Bot or Not?

Bot or Not?

Author: Little Atoms / Jonathan Tanner July 23, 2020 Duration: 42:03
This week Jonathan talks to Professor Samuel Woolley, author of The Reality Game, about the use of bots to plant and spread disinformation on social media platforms. The conversation covers how many bots there are online, how to spot them, the use of geolocation data and the current strategies of modern political communicators.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Ever wondered what happens when the slow, deliberate machinery of government collides with the relentless pace of technological change? That’s the central tension explored in Government vs The Robots, a fortnightly podcast from Little Atoms hosted by Jonathan Tanner. This isn't just speculative fiction; it's a grounded, often surprising look at the very real ways emerging tech is set to reshape power, policy, and public life. Think of it as a necessary briefing for the future, where the corridors of Westminster meet the algorithms of tomorrow. Each episode, Jonathan is joined by a rotating panel of thinkers and practitioners-experts he genuinely enjoys engaging with-to unpack topics from AI legislation and surveillance to digital democracy and the ethics of automation. The conversations are accessible but never superficial, designed for anyone curious about where politics must go as technology races ahead. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that cuts through the hype, asking not just what technology can do, but what it should do within the frameworks that govern us all. This podcast is hosted on Acast.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 52

Government vs The Robots
Podcast Episodes
The news on The News [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:20
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism joins Jonathan this week to chat through some of the challenges facing media creators and consumers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv…
Talking Telengana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:59
Tackling misinformation in India is the subject of enquiry this week as Jonathan is joined by Rema Rajeshwari, District Police Chief in Telengana State. Rema has used a series of innovative approaches to prevent crimes s…
Artificial Journalists [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:23
This week we take a look at disinformation in the Middle East with Marc Owen Jones. Marc talks us through how he found fake journalists writing for US news sites, explains some of the disinformation he's seen put to use…
Haters gonna...coin it? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:53
Jonathan is joined this week by Imran Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate. Imran sets out the relationship between disinformation and hate speech, picks apart why the financial architecture o…
Polls apart [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:44
How do we get better at agreeing to disagree? Jonathan talks to Alison Goldsworthy, Founder and CEO at The Depolarisation Project hosted at Stanford University to talk about what's driving polarisation in society and wha…
True or False [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:37
What can a former CIA analyst teach us about misinformation? Find out in this week's episode with Cindy Otis who spent ten years working for the US Government's Central Intelligence Agency. Jonathan and Cindy discuss her…
First Draft [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:19
This week we talk to Dr Claire Wardle who is the co-founder of First Draft, an NGO committed to tackling misinformation. The conversation covers the difference between misinformation and disinformation, the weaponisation…
This is not propaganda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:50
In the first episode of a new series exploring misinformation, disinformation and communication, Jonathan talks to Author Peter Pomerantsev. Having lived in Post-Soviet Russia where he made TV, Peter has a unique insight…
Newsflash: Series 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39
A quick update on what to expect from Series 3 of Government Vs The Robots in which Jonathan and guests explore at misinformation, disinformation and our online discourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…
Making sense of it all [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:59
It's a retrospective, forward-looking bonanza this week as Jonathan faces a guest interviewer and takes stock of the previous two series. As well as asking listeners to get in touch with ideas about where we go next, we…