IRL: Online Life is Real Life
54 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★★ - 428 ratingsHow does artificial intelligence change when people — not profit — truly come first? Join IRL’s host Bridget Todd, as she meets people around the world building responsible alternatives to the tech that’s changing how we work, communicate, and even listen to music.
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Episodes
The Art of AI
December 05, 2023 05:00 - 24 minutes - 24.7 MBFrom Hollywood to Hip Hop, artists are negotiating new boundaries of consent for use of AI in the creative industries. Bridget Todd speaks to artists who are pushing the boundaries. It’s not the first time artists have been squeezed, but generative AI presents new dilemmas. In this episode: a member of the AI working group of the Hollywood writers union; a singer who licenses the use of her voice to others; an emcee and professor of Black music; and an AI music company charting a different ...
Lend Me Your Voice
November 21, 2023 05:00 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBBig tech’s power over language, means power over people. Bridget Todd talks to AI community leaders paving the way for open voice tech in their own languages and dialects. In this episode: AI builders and researchers in the US, Kenya and New Zealand who say the languages computers learn to recognize today will be the ones that survive tomorrow — as long as communities and local startups can defend their data rights from big AI companies. Halcyon Lawrence was an Associate Professor of Techn...
Crash Test Dummies
November 07, 2023 05:00 - 22 minutes - 23 MBWhy does it so often feel like we’re part of a mass AI experiment? What is the responsible way to test new technologies? Bridget Todd explores what it means to live with unproven AI systems that impact millions of people as they roll out across public life. In this episode: a visit to San Francisco, a major hub for automated vehicle testing; an exposé of a flawed welfare fraud prediction algorithm in a Dutch city; a look at how companies comply with regulations in practice; and how to insp...
The Humans in the Machine
October 24, 2023 04:00 - 21 minutes - 23.7 MBThey’re the essential workers of AI — yet mostly invisible and exploited. Does it have to be this way? Bridget Todd talks to data workers and entrepreneurs pushing for change. Millions of people work on data used to train AI behind the scenes. Often, they are underpaid and even traumatized by what they see. In this episode: a company charting a different path; a litigator holding big tech accountable; and data workers organizing for better conditions. Thank you to Foxglove and Superrr for ...
With AIs Wide Open
October 10, 2023 04:00 - 22 minutes - 22.5 MBAre today’s large language models too hot to handle? Bridget Todd digs into the risks and rewards of open sourcing the tech that makes ChatGPT talk. In their competitive rush to release powerful LLMs to the world, tech companies are fueling a controversy about what should and shouldn’t be open in generative AI. In this episode, we meet open source research communities who have stepped up to develop more responsible machine learning alternatives. David Evan Harris worked at Meta to make AI...
We’re Back! IRL Season 7: People Over Profit
September 26, 2023 04:00 - 1 minute - 1.2 MBThis season, IRL host Bridget Todd meets people who are balancing the upsides of artificial intelligence with the downsides that are coming into view worldwide. Stay tuned for the first of five biweekly episodes on October 10! IRL is an original podcast from the non-profit Mozilla.
Bonus Episode
April 19, 2023 00:39 - 52 seconds - 1.3 MBWe have good news to share. IRL: Online Life is Real Life has been nominated for two Webby Awards: one for Public Service and Activism and another for Technology. We need your help. We’d love it if you could go to the links below and vote for us. It’s quick and easy! Voting ends on Thursday, April 20th at midnight PDT. Vote for IRL in the Webby Awards: Technology and Public Service Activism It means so much to spotlight the voices and stories of folks who are making AI more trustwort...
The AI Medicine Cabinet
September 12, 2022 07:05 - 25 minutes - 24.2 MBLife, death and data. AI’s capacity to support research on human health is well documented. But so are the harms of biased datasets and misdiagnoses. How can AI developers build healthier systems? We take a look at a new dataset for Black skin health, a Covid chatbot in Rwanda, AI diagnostics in rural India, and elusive privacy in mental health apps. Avery Smith is a software engineer in Maryland who lost his wife to skin cancer. This inspired him to create the Black Skin Health AI Dataset ...
The Truth is Out There
August 29, 2022 07:05 - 21 minutes - 20.5 MBMurky political groups are exploiting social media systems to spread disinformation. With important elections taking place around the world this year, who is pushing back? We meet grassroots groups in Africa and beyond who are using AI to tackle disinformation in languages and countries underserved by big tech companies. Justin Arenstein is the founder of Code for Africa, an organization that works with newsrooms across 21 countries to fact check, track and combat the global disinformation ...
AI from Above
August 15, 2022 07:05 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBAn aerial picture can tell a thousand stories. But who gets to tell them? From above the clouds, our world is surveilled and datafied. Those who control the data, control the narratives. We explore the legacy of spatial apartheid in South Africa’s townships, and hear from people around the world who are reclaiming power over their own maps. Raesetje Sefala is mapping the legacy of spatial apartheid in South Africa as a computer vision researcher with Timnit Gebru’s Distributed AI Research I...
When an Algorithm is Your Boss
August 01, 2022 07:05 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBGig workers around the world report directly to algorithms in precarious jobs created by secretive corporations. We take you to the streets of Quito, Ecuador where delivery workers are protesting against artificial intelligence, and we hear solutions from people in several countries on how to audit the algorithms and reclaim rights. Eduardo Meneses is gearing up with allies to ‘audit the algorithms’ of delivery platforms in Ecuador as the Global Head of Social Change at Thoughtworks. Dan C...
The Tech We Won’t Build
July 18, 2022 04:05 - 22 minutes - 21.2 MBWhere should tech builders draw the line on AI for military or surveillance? Just because it can be built, doesn’t mean it should be. At what point do we blow the whistle, call out the boss, and tell the world? Find out what it’s like to sound the alarm from inside a big tech company. Laura Nolan shares the story behind her decision to leave Google in 2018 over their involvement in Project Maven, a Pentagon project which used AI by Google. Yves Moreau explains why he is calling on academic...
Introducing IRL Season 6: AI in Real Life
July 05, 2022 07:05 - 1 minute - 1.72 MBAI is everywhere now. It’s part of healthcare, social media, maps, and even killer robots. But who has power over AI? And who is shifting that power? Join IRL’s new host, Bridget Todd, as she talks to technology builders and policy folks from around the world who are developing more trustworthy AI that puts people over profits. IRL is an original podcast from the non-profit Mozilla. For more on our series, visit us here.
Privacy or Profit - Why Not Both?
September 09, 2019 07:05 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBEvery day, our data hits the market when we sign online. It’s for sale, and we’re left to wonder if tech companies will ever choose to protect our privacy rather than reap large profits with our information. But, is the choice — profit or privacy — a false dilemma? Meet the people who have built profitable tech businesses while also respecting your privacy. Fact check if Facebook and Google have really found religion in privacy. And, imagine a world where you could actually get paid to share...
Making Privacy Law
August 26, 2019 07:05 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBThe word “regulation" gets tossed around a lot. And it’s often aimed at the internet’s Big Tech companies. Some worry that the size of these companies and the influence they wield is too much. On the other side, there’s the argument that any regulation is overreach — leave it to the market, and everything will sort itself out. But over the last year, in the midst of this regulation debate, a funny thing happened. Tech companies got regulated. And our right to privacy got a little easier to e...
The 5G Privilege
August 12, 2019 07:05 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MB‘5G’ is a new buzzword floating around every corner of the internet. But what exactly is this hyped-up cellular network, often referred to as the next technological evolution in mobile internet communications? Will it really be 100 times faster than what we have now? What will it make possible that has never been possible before? Who will reap the benefits? And, who will get left behind? Mike Thelander at Signals Research Group imagines the wild ways 5G might change our lives in the near fu...
The Tech Worker Resistance
July 29, 2019 07:05 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBThere's a movement building within tech. Workers are demanding higher standards from their companies — and because of their unique skills and talent, they have the leverage to get attention. Walkouts and sit-ins. Picket protests and petitions. Shareholder resolutions, and open letters. These are the new tools of tech workers, increasingly emboldened to speak out. And, as they do that, they expose the underbellies of their companies' ethics and values or perceived lack of them. In this episo...
The Internet's Carbon Footprint
July 15, 2019 07:05 - 28 minutes - 26 MBManoush Zomorodi explores the surprising environmental impact of the internet in this episode of IRL. Because while it’s easy to think of the internet as living only on your screen, energy demand for the internet is indeed powered by massive server farms, running around the clock, all over the world. What exactly is the internet’s carbon footprint? And, what can we do about it? Music professor Kyle Devine considers the environmental costs of streaming music. Geophysicist and pop scientist M...
Democracy and the Internet
July 01, 2019 00:05 - 25 minutes - 23 MBPart of celebrating democracy is questioning what influences it. In this episode of IRL, we look at how the internet influences us, our votes, and our systems of government. Is democracy in trouble? Are democratic elections and the internet incompatible? Politico's Mark Scott takes us into Facebook's European Union election war room. Karina Gould, Canada's Minister for Democratic Institutions, explains why they passed a law governing online political ads. The ACLU's Ben Wizner says our onli...
The "Privacy Policy" Policy
June 17, 2019 07:05 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBPrivacy policies: most apps and websites have them, buried away somewhere. These legal documents explain how the company collects, uses, and shares your personal data. But let's be honest, few of us actually read these things, right? And that passive acceptance says a lot about our complicated relationship with online privacy. In the Season 5 premiere of IRL, host Manoush Zomorodi speaks with Charlie Warzel, writer-at-large with the New York Times, about our complicated relationship with da...
“The Weird Kids at the Big Tech Party” from ZigZag
June 03, 2019 07:05 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBSeason 4 of ZigZag is about examining the current culture of business and work, figuring out what needs to change, and experimenting with new ways to do it. Sign up for their newsletter and subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you get your podcasts.
What if Women Built the Internet?
March 04, 2019 08:05 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBAll the things we love on the internet — from websites that give us information to services that connect us — are made stronger when their creators come with different points of view. With this in mind, we asked ourselves and our guests: "What would the internet look like if it was built by mostly women?" Witchsy founders Kate Dwyer and Penelope Gazin start us off with a story about the stunt they had to pull to get their site launched — and counter the sexist attitudes they fought against...
Decentralize It
February 18, 2019 08:05 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBSome people believe that decentralization is the inevitable future of the web. They believe that internet users will start to demand more privacy and authenticity of information online and that they’ll look to decentralized platforms to get those things. But would decentralization be as utopian as advocates say it could be? Host Manoush Zomorodi speaks to Eugen Rochko of Mastodon, an ad-free alternative to Twitter; Justin Hunter of Graphite docs, a decentralized alternative to GoogleDocs; ...
The Surveillance Economy
February 04, 2019 08:15 - 27 minutes - 25.8 MBIn her new book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Harvard Business School’s Shoshana Zuboff argues that tech companies — like Google and Facebook — collect so much personal data for profit, that they’re changing the fundamentals of our economy and way of life. And now these companies are learning to shape our behavior to better serve their business goals. Shoshana joins Manoush Zomorodi to explain what this all means for us. We then explore whether or not it’s time to end our relationshi...
The Human Costs of Content Moderation
January 21, 2019 08:05 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBWhat, if anything, should be banned from online media? And who should review violent and explicit content, in order to decide if it’s okay for the public? Thousands of people around the world are working long, difficult hours as content moderators in support of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. They are guided by complex and shifting guidelines, and their work can sometimes lead to psychological trauma. But the practice of content moderation also raises questions about censorship an...
TL;DR
January 07, 2019 08:15 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBTL;DR: We have access to more things to read than ever before. Too much, in fact. Our reading habits have shifted. We skim a lot. We look for full stories baked into headlines. Our eyes bounce around from one article to the next, and we try and fail to manage how many things we read at once. Some of us can no longer concentrate on a book—no matter how good it might be. Reading has changed. And we’re changing alongside it. With host Manoush Zomorodi, Derek Thompson at the Atlantic talks head...
Your Password is the Worst
December 10, 2018 08:30 - 27 minutes - 31.5 MBLook, we agree with you: passwords are the worst. But you know what else is the worst? Someone hacking your account, or big security breaches that expose your email, your credit card information, your government-issued identification number, and more. We should hold companies accountable for better security, but we also need to hold ourselves accountable for having good password hygiene. So let's tackle this once and for all. Hear from Buzzfeed's Mat Honan, who endured a brutal hack a few ye...
Checking Out Online Shopping
November 26, 2018 08:15 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBWhen you shop, your data may be the most valuable thing for sale. This isn’t just true online — your data follows you into brick and mortar stores now as well. Manoush Zomorodi explores the hidden costs of shopping, online and off. Meet Meta Brown, a data scientist who unveils the information Amazon captures about you when you make an online purchase; Joseph Turow, who discusses how retailers are stripping us of our privacy; and Alana Semuels, who talks about becoming a hoarder with the adv...
Introducing Season 4 of IRL - Online Life is Real Life
November 12, 2018 08:40 - 2 minutes - 2.65 MBCan ‘ethical tech’ be a thing? We think so. Season 4 of Mozilla’s IRL podcast will explore all the ways tech can have a more positive influence on people, communities, and societies at large. And, we’re delighted to welcome our new host Manoush Zomorodi, who will keep the season nerdy, human, and — importantly — fun, for all of us as we listen in. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org. Here's more about IRL Season 4, Manoush, and the Mozillian...
What to Expect When You're Electing
October 04, 2018 07:15 - 47 minutes - 44 MBThe 2016 U.S. presidential election blew up our ideas about influence campaigns in the age of screens. Two years later, Veronica Belmont and Baratunde Thurston examine how the internet is changing our minds, our votes, and our democracies – all over the world. Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Scott Shane details the United States' long history with election meddling. Paris correspondent for the Washington Post, James McAuley, shines a light on how other countries are managing ...
Kids These Days
September 10, 2018 07:15 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBToday’s teens are the first humans who have spent their entire lives online. Join Veronica Belmont and Manoush Zomorodi as they explore what kids are facing on the interwebs, how they’re using social media for good, how they’re handling cyberbullying, and how parents can keep up. Parkland, Florida’s Cameron Kasky discusses how he uses social media as a platform for activism; tech journalist Alexandra Samuel talks about Lil Tay and and the the role parents can play as they help their childre...
Bullying and Bonding Online
August 27, 2018 07:05 - 32 minutes - 30.5 MBIt’s a problem when tribalism divides us, online or in real life. Join Veronica Belmont and Franchesca Ramsey as they meet the people working to make the web — and world — friendlier places. Jhamel Robinson discusses how he used social media to organize a massive BBQ in Oakland after a racial altercation went viral; Dr. Meredith Clark sheds light on the need for social media platforms to hire members of vulnerable communities; Jon Ronson talks about snap judgements; Professor Kip Williams sp...
Virtual Connections
August 13, 2018 07:05 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MB:'-) Ever wonder why emoticons exist? They popped up in the 1980s to make online connections feel a little less digital and a little more personal :D. In this episode of IRL, host Veronica Belmont and special guest Peter Rojas explore how the Internet is both building and also confusing our relationships every day. Chloe Stuart-Ulin gives a first-hand account of her life as a “closer” for an online-dating service; we hear a dramatic, real-life story about a woman who finds her biological par...
Paid Attention
July 30, 2018 07:05 - 23 minutes - 22.4 MBThere’s a new currency in town (and no, we’re not talking about Bitcoin). We’re talking about attention. In this episode of IRL, Veronica Belmont and special guest Jane Lytvynenko explore all the ways your attention has become worth money on social media. Meet Hamlet the Piggy, an Instagram star who is helping her owner cope with epilepsy and also build a business; Lisette Calveiro, whose quest for fame online left her spending beyond her means; and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, who discu...
Press Play
July 16, 2018 07:01 - 32 minutes - 30.3 MBOne of the most successful recruitment tools the U.S. Army ever made was…a video game? Sometimes without even knowing it, gaming elements in technology — often designed for addiction — are incentivizing you to think certain ways and do certain things. Join Veronica Belmont and co-pilot Ashley Carman as they explore the rise of gamification in our everyday lives, its positives and negatives, and its future. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org...
The Grand Bargain
July 02, 2018 07:01 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBWe’re told from a young age to “accept the things we cannot change.” But should this be the case online as well? We click “Accept” every day, but often don’t know what we’re giving away. Is it a fair trade, and should we demand a better bargain? Veronica Belmont and special guest Dave Pell explore if what we get for what we give online is a good deal. We hear how one man’s HIV status was exposed without permission, how a massive data-mining company is using our information to predict how we'...
Introducing Season 3 of IRL: Because Online Life is Real Life
June 18, 2018 07:01 - 1 minute - 1.89 MBIn Season 3 of IRL, we're exploring the bargains we make online every day, and how we might approach striking better deals with the powers that be. You'll find out what happened when the U.S. Army got into the video game business, what it's like to be a professional flirter on Tinder (for real), and how a super cute pig transformed a person's life one Instagram post at a time. Episode 1 launches July 2nd. Subscribe via Apple podcasts or Spotify, or wherever you get your ear candy. IRL is an...
Ctrl+Alt+Facts
April 02, 2018 07:01 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBFrom campaign bots to conspiracy videos, it’s harder than ever to discover the truth online. In conversation with The New York Times’ Sheera Frenkel, Data For Democracy Policy Lead and Mozilla Fellow Renee DiResta, and DisInfoMedia founder Jestin Coler, we navigate the age of disinformation. It’s the season finale of IRL, recorded live in San Francisco on March 18th, 2018. A recent Gallup survey found that most Americans feel that it’s harder today to be well-informed than ever before. But ...
Social Bubble Bath
March 19, 2018 05:50 - 27 minutes - 25.7 MBWe’ve long heard that the ways the web is tailored for each user—how we search, what we’re shown, who we read and follow— reinforces walls between us. Veronica Belmont investigates how social media can create, and can break our filter bubbles. Megan Phelps-Roper discusses the Westboro Baptist Church, and the bubbles that form both on and offline. B.J. May talks about the bubbles he encountered every day, in his Twitter feed, and tells us how he broke free. Rasmus Nielsen suggests social medi...
Algorisky
March 05, 2018 06:00 - 29 minutes - 27.5 MBFrom Google search to Facebook news, algorithms shape our online experience. But like us, algorithms are flawed. Programmers write cultural biases into code, whether they realize it or not. Author Luke Dormehl explores the impact of algorithms, on and offline. Staci Burns and James Bridle investigate the human cost when YouTube recommendations are abused. Anthropologist Nick Seaver talks about the danger of automating the status quo. Safiya Noble looks at preventing racial bias from seeping ...
Cloak of Invisibility
February 16, 2018 08:01 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBOn the Internet no one knows you’re a dog, as the old joke goes. But does anonymity truly exist on the web anymore? And when it’s taken from us, what else do we lose? So Sad Today talks about the value of anonymity for women and self-care. Jonathan Hirshon shares his personal battle to keep his face off the Internet. New Yorker cartoonists Peter Steiner and Kaamran Hafeez discuss the evolution of memes and digital anonymity, in dog years. And Alison Macrina and Morgan Taylor reveal what’s u...
Face Value
February 05, 2018 06:00 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBFrom Snapchat filters to Google’s art selfies, biometric technology plays a growing role in our everyday lives. What do we actually give up when we upload our face to these apps? Steven Talley shares his experience as the victim of mistaken identity. Artist Adam Harvey investigates how racial bias seeps into big data sets. Emily Kennedy and Glynnis MacNicol talk about the power and risks of recognition for marginalized communities. Joseph Atick, a forefather of facial recognition technology,...
Digital Overload
January 22, 2018 06:00 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBWhat does it mean to grow up online? Veronica Belmont investigates how the www is changing us: our personalities, our bodies, and our brains. A college student shares his experience at rehab for Internet addiction. Bestselling author Nir Eyal breaks down what apps borrow from gambling technology. Writer Heather Schwedel talks about taking a cue from Kanye and breaking up with Twitter. Blogger Joshua Cousins talks about the Internet as a lifeline, in the wake of recent natural disasters. And ...
Bot or Not
January 08, 2018 06:00 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBMost website visitors aren’t human. They’re bots. And these automated accounts are having serious, real-world impact; from the 2016 election to the FCC’s recent, controversial net neutrality vote. Veronica Belmont investigates the rise of social media bots with Lauren Kunze and Jenn Schiffer. Lisa-Maria Neudert measures how bots influence politics. Butter.ai’s Jack Hirsch talks about what happens when your profile is stolen by a political bot. Ben Nimmo teaches us how to spot and take down b...
Net Neutrality Emergency
December 11, 2017 06:00 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBThe battle for the open Internet isn’t over. In the days leading up to the FCC’s net neutrality vote, we investigate what’s next in the fight. We Rate Dogs’ Matt Nelson talks about trolling Ajit Pai with a pay-per-pupper plan. Verizon protesters share their experience on the ground. The FCC’s Mignon Clyburn weighs in on net neutrality’s road ahead, while Gizmodo’s Dell Cameron outlines how taking the fight to court could play out. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the ser...
Status Update
November 15, 2017 06:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBIn this bonus episode, we check in on some of Season One’s stories and see how they’ve evolved. Activist Amanda Werner talks about their turn as the Monopoly Man at the Equifax hearings, and how to create visibility for victims of identity theft. Investigative journalist Marcy Wheeler follows the case of hacker Marcus Hutchins, and tries to make sense of why he was arrested. Troy Hunt argues that IoT devices need warning labels. And, drumroll, we hear back from a troll we sent a cake to last...
Free Speech, Limited?
September 18, 2017 05:00 - 37 minutes - 33.9 MBIn our final episode of season 1, we break from our usual format to host a big conversation. Recent events like the Charlottesville, VA rally have revealed the Internet’s role in helping spread IRL threats and violence. Leaders in the tech world have represented varying positions on both protecting free speech and also reducing hate speech online. Should tech companies regulate who says what on the Internet? Brandi Collins of Color of Change, Anil Dash of Fog Creek Software and Jillian York...
All Access Pass
September 04, 2017 06:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBWhat is life like without fast Internet, and how does life change once a person has it? Should Internet access be a right, rather than a luxury? Veronica Belmont explores these questions as she talks to people about joining the digital economy. Inspiring stories of access are surfaced by members of a small Minnesota community and by a Syrian refugee who found hope in Amsterdam. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org The more voices, perspective...
I Spy With My Digital Eye
August 21, 2017 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBWe react against the idea of surveillance, but it turns out that we’ve invited it into our homes through devices like digital assistants, connected toys, and baby monitors. Are you comfortable with the idea that someone might be watching you or listening to you right now? IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org. Struck by the idea that toys made for kids may have prying eyes (and ears)? For more on connected devices and surveillance, head over t...
The Care and Feeding of Your Troll
August 07, 2017 06:55 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBTrolls. You'll find them in every corner of the Internet. During this episode, explore the landscape of trolling online, its impact on individuals, and its impact on the Web. Some people are fighting back in new and tasty ways. Baked goods included. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org. Help form a more inclusive world and Web.