Tech Empire addresses challenges posed by the information society. Hosted by Michael Kwet at Yale University, it takes a global perspective on 21st century politics. This show challenges the tech-driven status quo being created by state and corporate power, and explores how we can create a world where technology makes life better for everyone. From big data surveillance to information equality, from #BlackLivesMatter to #FeesMustFall in South Africa, Tech Empire strikes at the heart of power in the digital age.

Tech Empire with Michael Kwet and Tshi Malatji

In today's episode, Casey, Maria, and Naomi talk to conservative climate activists about why they support carbon pricing policy. We'll hear from former Congressman Bob Inglis (RepublicEN.org), Kiera O'Brien (Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends), former Congressman Carlos Curbelo, and Jerry Taylor (Niskanen Center). Read more at pricingnature.substack.com

5. The Conservative Case for Carbon Pricing

This episode welcomes Jack Poulson to discuss Project Maven and the relationship between tech and the US military. Last month, Jack released a report at his organization, Tech Inquiry, revealing the extensive relationship between tech corporations and the US military via Project Maven. We discuss the kinds of technologies in the project, including drone surveillance, automated military tanks, location surveillance, and social media surveillance. We also discuss what we can infer about how the project, and some of these technologies, might work together. 

Jack Poulson is the Executive Director of Tech Inquiry and former Google AI Research Scientist and Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Stanford. You can follow him on Twitter at @_jack_poulson.

Tech Militarism and Project Maven with Jack Poulson

This episode discusses the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica election fiasco, and what we can do about it. How should Big Tech companies be regulated? In a world of big data, how can we protect people's sensitive information?  Professor Jack Balkin, founder and director of Yale's Information Society Project, joins us to answer these questions and discuss his proposal to regulate companies as "Information Fiduciaries". Also joining us is Kamel Ajii, a PhD student at Paris 2 University (France) and the founder of 21 Mirrors, a digital technology ratings agency.

Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and Information Fiduciaries with Jack Balkin and Kamel Ajii

This episode welcomes Frank Pasquale to discuss The Black Box Society. We explore Frank’s academic journey, and how black box technologies – technologies which the public cannot evaluate or understand – are reshaping society. We cover, among other topics, Big Data profiling, technology in the schools, copyright in the digital era, democratic participation in a complex information society and the regulation of Big Tech corporations.

Frank Pasquale is Professor of Law at the University of Maryland.  He is an affiliate fellow at Yale’s Information Society Project (ISP) and Vermont Law School’s New Economy Law Center (NELC). Pasquale is an expert on the law of artificial intelligence, algorithms, and machine learning. He has been recognized as one of the ten most cited scholars in health law in the United States.

The Black Box Society, E-Education and Big Tech Regulation with Frank Pasquale

This episode welcomes Mishi Choudhary to discuss the state of Digital India.  We describe Mishi's path to become founder of the Software Freedom Law Center, India (SFLC.in) -- one of the country's most influential digital rights organizations.  Topics discussed include Free Software and the Internet Freedom movement, government and commercial surveillance, the Supreme Court ruling on privacy as a fundamental right, data fiduciaries, the controversial Aadhaar biometric identity system, the role of US, Chinese and local tech corporations, and models for tech rights and development.

Mishi Choudhary is Legal Director of the Software Freedom Law Center in New York and the founder of the Software Freedom Law Center, India.  Her clients have included Debian, the Apache Software Foundation, and OpenSSL.  SFLC.in provides free legal advice and works with lawyers, policy analysts, technologists, and students to promote innovation and open access in the digital age.  In 2015, Choudhary became the only lawyer in the world to simultaneously appear on briefs in the US and Indian Supreme Courts in the same term.  In 2018, Choudhary launched Mishi Choudhary & Associates LLP, her own law and policy practice operating in Delhi and Bangalore, India.

Digital India: Privacy, Tech Industry and Aadhaar Biometrics with Mishi Choudhary

This episode welcomes Iyad el-Baghdadi and Belabbes Benkredda to discuss the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Today’s show is the first of 2 parts. We explore the use of Twitter and social media in the Middle East, the Arab Spring uprisings, the influence of the Obama administration during the Arab Spring, and the role of Putin and China in the Middle East and world affairs.  Part 2 will air next week and cover additional topics.

Iyad el-Baghdadi is among the most influential human rights activists who rose to prominence during the Arab Spring protests. He is one of the top voices in the online Arab world, and has been published at The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy. He also runs a podcast called The Arab Tyrant Manual, and is a fellow at the Norwegian think tank Civita. Iyad is a stateless Palestinian who was born in Kuwait and raised in the United Arab Emirates, he is now a political refugee in Norway.

Belabbes Benkredda is an Algerian-German social innovator, and the founder of The Munathara Initiative, an Arab online and television debate forum that promotes the voices of youth, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public. He was a recipient of the 2013 Democracy Award of the National Democratic Institute, and in 2016 became a World Fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Belabbes is currently a senior research scholar at Yale Law School.

Arab Spring, pt 1: Twitter, Revolution & Global Politics with Iyad el-Baghdadi & Belabbes Benkredda

This episode welcomes Iyad el-Baghdadi and Belabbes Benkredda to discuss the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Today’s show is the second of 2 parts. We explore the murder of Jamal Kashoggi, whom our guests knew personally; government repression, the situation in Palestine, Iyad el-Baghdadi's life journey, and the US role in the Middle East.
Iyad el-Baghdadi is among the most influential human rights activists who rose to prominence during the Arab Spring protests. He is one of the top voices in the online Arab world, and has been published at The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy. He also runs a podcast called The Arab Tyrant Manual, and is a fellow at the Norwegian think tank Civita. Iyad is a stateless Palestinian who was born in Kuwait and raised in the United Arab Emirates, he is now a political refugee in Norway.
Belabbes Benkredda is an Algerian-German social innovator, and the founder of The Munathara Initiative, an Arab online and television debate forum that promotes the voices of youth, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public. He was a recipient of the 2013 Democracy Award of the National Democratic Institute, and in 2016 became a World Fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Belabbes is currently a senior research scholar at Yale Law School.

Tech Militarism and Project Maven with Jack Poulson

YaleUniversity

Related tracks