The Good Robot

The Good Robot Trailer

June 01, 2021 University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies
The Good Robot
The Good Robot Trailer
Show Notes Transcript

Welcome to The Good Robot! In this teaser trailer, Eleanor and Kerry briefly chat about who they are, what they do, and why they’re starting The Good Robot podcast. Plus, they give you a sneak peek into the super exciting topics they’ll be exploring in upcoming episodes!

KERRY MACKERETH:
Hi and welcome to The Good Robot Podcast! I’m one of your hosts, Kerry Mackereth - 

ELEANOR DRAGE:
And I’m the other host, Dr Eleanor Drage. We’re both Christina Gaw research associates at the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies, and we also work with the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, Cambridge’s AI research centre. Our research aims to provide the AI sector with practical tools informed by feminist knowledge and methods for creating better, fairer, and more equitable AI. 

KERRY MACKERETH:
As you can probably tell, we spend a lot of time talking and thinking about the relationship between feminism and technology - and we wanted to bring these conversations directly to you! So, in this podcast, we ask the experts: what is good technology? Is good technology even possible? And what does feminism have to say about it? 

ELEANOR DRAGE:
We’re going to be talking to the people who make and design technology as well as the biggest critics of these technologies. So whether you’re a technologist, a student, an activist, a scholar, or just want to know what feminism can do for technology, you’re going to love this show.  

KERRY MACKERETH:
It’s super important to us that these conversations are for everyone, so that no one gets left out of the conversation about the new tech that is shaping our lives - but crucially, how these new technologies are not always that ‘new’, or rather, how they can come from and build on much older histories of inequality and exclusion. 

ELEANOR DRAGE:
It’s pretty easy to feel frightened about the future of technology, and we want to help you walk a path between naive techno-optimism, and fearful techno-pessimism. We want to equip you with a real awareness of the problems created and entrenched by new technologies, but also a good sense of the kind of radical, transformative, justice-oriented work that’s going on all around us by kind and brilliant people. 

KERRY MACKERETH:
So what are we gonna talk about? We’ll cover everything from how feminism can inform app design and data practices; how different religious belief systems like Buddhism and Christian liberation theology can inform AI ethics; how youth activists are combatting algorithmic injustice; through to how technology has always been entwined with our understanding of what it means to be human.  

ELEANOR DRAGE:
As you can probably guess from our topics, we take a really expansive view of feminism. Centrally, we see feminism as a common sense response to the fact that people continue to be killed, violated, discriminated against, and otherwise mistreated due to social power imbalances. Feminism always asks questions about power, and that’s what we’re here to do for you on The Good Robot podcast. 

KERRY MACKERETH:
We can’t wait to share our chats about feminism, power, gender and technology with you! In the meantime, please like and follow The Good Robot on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. And tell your friends, family, and all your loved ones about us! 

ELEANOR DRAGE:
See you very soon in episode 1!