Tech Life

BBC World Service
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Jan 27, 2023 • 26min

Can Ticketmaster 'shake off' the bots?

Shiona McCallum explores what can be done about online bots targeting ticket sales. It’s after Ticketmaster apologised to Taylor Swift fans who missed out on attending her Eras tour, they say they were the target of a cyber-attack by bots. We also delve into VR and AR experiences and learn about the company in India using discarded fishing nets to produce plugs and sockets.(IMAGE:Taylor Swift meets fans in Toronto. Wesley Lapointe / Getty)
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Jan 13, 2023 • 26min

MRNA: The tech that transforms cancer treatment?

The boss of Moderna, Stephane Bancel, tells us about how MRNA technology could transform the treatment of cancer. But will the personalised treatment plans it could create only be available in richer nations? Our global health correspondent, Naomi Grimley, provides analysis. Also this week we hear more from the exhibitors at the CES tech show. Analyst Paolo Pescatore tells us what he thinks the event says about the state of global tech. And the founder of Cameo, which took off in the pandemic, on how businesses that thrived in lockdown can survive in the very different world we find ourselves in in 2023.(Image: Messenger RNA techobnology, two Strands of mRNA on abstract background illustration. Credit: Getty Images)
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Jan 6, 2023 • 26min

Tech Tent goes to CES

Tech Tent is in Las Vegas, in the US, for CES, one of the world' s biggest and most important tech shows. We discuss the future of VR, and the ethics of AI - and meet the exhibitors hoping they've invented the next big thing. And Silicon Valley reporter James Clayton joins Zoe to take the temperature of the industry after a bumpy year in 2022.(PHOTO: Attendees at CES Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP, via Getty Images)
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Dec 30, 2022 • 26min

Tech predictions for 2023

Shiona McCallum and Joe Tidy invite the BBC's tech experts in Africa, Asia, America and Europe to make their predictions for how tech will shape 2023. From gaming to chip wars, and VR to AI they tell you what to look out for in the year ahead, wherever in the world you are.
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Dec 22, 2022 • 26min

The Tech Tent Christmas quiz

The technology news team review the year in the form of a quiz. Paul Carter and Liv McMahon take on Nick Kwek and Alasdair Keane to see who remembers most about the best - and worst - tech news moments of 2022. And all four face the ultimate test: can they tell which is the genuine Christmas story, loved for decades - and which has been conjured up in an instant by AI?
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Dec 16, 2022 • 26min

The law catches up with Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested and charged days after telling our reporter Joe Tidy he was confident he would avoid prosecution. We discuss the question Joe asked Sam - has he killed crypto? Also this week: the dismayed reaction of the global charities that sat on Twitter's now disbanded Trust and Safety Council. As China goes to the World Trade Organisation over the USA's restrictions on its semi-conductor industry, we ask if there is any end in sight to the so-called chip wars. And, the actor Andonis Anthony on what is it like bringing a video game character to life.(Photo: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (C) is led away handcuffed by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas, 13 December 2022. Credit: Mario Duncanson/AFP/Getty Images)
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Dec 9, 2022 • 26min

ChatGPT: The AI chatbot everyone is talking to

How do you feel about talking to a computer? New AI chatbot, ChatGPT, passed one million users in just a week but what are its potential uses and limitations. We also hear from tennis icon, Billie Jean King on why she thinks tech will change the way tennis is played. Plus, with Apple extending its self-service repair to a number of European Countries, how do you feel about repairing your iPhone at home? We hear from someone who gave it a go.(Photo: A man using a laptop talks to a chat bot. Credit: Blue Planet Studio/Getty Images)
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Dec 2, 2022 • 26min

China's Great Firewall fails

This week journalist and author James Griffiths explains how the Great Firewall of China works - and why it failed to stop the recent wave of protests there. Reporter Alasdair Keane meets the robots that could provide a helping hand to the most vulnerable. And game developer Colin Macdonald reflects on the unlikely origins of Grand Theft Auto, as the game franchise turns 25.(Photo: protestors on the streets of China. Credit: Getty images)
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Nov 25, 2022 • 26min

Is there a future for smart speakers?

Smart Speakers have become part of the furniture of many people's homes, but they don't seem to have proved as lucrative as the companies who created them had hoped. We explore what's next for them. We also hear from three people who say using Twitter changed their lives. Plus, has China really resolved the issue of video game addiction among young people and did you know dogs can be trained to find faults in underground electricity cables?Producers: Alasdair Keane and Ashleigh Swan(Photo: A smart speaker. Credit: Capuski/Getty Images)
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Nov 18, 2022 • 26min

FTX: A crypto crisis

The collapse of the FTX currency exchange, and the downfall of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried has been astonishing. Where does the industry go now? The biggest ever satellite, BlueWalker 3, has successfully been deployed - what will it mean for global communications and the night sky? Plus, why Chinese army veterans are being drafted into the world's biggest iPhone factory. And why has a video of a meteor got a woman thrown off Twitter? Astronomer Mary McIntyre explains how her account was banned after a video of a meteor streaking across the night sky she shared, was flagged as porn.Producer: Tom Singleton(Photo: Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies at the House Financial Services Committee hearing Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)

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