cost; And why a compulsory savings model could help control inflation without raising interest rates. Original broadcast on August 20, 2023 Guests Ed Chambliss – founder and CEO, Best Friend Brands Lachlan Kerwood-McCall – Economist, Australian National University Jessica Lynd – Attorney and Senior Associate, International Trade Group, White and Case Dominic Price – Work Futurist, Atlassian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a company CEO can be paid 1,000 times the average employee's salary it's probably time to take a long hard look at wealth inequality. And those calling for the rich to pay more aren't always the ones you'd expect – Patriotic Millionaires is a group of mega rich individuals demanding greater, not lesser taxation. Then there's the Dutch philosopher urging ordinary citizens to put a cap on their own personal wealth. She calls her approach Limitarianism. Also, Rewilding the Internet – how to purify an online environment made toxic by monopolistic capitalism. Guests Dr Ingrid Robeyns – author, philosopher and Chair in Ethics of Institutions, Ethics Institute, Utrecht University (The Netherlands) Robert Guest – Deputy Editor, The Economist Morris Pearl – Chair of the Board, The Patriotic Millionaires Professor Jean-Etienne Joullie — EMLV Business School, Paris Maria Farrell – Writer and keynote speaker on technology and the future Further information Ingrid Robeyns: Limitarianism, The Case Against Extreme Wealth Robert Guest: The fallacious case for abolishing the rich Maria Farrell: We need to rewild the Internet Listen to Future Tense - Managerialism and our obsession with hierarchy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They've just unveiled the world's largest air purifier in Iceland. Christened "Mammoth" the machine can filter up to 36,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year. It's the biggest carbon capture device ever built – but is it mammoth enough? And do the economics stack up? Other scientists are using microbes to speed the process of mineralisation, the turning of CO2 into rock. And all the while the search for alternative energy sources continues with an Icelandic company even getting ready to drill down into an underground magma chamber to try and tap its thermal potential. Dr Rudy Kahsar – Manager, Carbon Dioxide Removal Team, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) Dr Gokce Ustunisik – Associate Professor of Petrology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Bjorn por Gudmundsson – Chief Executive Officer, Krafla Magma Testbed Dr Jess Adkins – Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science, California Institute of Technology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exploring new ideas, new AI isn't magic, but many of us are accustomed to thinking and talking about it as if it was. It can't solve every problem and its application can sometimes make matters worse. To make the most of Artificial Intelligence we should follow the dictum often used by data scientists – garbage in, garbage out. In other words, AI is only as good as the person who deploys it. In this episode we explore several cautionary examples. Guests Dr Guillaume Desjardins – Associate Professor, Industrial Relations, Université du Québec en Outaouais Dr Magdalena Soffia – Lead author, Workplace AI study, Institute for Work, UK Virginie Simoneau-Gillbert – Researcher, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford Dr Wellett Potter – Lecturer in Law, University of New England Further information Briefing Paper: What impact does exposure to workplace technologies have on workers' quality of life? - IFOW  The Dangers of AI farming (animals)approaches, new technologies — the edge of change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia's disaster response procedures are under review. The new reality requires us to deal with multiple natural disasters simultaneously — to tackle polycrises. While some suggest a more centralised approach, others are calling for something very different — a greater focus on strengthening local community resilience and prioritising mitigation over clean-up. The climate clock is ticking, so which direction promises the greatest return? Guests Dr Paul Barnes – Senior Research Fellow and emergency and risk management expert, Griffith University Rebecca McNaught – Research Fellow, University Centre for Rural Health, Lismore, NSW Mark Duckworth – Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, Deakin University Professor Mehmet Ulubasoglu – Director of the Centre for Energy, the Environment and Natural Disasters, Deakin University Listen to Future Tense — Designing buildings for disasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Across the globe single household occupancy is skyrocketing. In some Western cities "singletons" make up almost fifty per cent. But it's a trend that's largely slipped under the radar. Policy makers are yet to catch up with the new social reality. The growing cohort has significant economic potential, but they continue to face stereotyping and discrimination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Globally, around 300 million people consider themselves "influencers" or professional content creators. In the United States alone the number is approximately 13 million – that's roughly the same size of the US manufacturing sector. It's a precarious profession and the reasons for choosing to become an influencer are many and varied. So, what does their rise tell us about the modern workforce? Also, building islands to create offshore energy hubs; and a warning about the dangers of normalising the abnormal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us take actions to improve the environment and make for a better planet. But in a consumerist world where status is all, it can be hard to avoid making choices that negate your original intentions and send you back to square one. It happens in everyday life when picking a car or building a new house. And it happens on a large scale. For example where mass tree-planting occurs in habitats that were never meant to be forested. Shouldn't we know better? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Insecure housing has long-term effects on both individuals and communities, it's impacting the social fabric of countries around the world. Corporations buying up housing stocks are further adding to the pressure. In rich and poor countries alike the cost of housing is outstripping growth in incomes. As a result, more than 100 million people have been made homeless, according to the UN. While more than 1.6 billion lack adequate housing and essential services. We also explore some possible solutions. But the big question mark hanging over the future of the sector remains political will. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices