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Future Tense

A critical look at new technologies, new approaches and new ways of thinking, from politics to media to environmental sustainability.

society & culture tech news

All Episodes

0:29:07

Learning how to learn in the age of generative AI

Future Tense ·

2025/11/06

It's exactly three years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene. In that short period of time the process of academic assessment has been in upheaval. Across the world educators are trying to address how students should be assessed and whether AI can be used for more than just helping a student to cheat. But a growing number of education researchers say the real emphasis should be on promoting critical thinking and ensuring future students learn how to learn.GuestsProfessor Dragan

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0:29:06

Disinformation, digital tech and democracy

Future Tense ·

2025/10/30

In this programme we hear three thoughtful perspectives on the threat digital technologies pose for democracy. Henry Farrell from Johns Hopkins University argues disinformation must be tackled at a group level, not an individual one. Philosopher, John Tasioulas, says modern representative democracy is too easily corrupted by big tech. And AI specialist, Marcus Beard, introduces us to the phenomenon he calls "slopaganda".GuestsProfessor John Tasioulas — ethicist and immediate former

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0:29:07

Getting up to speed with autonomous vehicles

Future Tense ·

2025/10/23

Long before AI dominated the media hype-cycle, self-driving cars surfed the hyperbolic wave. But fully automated vehicles have now been a long time in development, long enough that we've decided it's time for an update. So, how advanced is the technology and where is the demand? We also find out about consumer attitudes toward the "driver-assist" technologies that are now routinely fitted into modern cars. Surprise, surprise, it seems not everyone wants to be told how to

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0:29:07

Technology and language — a dynamic relationship

Future Tense ·

2025/10/16

While technology platforms increasingly dictate the way we write and converse, language is being modified to fight back, to subvert the platforms. In this show we examine the growth of "algospeak". And if you want to know how we'll all be communicating in the future, just listen to the way teenage girls speak, because young women lead the ongoing development of language.Original broadcast on July 7, 2024GuestsDr James Cohen – Assistant Professor, Media Studies, Queens College, City

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0:29:05

Are we turning the housing crisis into a living crisis?

Future Tense ·

2025/10/09

We build more and more homes for growing urban populations. But doing so without providing much needed amenities doesn't serve our suburbs and the people who live in them. It risks confounding social isolation and urban sprawl. There's also climate change to consider. In a heating world, how do we plan our suburbs to deal with higher temperatures? Are the cities and suburbs of the future going to be livable for our children and our children's children?Rob Kelly

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0:29:06

Reviving the past and digital mapping for the future

Future Tense ·

2025/10/02

The remote Canadian island of Oikiqtaruk is disappearing fast, but its cultural and environmental heritage is being captured in digital form. We talk to those involved in the project about its ambition and their success to date. Also, recreating long lost cultural artefacts. For the Madrid-based organisation Factum Foundation it's a journey of reconnection — a way that future generations can celebrate and cherish the character of their past.GuestsRichard Gordon — Senior Park

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0:29:06

Are we kidding ourselves about decarbonisation?

Future Tense ·

2025/09/25

Australian rooftops are resplendent with solar panels, but sustainability expert, Martin Brueckner, warns the popular notion that we're rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels is deceptive. When you add Australia's fossil fuels exports to our domestic energy usage, he says, it's clear that "decarbonisation is yet to begin in earnest". Also, whatever happened to the dream that Australia could become a world leader in Green Hydrogen production?GuestsAlison Reeve — Energy and

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0:29:08

Is globalisation dying?

Future Tense ·

2025/09/19

Globalisation isn’t what it used to be thanks to the legacy of the Covid-19 lockdown and, more recently, Donald Trump’s weaponisation of tariffs. But while it’s often given a bad rap, globalisation is about more than just trade, it’s also about the international exchange of ideas and talent. So, is it dying, withering or simply transforming? Listen to Future Tense - How to start your own golden ageGuestsProfessor Richard Baldwin – International Economics, IMD Business School,

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0:29:05

Taxing carbon on the border and at sea

Future Tense ·

2025/09/11

The European Union is implementing a groundbreaking new tax: a carbon border tax. It's meant to prevent distortions between countries with differing emissions standards and so to reduce emissions. But will it work? The same can be asked about the International Maritime Organisation's proposed new carbon levy on shipping. Also on the show, an update on the Great Green Wall — China's mass-tree-planting project; and measuring stress in trees to improve resilience.GuestsAssociate

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0:29:00

Existential hope vs Existential Fear

Future Tense ·

2025/09/04

Existential risks to human life abound, from the threat of nuclear Armageddon; to an uninhabitable planet; or an AI-induced apocalypse. Understanding such risks and how we can best respond to them is the preoccupation of S. J. Beard. But the Cambridge University researcher also speaks of "existential hope", a way of addressing our fears without the doom and despair. Also, Monash University's, Neil Selwyn, makes the call for what he terms "digital degrowth" — decoupling our online

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0:29:06

Cooperation, not conflict on the High Seas

Future Tense ·

2025/08/28

We're now halfway through the UN-designated "Ocean Decade" — new research initiatives have been launched, and global cooperation has been strengthened as scientists work to learn more about our oceans and to harness their potential in the fight against adverse climate change. But there are still questions to be answered:How firm are the commitments made under the Ocean Decade arrangement?Why are many countries still lagging behind in ratifying the "High Seas" treaty?And what will a

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0:29:06

Convenience culture's inconvenient truth

Future Tense ·

2025/08/21

Humans have an evolutionary bias toward seeking convenience, experts say. But what happens when the desire for convenience becomes a dominant social and economic expectation? Future Tense explores the hidden costs of convenience for the environment and the economy. Making things too easy can in fact be bad for you.GuestsAlison Angus — Head of Practice – Innovation Research, EuromonitorDr Paul Harrison — Director of MBA Programme, Deakin University. Unit Chair of Consumer Behaviour,

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0:28:56

Perspectives on the potential of AI-powered policing

Future Tense ·

2025/08/14

Policing has always embraced new technologies and Artificial Intelligence is, of course, the flavour of the month. Working out when and why it should be used is crucial, according to law enforcement specialists. What’s also important is ensuring appropriate human oversight. Future Tense - The creeping militarisation of our policeGuestsDr Marion Oswald – Professor of Law, Northumbria University Philip Lukens – Former Police Chief, Alliance, Nebraska. Data-driven policing analyst Dr

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0:29:08

The truth about AI and productivity

Future Tense ·

2025/08/07

How real is the link between Artificial Intelligence and increased productivity? Jon Whittle from the CSIRO, one of Australia's leading science agencies, has been examining the latest research. He helps us sort facts from fiction. Also, literacy and problem-solving skills have taken a dive in many developed countries — could an over-reliance on technology be part of the problem? And why understanding the literary style "Magic Realism" could help in developing better regulation for

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0:29:09

Sinking Cities

Future Tense ·

2025/07/31

Cities across the world are beginning to sink — some by as much as 10 centimetres a year. A recent study suggests that more than a third of urban Chinese resident now live in a sinking city. The cause is often ascribed to climate change, but is there something else at play? Could our thirst for water actually be the culprit? Also, how much do our urban environments contribute to the heating of the planet? A call to finally get serious about the climate impacts of city

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0:29:08

How to balance the population needs on our planet

Future Tense ·

2025/07/24

We face multiple looming demographic crises — and our responses seemingly contradict each other. A rapidly aging population means that we need more children to be born. But it's foreseeable that resources on Earth simply can't sustain many more people.How can we solve this conundrum?Original broadcast on May 22, 2022GuestsDr Stuart Gietel Basten — Professor of Social Science and Policy, Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyDr Marco Amati — Associate professor of

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0:28:38

Lessons from South Korea's security dilemma

Future Tense ·

2025/07/17

South Korea is a test case in how to maintain democracy against sustained pressure from dictatorship. The innovative and entrepreneurial country lives in the shadow of China and Russia, and its capital Seoul lies only 50km from the North Korean border. It hasn't been easy, but the difficulties South Korea faces and the way it deals with them could prove invaluable for other regional neighbours in responding to future economic and military aggression.Journalist Matt Smith has this

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0:28:38

A turning point for the United Nations

Future Tense ·

2025/07/10

Suffering internal division and stymied by geopolitical bullying, the United Nations is facing a future of diminishing influence. As the organisation marks its 80th birthday, it's also dealing with a serious financial shortfall brought on by both China and the United States, its two biggest donors. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has launched a major internal reform programme, but there are questions about whether his approach will rescue the global body or just cause further

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0:28:38

The potential benefits and risks of developing...

Future Tense ·

2025/07/03

Synthetic biologists are hard at work developing artificial biological molecules as the first step toward developing a mirror cell that would be immune from infection. If they're successful, it could transform the world of medicine. But while the potential of mirror life is great, so too are the risks. There are warnings of a catastrophic impact if the cells can't be controlled. And that's prompted calls for a moratorium on the research.GuestsAssociate Professor Kate Adamala —

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0:28:38

The world after us!

Future Tense ·

2025/06/26

What will Earth look like when humans become extinct? What "technofossils" will paleontologists of the future unearth and no doubt ponder over? Will we be remembered for our achievements or merely our rubbish? Also, which animals might rise to fill our role at the top of the pecking order? And is the future of live music really as dire as many predict?GuestsProfessor Sarah Gabbott — Paleobiologist, University of LeicesterJoanna Thompson — Freelance science journalist based in New

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333 results

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