FT Tech Tonic

Hardware and software advancements in bioacoustics may enable us to 'translate' animal sounds into human language. The podcast delves into deciphering codas in sperm whale communication and the role of AI in understanding their messages. It also explores transformers, a breakthrough technology treating everything as a language. The podcast concludes by discussing the ethical implications of using AI synthesized voices to communicate with animals.

Karen Bakker, a Canadian scientist and author in the bioacoustic research community, discusses advancements in digital bioacoustics, the importance of listening skills, the potential of AI to understand animal vocalizations, and the commercial applications of bioacoustics in biodiversity conservation.

Scientists are researching how artificial intelligence can decode animal sounds and translate them into human language. They discuss the potential of building synthetic animals to establish communication with different species using AI and technology.

Founders Forum conference panel discusses the promise of quantum computing. Topics include the state of the quantum industry, challenges in building reliable quantum computers, hybrid quantum-classical models, OQC's production-ready systems, race between startups and big tech, and government procurement in the quantum industry.

Who is Sergei Leontiev? To the US asylum system, he’s an exiled Russian banker who was persecuted by the state and forced to flee. To Russia, he’s said to be responsible for massive fraud.  On The Russian Banker, a new series from the Financial Times, reporters Courtney Weaver and Stefania Palma try to uncover the truth, and find a story that tells us about Russia today and how people in the west build stories about who’s good and who’s bad. The Russian Banker is a special series that will run on the Behind the Money podcast starting Aug. 30. Listen to The Russian Banker by subscribing to the Behind the Money podcast here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FT correspondents discuss the future of social media, including the transformation of platforms into shopping malls, the rise of TikTok and professional content creators, the cycle of new social media platforms, emerging trends like virtual reality and AI, the influence of AI and the metaverse, and the evolution of social media from simple photo sharing to fragmented platforms.

Can we get rid of the bad bits of social media and keep the good? Is it possible to create a more positive social media experience than the one we get from the platforms that dominate the landscape today? In this episode, Elaine Moore asks what the social media platforms of the future should look like, and whether platforms designed for smaller groups of users with shared interests are the way forward.We hear from writer and tech historian Benj Edwards about the BBS era of the early 1990s; University of Massachusetts professor Ethan Zuckerman; Sarah Gilbert, researcher at Cornell University and Reddit moderator; and Jonathan Abrams, partner at 8-Bit Capital and the creator of Friendster.Presented by Elaine Moore. Produced by Edwin Lane and Josh Gabert-Doyon, Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Hannah Murphy.Mentioned in this podcast:The Lex Newsletter: Reddit and the API apocalypseDiscord has won over gamers. Now it wants everybody elseReddit stands firm in clash with users as blackout on forums escalatesRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Gabert-Doyon, a producer and field reporter, dives into the creator economy at VidCon. He discusses how social media is evolving from friendship to content consumption, as influencers gain power and seek independence from platforms. Kris Collins, a popular TikTok and YouTube star, shares her journey and team growth. Investors like Megan Lightcap highlight the importance of treating creators as businesses. The podcast explores monetization strategies, pay transparency advocacy, and the shifting dynamics of audience engagement in the digital landscape.

There’s a growing feeling that social media is bad for us: bad for society and bad for our wellbeing. That trend has culminated in a new wave of legislation in the United States aiming to address social media’s impact on young people’s mental health. But in this episode, Elaine Moore, deputy editor of the FT’s Lex column, looks at some of the unanswered questions over whether social media really causes us harm, and what legislation will mean for the future of the social media business model. Are we in the throws of a technological panic? In this episode, the third in a series on social media, Elaine speaks to Emma Lembke, co-founder of youth advocacy group Log Off; Katie Paul, director at the Tech Transparency Project; Amy Orben, head of the Digital Mental Health Group at the University of Cambridge; and FT tech reporter Hannah Murphy.Since the publication of Katie Paul’s investigation into the trade of looted Middle Eastern antiquities on Facebook, Meta has changed its policy on the sale of historical artefacts.Presented by Elaine Moore. Produced by Edwin Lane and Josh Gabert-Doyon, Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.We're keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you'd like to hear more of, so we're running a survey which you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort earbuds.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Zuckerberg used advertising to turn Facebook into the first global social media giant, boasting 3bn users around the world. But today there are questions about the business model that has powered it for the past 15 years, and what Zuckerberg’s new focus on building the Metaverse means for the platform that started it all. Elaine Moore speaks to veteran Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee, one-time advisor to Zuckerberg; writer and researcher Tim Hwang, author of Subprime Attention Crisis; and Steven Levy, editor at large at Wired and author of Facebook: The Inside Story. Meta declined a request for an interview for this episode, but directed us to their Q1 2023 earnings.Presented by Elaine Moore. Produced by Edwin Lane and Josh Gabert-Doyon, Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Hannah MurphyClips: Meta, US Senate.We're keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you'd like to hear more of, so we're running a survey that you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance of winning a pair of Bose QuietComfort earbuds.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.