Digital Citizen

About Digital Citizen

Live your best digital life with Fastmail. Subscribe to Digital Citizen and listen to Fastmail CTO Ricardo Signes talk to great thinkers about the digital world. Learn how to be a more responsible digital citizen and make the Internet a better place.

Publisher

Fastmail

Category

society & culture · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Apr 2021

Latest episode

25 Jun 2024

Latest episodes

24 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Jun 2024

   Exploring AI with Emily M. Bender

   Join us on a journey to learn more about the intersection of linguistics and AI with special guest Emily M. Bender. Come with us as we learn how linguistics functions in modern language models like ChatGPT. Episode Notes Discover the origins of language models, the negative implications of sourcing data to train these technologies, and the value of authenticity. ▶️ Guest Interview - Emily M. Bender Learn more about Emily M. Bender Read On the Danger of Stochastic Parrots(2021) by Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Margaret Mitchell. Check out the publications by cognitive scientist Abeba Birhane. See work from AI research scientist Meg Mitchell. 🗣️ Discussion Points Emily M. Bender is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington. Her work focuses on grammar, engineering, and the societal impacts of language technology. She's spoken and written about what it means to make informed decisions about AI and large language models such as ChatGPT. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a marketing term developed in the 1950s by John McCarthy. It refers to an area of computer science. AI is a technology built using natural language processing and linguistics, the science of how language works. Understanding how language works is necessary to comprehend large language models' potential misuse and limitations. Language model is the term for a type of technology designed to model the distribution of word forms in text. While early language models simply determined the relative frequency of words in a text, today’s language models are bigger in terms of the data they store and the language they are trained on. As a society, we must continue reminding ourselves that synthetic text is not a credible information source. Before sharing information, it’s smart to verify that something was written by a human rather than a machine. Valuing authenticity and citations are some of the most important things we can do. Distributional biases are generated in the data output used for large language models. The less care we put into curating training data, the more various patterns and systems of oppression will be reproduced, regardless of whether they are presented as fact or fiction in the end result. Being a good digital citizen means avoiding using products built on data theft and labor exploitation. On an individual level, we should insist on transparency regarding synthetic media. Part of the problem is that there is currently no watermarking at the source. There is a major need for regulation and accountability around synthetic text nationally. We can also continue to increase the value of authenticity. 🔵 Find Us Digital Citizen Website: fastmail.com/digitalcitizen. Check out our blog. Tweet us @Fastmail. Follow us on Mastodon: @fastmail@mastodon.social. 💙 Review Us If you love this show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Take our survey to tell us what you think at digitalcitizenshow.com/survey.

2. 

   11 Jun 2024

   From Players to Creators: Diving into the Video Game Industry

   With Frank Lee, Shawn Pierre, and Jessica Creane, we discuss the future of the video game landscape and the transition from game player to game maker. We explore what draws people into the gaming space, what video games mean to the people who play and create them, and what gaming organizations are doing to push the narrative. Episode Notes Discover the real-world applications of gaming, how to get into the game making community, video game conferences that you need to know, events that test game makers’ skills, and suggestions from coaches in the video game world. ▶️ Guest Interview Learn more about Frank Lee and his work (https://drexel.edu/news/experts/lee-frank) at Drexel. Read about Shawn Pierre’s work (https://gamecenter.nyu.edu/faculty/shawn-pierre/) at New York University. Take a look at Jessica Creane’s work at iKantKoan Games (https://ikantkoan.com/). Check out the Independent Games Festival (https://igf.com/) (IGF). Explore Games for Change (https://www.gamesforchange.org/) and Everything Immersive (http://everythingimmersive.com/). Learn more about TechGirlz and Philly Game Mechanics. 🗣️ Discussion Points Special guests Frank Lee, Shawn Pierre, and Jessica Creane are three video game makers and educators from the Philadelphia area. Generally, a video game is a game played on a computer device. Many people play video games to connect with others. Video games provide an outlet for creativity, power, and control in a very curated way that we often don’t get in daily life. The barriers to creating games have significantly decreased in the last five years. Sometimes, creators have an easier time getting their work out there and placing it into a storefront for free. However, this also means that there is more competition in the field than ever before. If you want to make games, try to mod games that already exist rather than creating something new from scratch. This will allow you to experiment without having to build tools yourself. If you enjoy that, then you may start creating entire levels. If you’re not comfortable with this creative software yet, start with board games and think about how systems are used to engage people. Shawn says by educating people on video games, you teach them to think critically and solve problems for themselves in a coaching role. In discussing coaching work, Jessica talks about how she supports people with the execution of becoming game makers. She helps them find buoyancy in transformation and reminds them that even in fictional games, everything is real– the team and the people who will play the game are real. Frank also suggests being proactive in the types of games that kids play and what can be a positive and negative experience for them. 🔵 Find Us Digital Citizen Website: fastmail.com/digitalcitizen. Check out our blog. Tweet us: @Fastmail. Follow us on Mastodon: @fastmail@mastodon.social. 💙 Review Us If you love this show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Take our survey to tell us what you think at digitalcitizenshow.com/survey.

3. 

   28 May 2024

   You Can Thrive Here: Local Leaders on Philly’s Move Into Ethical Tech

   We explore Philadelphia's thriving tech scene and share expert advice on how to succeed in the city. From attracting and retaining tech talent to building a sense of community, we're joined by two special guests who are passionate about helping individuals and companies thrive. Episode Notes In this special LIVE recording of Fastmail’s Philly Tech Week event “You Can Thrive Here: Local Leaders on Philly’s Move Into Ethical Tech”, listen to the Co-Host and Senior Producer of Digital Citizen Haley Hnatuk in conversation with Senzwa Ntshepe and Tempest Carter, two people on the cutting edge of building Philadelphia technology scene. ▶️ Guest Interview - Tempest Carter and Senzwa Ntshepe Learn more about Tempest Carter and Senzwa Ntshepe. Look into the Commerce and the City of Philadelphia. Check out The Connect on their website, Linkedin, and Instagram. Explore other Philadelphia organizations 1Philadelphia, Hopeworks, Launchpad, Per Scholas, and Tribaja (https://www.tribaja.co/). 🗣️ Discussion Points Tempest Carter's work is centered around building an ecosystem in Philadelphia that allows tech companies to thrive. She is also responsible for creating a series of events called Tech Talks, which aim to bring people together and foster connections. As President of The Connect, Senzwa Ntshepe is dedicated to solving the problem of black and brown professionals leaving Philadelphia by fostering a sense of community and validation among its members. With a community of over 20,000 professionals nationwide, they focus on community needs and how people can thrive in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a great place for tech, with over 100,000 tech positions and over 9,000 tech companies in the region. Additionally, the city is home to universities, robotics, and other innovative fields that offer unique career paths. Philadelphia has something for everyone whether you're looking for a lively atmosphere or a more laid-back space. If you are breaking or transitioning into tech, do a personal audit and determine what you love to do. Be aware of what skills you need to work on, and don’t be afraid to upscale and seek education. Rather than chasing a job, focus on finding a mission that aligns with your values. Balance is so important. Your mind works better when it’s not plugged in all the time. 🔵 Find Us Digital Citizen Website: fastmail.com/digitalcitizen. Check out our blog. Tweet us @Fastmail. Follow us on Mastodon: @fastmail@mastodon.social. 💙 Review Us If you love this show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Take our survey to tell us what you think at digitalcitizenshow.com/survey.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

17 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.