Spark

CBC

Spark on CBC Radio One Nora Young helps you navigate your digital life by connecting you to fresh ideas in surprising ways.

  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Hitting the AI wall

    We've long talked about the data-driven turn in AI and how a Deep Learning approach has given us everything from image recognition, to ChatGPT. But what about the ongoing ethical questions about the kinds of data machines are learning on? And beyond that, what if we're starting to…run out of data?  

    26 April 2024, 6:10 pm
  • 29 minutes 9 seconds
    Spark presents What On Earth: "Can Earth Day be badass again?"

    The climate is changing. So are we. On What On Earth, you’ll explore a world of solutions with host Laura Lynch and our team of journalists. In 1970, 20 million people showed up to fight for the environment on the first Earth Day. More than five decades later, is it time for this much tamer global event to return to its radical roots? 


    OG organizer Denis Hayes recounts how – amidst other counterculture movements at the time – his team persuaded roughly one in ten Americans to take to the streets. As he approaches 80, Denis offers his singular piece of advice to the next generation of climate leaders. Then, environmental warriors Maria Blancas and Axcelle Campana share ideas on what a reinspired Earth Day could look like – including making it a public holiday.


    More episodes of What On Earth are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/fHfXfjAJ


    We love to hear from our listeners and regularly feature them on the show. Have a question or idea? Email [email protected]

    22 April 2024, 6:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Being Human Now - Music

    From the earliest musical instruments to the metronome, to vocoders, auto-tune and beyond, music creation has always been a collaboration between humans and machines. But now that generative AI is shaking up songwriting, have we crossed a new threshold where the distinctively human talent for music is no longer ours alone?

    19 April 2024, 4:10 am
  • 54 minutes 9 seconds
    Should robots work for us or with us?

    Strides in AI software are finding their way into physical robots. It's promising a new era of human-robot interaction, where robots can assist us, respond to our needs and to cues in the environment. Question is: are we ready for robots among us?

    12 April 2024, 4:10 am
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Building more responsive, AI-driven infrastructure

    Like most of us, you probably only think about infrastructure when it doesn't work: the power goes off, the roads flood. But in the face of climate change and the increasing energy demands of our digital tech, how can we rethink what infrastructure looks like to meet our future needs?

    5 April 2024, 2:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    How yeast and bacteria could be key to future fashion design

    One of civilization's oldest technologies, textiles have long been linked to money, power, and politics. Now, researchers are looking to produce novel, more sustainable textiles using organisms like yeast, fungus, and bacteria.

    29 March 2024, 2:40 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Being Human Now - Play

    What does play mean in a digital age, when so much happens on our all-consuming phones, and tech erases the boundaries between work and play?

    22 March 2024, 3:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Can we put a watermark on reality?

    In an age of misinformation and generative AI, how do we know if anything we read or hear is even real anymore? From the latest trends in internet search to watermarking images to (re)establishing trust in journalism, we examine the role of proof in a post-truth world.

    15 March 2024, 4:10 am
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Predicting problems before they happen

    Digital twin technology is growing rapidly across multiple industries. From race cars to the human heart to the entire country of Canada, a look at how these virtual replicas use real-time data to model and predict the future.

    8 March 2024, 3:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Being Human Now - Work

    We keep hearing that AI is going to revolutionize jobs. But what if the language of inevitable automation hides the ongoing need for distinctly human skills?

    1 March 2024, 4:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Confronting bias and privacy for better tech tools

    Along with huge advances in data-driven technologies like machine learning and digital health, there are troubling concerns about our data privacy in healthcare, and persistent problems with bias in artificial intelligence. So how do we get the tools we want with the ethics we need?

    23 February 2024, 4:40 pm
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