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How tech is changing how we watch the Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics is using drones, AI and cloud-based broadcasting to track curling stones, freeze mid-air jumps, even talk to an official Winter Olympics chatbot. It’s turning sports spectatorship into something more high tech than ever before. Is it likely to be used in other sports?Plus, a battle is being waged in court between a 20-year-old and Meta/YouTube. The argument is over whether Meta and YouTube's social media sites are engineered to be intentionally addictive. What precedent will this set if the case is successful?GUESTS: Chris Berg, professor of economics at RMIT.  David Braue, technology journalist at Information Age.  If you want to get in touch, you can contact us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auThis episode was produced on Dharug and Burramattagal land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are there more bots than people on the internet?

Having an AI agent act as your personal executive assistant may seem like a sweet deal, but security experts have a few concerns.Also on the program, Moltbook is a new social media platform specfically designed for AI agents to chat. So far, they’ve started a religion, made their own scripture and called for humanity’s downfall. What happens when we anthropomorphise binary code? And, the dead internet theory used to be a fringe conspiracy theory. But AI is getting us closer and closer to it being a reality. So, how much of the internet is still occupied by humans?GUESTS: Kai Riemer, professor of information technology at University of Sydney, and and director of Sydney Executive Plus. Tegan Jones, deputy editor at SmartCompany and co-host of Weird Tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is Upscrolled, Australia’s newest viral social media platform?

TikTok has finally struck a deal to avoid being banned in the United States. Their privacy policy also got a controversial update. So, who owns US TikTok now? And what difference will it make to users?Also on the program, there’s a new social media site going viral – Upscrolled. What is this Australian-owned site, exactly? And finally, OpenAI is trialling ads on ChatGPT. The company’s CEO Sam Altman once said including ads would be a last resort. So does this mean the company is financially unstable? And what kind of data would they share with advertisers?Gianfranco references this The Information article about OpenAI burning through $115 billion through 2029.GUESTS: Meg Coffey, digital strategist and founder of State of Social.   Gianfranco Di Giovanni, ABC Radio Perth content director and an arts, gaming and tech reporter. This episode was produced on Gadigal land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotify was copied by a piracy archive. Why does that matter?

Plus! Social media site Digg is back. For those who remember, it may feel like returning to what was good about the internet. Is this the sign of a new era for social media? And how long can it hold out being monetised?Also, why gaming in a group, even publicly... outside, is becoming more popular.GUESTS: Phoebe Toups Dougas, associate professor of human-centred computing in the Exertion Games Lab at Monash University. Fergus Halliday, journalist at Whistleout and reviews.org Australia. This episode of Download This Show was produced on Gadigal land. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opt Out 05 | Can you ever really opt out of online life?

After weeks of trying to audit, delete, and lock down her digital life, Rae hits the big, uncomfortable question: what if you can’t opt out of the internet, even if you really want to?In the final episode of Opt Out, Rae speaks with Jathan Sadowski, senior lecturer at Monash University and proud Luddite, about how surveillance creeps into everyday life — from smart cars to smart locks — and why 'just logging off' is a privilege most people don’t actually have. Then she sits down with Carly Kind, Australia’s Privacy Commissioner, to ask what protections exist here, where the gaps are, and what power individuals really have to push back.Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too.Technical production by Riley Mellis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices