Government vs The Robots

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Recorded live from the GovTech Summit, this episode gives a whirlwind tour of an emerging industry looking to link governments up with innovative technology companies in a bid to make government more effective and more importantly, improve public services.

Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau and Sadiq Khan were among the leading politicians who put in an appearance at the summit and we managed to talk to a range of speakers including the Mayor of Helsinki, global start-up founder Robyn Scott, COO of Public Hanna Johnson and the CEO of the Web Foundation Adrian Lovett.

Find us on Twitter @Govt_Vs_Robots

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Ireland is no stranger to referendums. This week we talk to elections expert and transparency campaigner Liz Carolan who co-founded the Transparent Referendum Initiative which used the technology available through Who Targets Me to monitor online advertising during the recent referendum on the country's abortion laws.

Find us on Twitter @Govt_Vs_Robots

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Back once again with the ill behaviour, block rocking beats and the lowdown on tech & politics. This week we talk to digital campaigning guru Sam Jeffers about Who Targets Me, a global effort to crowdsource data on political adverts through a simple browser plug-in. We talk the evolution of digital campaigning, who's buying Brexit ads, what 'made for social' content looks like and whether Donald Trump really did use the same tactics as Barack Obama when it came to mobilising voters online.

Find us on Twitter @Govt_Vs_Robots

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Did you know there is no regulation of political advertising in the UK? 

Unlike companies political parties and campaign groups don’t have to clear factual claims before they share them with consumers. 

No doubt by now you’re thinking of the infamous Brexit bus but that’s just one example of economy with the truth in what Benedict Pringle describes as ‘the grubby world of political advertising’.

In this week’s episode Pringle draws on the elections of 2017 to explain how recent electoral success has come to those politicians with a simple strategy.

As for 2018 he’s asking whether artificial intelligence could play a role in helping campaigns personalise messages to persuade voters to carry out a range of actions from refusing to take part on polling day to persuading friends and family to get behind their candidate.

With local elections in the UK as well as a referendum in Ireland we can anticipate a rise in partisan campaign groups that promote the messages candidates might not want to associate themselves with. 

On a lighter note we also ponder when we might see the first use of holograms by a national politician - something already seen in India and elsewhere....

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Of the moments in life when you worry you might have done something silly, asking a former GCHQ data analyst to scrutinise your internet footprint for an upcoming podcast ranks quite high for me.

That’s exactly what I did this week ahead of a show, where we ended up discussing how long Britain could survive without the internet, examining what might constitute a modern version of the London blitz in the event of a modern war and asking how long Government can retain the ability to authenticate information.

Rather than focus on a post-truth world this week’s guest Cameron Colquhoun chooses to see it differently. As the Managing Director of ethical intelligence company Neon Century chooses to accept that “everything is true” recognising that data and evidence can be used to fit any argument you want to make.

When it comes to the ongoing dissection of Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump, Colquhoun talks about the incredible rise of psychographic profiles which enable companies like Cambridge Analytica to identify around 5000 data points per swing voter, which in an election with only a few hundred thousand voters makes the manipulation of emotion more of a science than the art form it has been perceived to be by the political classes.

If you listen right to the end you might also learn something about your own digital footprint and what the powers that be should think about doing differently to keep us safe in the future

Subscribe to Government vs The Robots on itunes

Further reading: Carole Cadwalladr on social media andelections, Martin Robbins on Cambridge Analytica, James O'Malley on big data

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Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith joins us in the studio to explain the true capacity of government to embrace emerging technology. We also had a visit from some very noisy builders so please forgive the odd bang in the background.

Producer: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: www.bensound.com

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This week we're coming over all Jamiroquai and talking virtual, augmented and real reality with Marisol Grandon. Marisol is CEO of Unfold Stories and the founder of Women in VR.

Producer: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: Bensound.com

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We speak to Spectator Journalist, BBC Presenter, Author and Think Tank Man, Jamie Bartlett about technology and politics in 2018. Prepare to be provoked, to be fascinated and quite probably, to be pessimistic.

Editing: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: www.bensound.com

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A very short Christmas message to say THANK YOU! Get in touch with ideas for interviews and issues in 2018. Big thanks to Cecelia Armstrong for her help all year and the Little Atoms crew.

Music: Bensound.com

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In this episode Jonathan talks to drones expert Daniel Ronen of UAVaid about how the use of drones might evolve in the coming years. From instant delivery in the UK and US to delivering urgent medical supplies in remote regions of poorer countries.

Production: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: www.bensound.com

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This week we talk to Claire Melamed about big data and the future of politics. Claire is Director of the UN's Global Partnership for Sustainable Data.

Producer: Cece Armstrong

Music: www.bensound.com

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We get a bit more political this week whilst looking at just a few aspects of the impact of the internet on politics. Host Jonathan Tanner talks to Communications Guru John Coventry about the explosion in online petitions, what the means for public policy and the future of crowdfunded politics.

Production: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: www.bensound.com

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This fortnight, host Jonathan Tanner sits down with Ben Maruthappu to explore the possible impact of new technology on healthcare services. Ben was digital innovation advisor to the NHS Chief Executive Lord Stevens and now runs Cera, a start-up looking to reshape care provision at home.

Presenter: Jonathan Tanner @tannerjc

Producer: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: Bensound

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We look at the possible politics of driverless cars with former Deputy Mayor of London, Isabel Dedring.

Host: Jonathan Tanner

Production: Cecelia Armstrong

Music: Bensound.com

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