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July 2, 2009

The potential dangers of autonomous, ethical battle robots

MP3 - iTunes

Today, part two of our conversation with Ronald Arkin, author of Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots

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Filed under: Government Military Podcasts Robots Tech & society

July 1, 2009

Should battle robots be programmed to make decisions based on a code of ethics?

MP3 - iTunes

Unmanned aerial vehicles and other robots are taking on an ever-larger role in how the U.S. wages war. Fully autonomous battle robots seem inevitable. One researcher is committed to the notion that battle robots should be imbued with ethical decision-making technology.

Guest: Ronald Arkin, author of Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots

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Filed under: Military Podcasts Robots Tech & society

June 30, 2009

Reporter kidnapping raises questions about the open nature of Wikipedia

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For seven months the New York Times managed to bury news of the kidnapping of one of its reporters by the Taliban. It also worked with Wikipedia to quash any mention of the kidnapping, and in doing so raised some questions about the very nature of the online encyclopedia.

Guest: Wikipedia researcher Joseph M. Reagle, adjunct professor at NYU


More coverage of this story:

Keeping News of Kidnapping Off Wikipedia (New York Times)

Why Wikipedia was right to stop the revelation of David Rohde's kidnapping (TimesOnline)

The Troubles of Crowdsourcing: How Do You Keep a Secret? (Mashable)

Wales quashes kidnapping on Wikipedia (TECH.BLORGE)

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Filed under: News business Podcasts Tech & society

June 29, 2009

Password masking unnecessary, counterproductive?

MP3 - iTunes

Web usability campaigner Jakob Nielsen says its time to let users see their passwords as they type them.

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Filed under: Podcasts

June 25, 2009

Twitter on the world stage: too big to fail, to small to succeed?

MP3 - iTunes

With Twitter serving as a key conduit of information coming from Iran, is the small company up to the task of being a player in geopolitics? It's a question posed by CNET staff writer Caroline McCarthy in a recent post.

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Filed under: Podcasts Social networks

June 24, 2009

When smart phone users get rude

MP3 - iTunes

Future Tense commentator Dwight Silverman checks in on the thorny issue of using iPhones, BlackBerries and other smart phones during business meetings (and to Tweet that you're eating lunch with a friend you're ignoring in order to send that Tweet).

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Filed under: Podcasts Tech & society Wireless

June 23, 2009

What comes after Windows 7?

MP3 - iTunes

Windows 7 goes on sale to the public this coming October and, based on reviews of various test versions, it's sleeker and better performing than its predecessor, Vista.

But even as the company puts the final touches on Windows 7 some top engineers and executives are working on a replacement operating system that would relegate the aging Windows to computer history museums.

Guest: Mary-Jo Foley, ZDNet


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Filed under: Innovation Microsoft Podcasts

June 22, 2009

A portrait of the blogosphere in the Arabic speaking world

MP3 - iTunes

Researchers at the Berkman Center for the Internet and Society at Harvard University analyzed about 35,000 active Arabic language Weblogs in 18 different countries. One of the more interesting findings, according to Harvard's Bruce Etling, is bloggers tend to write mostly about their own towns and countries rather than wider, regional issues.

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Filed under: Podcasts Politics Tech & society

June 19, 2009

The best (microdots) and worst (bat bombs) of spy tech

MP3 - iTunes

Today, the conclusion of our three part interview with H. Keith Melton.

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Filed under: Government Innovation Podcasts

June 18, 2009

Can U.S. keep up in spy technology?

MP3 - iTunes

Today: Part 2 of our interview with H. Keith Melton, author of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to al-Qaeda

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Filed under: Government Podcasts