Tech Life

Chinese women prefer AI boyfriends over real ones, while tech unlocks crop potential to combat food shortages. Fashion designer aims to outsmart facial recognition with her clothes. Podcast delves into AI chatbot romance, agriculture revolution, and privacy-empowering clothing.

This discussion explores the implications of surveillance technology, particularly facial recognition and its impact on privacy and justice. It highlights an innovative Ghanaian company producing electric vehicles tailored for local needs. The podcast also covers the vital role of data in enhancing sports events while addressing privacy concerns. Lastly, it examines how AI is transforming waste management, optimizing recycling efforts, and promoting sustainability.

Alasdair Keane, a commentator on online abuse in sports, discusses the alarming rise of harassment aimed at athletes, especially with the Paris Olympics nearing. He highlights an innovative AI platform aimed at monitoring and combating this issue. Shiona McCallum introduces Project Pixel, where aspiring game designers create impactful mobile games for charity. They also delve into a remarkable initiative in Rwanda utilizing 3D scanning technology to custom-fit prosthetic limbs, showcasing how technology can revolutionize care and support in resource-limited settings.

Blood tests are part of the process of receiving cancer treatment. But they can be time-consuming and require visits to hospital. A new blood test machine is changing this. The Liberty is a small device that allows patients to take blood tests and upload the results from home without supervision. Lynn Thompson took part in the trial, and she tells Tech Life it's made a huge difference to her life. Also this week, we answer a listener's question about smart glasses. We learn about a project, involving electrolysers and hydrogen cooking stoves, which could improve the health of villagers in rural Nepal. And cutting down on e-waste - we speak to Tech for Troops.Presenter: Shiona McCallum Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: A still photo of Lynn Thompson with the Liberty blood test device. Credit: BBC)

Experts discuss using lasers to differentiate elephant and mammoth ivory for anti-poaching efforts. Chatbots are preferred over real medics for health discussions. A tech solution addresses e-waste issues. Detecting crumbling concrete in buildings with technology is explored.

This week we're taking a global look at TikTok, and some of the problems the video sharing platform has been facing. Also on Tech Life, you want to keep in touch with your child, but is there an alternative to giving them a smartphone ? We hear from video gamers in South Africa. And a female tech boss from Brazil shares advice on how others can follow her success.Presenter: Shiona McCallum Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: The TikTok logo on a mobile phone screen. Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images)

Exploring the practicality and future development of humanoid robots. Discussion on electric plug-in points for cruise ships and Bitcoin halving. Tech innovation aiding farmers in Ghana to increase crop yields.

Discover the challenges of fixing undersea cables, a film with countless AI-generated versions, the tech behind coffee roasters, and enriching the tech lives of lemurs and parrots with interactive devices.

This week on Tech Life we are looking at the problem of space junk, the man-made debris hurtling around our planet. Could it threaten some of the everyday tech we all rely on?Also this week, don't you just hate it when stuff doesn't work? Are internet and social media outages becoming more frequent ? A doctor in Argentina has created a video game to help calm the nerves of children facing a hospital operation. And what weighs three tonnes and is the size of a mini-van ? It's the world's largest digital camera.Presenter: Chris Vallance Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: A NASA illustration of space debris around Earth. Credit: Nasa/Getty)

The internet plays an important role in most of our lives today. What will it, and other tech, look like in the future ? We take a long view with a veteran of the tech industry. Also on Tech Life this week, some of the biggest social media platforms have been accused of obstructing information on abortion and reproductive healthcare in developing countries. And health tech helps to combat child malnutrition in Africa.Presenter: Shiona McCallum Producer: Tom Quinn(Photo: A photo of a computer taken in 1982. Credit: BBC)