Carnegie Council Podcasts

The implementation of contact tracing and the collection of health data may be necessary for life to return to "normal" in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but is there any way to make sure these practices don't turn into "tools of oppression"? Mona Sloane, fellow at NYU's Institute for Public Knowledge, discusses her concerns about the "normalization" of these technologies and the effect that these strategies could have on vulnerable communities.

Much like efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, combatting climate change requires cooperation on a global scale. And yet the history of international climate negotiations shows just how difficult that can be. What, if anything, can we learn from the global response to the pandemic that might aid us in governing new, climate-altering technologies? Cynthia Scharf, senior strategy director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative, shares her thoughts.

What unique ethical challenges does COVID-19 present to journalists? How might a lack of trust in media and government affect the public's response to the COVID-19 crisis? Mei Fong, director of communications and strategy at The Center for Public Integrity, and Daniel Lippman, "Politico" White House reporter, discuss these issues and much more.

How should we think about privacy and government surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic? Johns Hopkins' Jeffrey Kahn and ETH Zurich's Effy Vayena discuss health data and government surveillance, focusing on contract tracing apps in Europe and immunity certificates in the United States, with Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal in this virtual webinar.

As U.S. states and European nations contemplate how to end the COVID-19 quarantine, Senior Fellow Arthur Holland Michel discusses all aspects of surveillance and ethics. From ongoing issues in Baltimore to technologies focused on location data to the future of privacy and government regulation in a post-pandemic world, Michel and host Alex Woodson look at the current "Cambrian explosion" in surveillance technology.

If global interconnections begin to fray in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what happens to the ethical underpinnings of international relations? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev and Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal discuss this important question and much more as solidarity begins to weaken among European Union and NATO states.

In this wide-ranging talk, Future of Privacy Forum's Brenda Leong discusses the commercial uses of facial recognition technology, concerns about privacy and bias, how it's being utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some tough questions about government surveillance. What's the future of facial recognition? How can we use this technology ethically? 

Jameson Spivack, policy associate at Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology, discusses some of the most pressing policy issues when it comes to facial recognition technology in the United States and the ongoing pandemic. Why is Maryland's system so invasive? What are other states and cities doing? And, when it comes to surveillance and COVID-19, where's the line between privacy and security?

Despite being close to the initial epicenter of the virus, Taiwan was able to contain its COVID-19 outbreak earlier in 2020. Audrey Tang, Taiwan's digital minister, explains how her office helped in this effort by fighting disinformation with some innovative ideas. What can countries like the U.S. or Italy learn from Taiwan in the battle against this pandemic?

With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting all aspects of daily life around the world, what will be the effect on international relations? Will it increase cooperation among nations, or will it lead to more conflict and competition? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev and host Alex Woodson discuss these scenarios and also touch on how the virus has affected the Democratic primary, in which Joe Biden now has a commanding lead.