The Internet is Crack

Dr. Alan Winfield explores how robots evolve through error, imitation, and iteration, revealing surprising parallels with human learning, culture, and creativity, while questioning what “learning” really means for machines.                

We speak with Dr. Julie Carpenter about how technology encourages emotional bonds with robots and AI, exploring whether these relationships feel genuine, manipulative, or are just something new.

Those who own your data own you! In this episode, Aral Balkan exposes how billionaire corporations have seized control of the internet, turning us into products, and why reclaiming our digital rights is the fight of our lifetime.

This week, we had the honor of speaking with Alice E. Marwick, Director of Research at Data & Society, a nonprofit research institute that examines the social, political, and legal implications of data-driven technologies. We explored how online communication is warped by profit-driven systems, why bad actors thrive in digital spaces, and what makes civil discourse so elusive in the age of alg...

Dr. Kasra Ghaharian joins us to discuss the rise of digital betting.

We talk with Dr. Randolph R. Lewis about his new book “Bummerland: Ruin and Restoration in Trump’s New America.” We explore how technology, politics, and culture are reshaping society and not always for the better.

We talk with Dr. Ben Green about what AI data centers really cost, from nonstop noise and pollution to the massive drain on water and energy. The bigger question is this the future we want, or are we pouring resources into something fundamentally unsustainable?

We sit down with Dr. Michael Nuccitelli, founder of iPredator, to examine how cyberstalking, trolling, and online harassment are escalating today. He breaks down the psychology behind the internet’s darkest behaviors and why they’re getting worse.

Dr. Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi joins us to tackle the big question…will AI take over society, or can we learn to work together? He argues that AI isn’t something we can stop. The real challenge is building a symbiotic relationship where humans and machines evolve together.    

Dr. Cansu Canca dives into the complicated world of AI ethics, including how hidden bias quietly shapes AI systems. It’s a clear, human, and surprisingly approachable overview of how we can attempt to fix ethical problems in AI models.

In this episode, we explore the future of humanity through the lens of AI and robotics with Dr. Michael Litman of Brown University. We tackle what these technologies mean for work, power, and human identity. It’s a conversation about where we’re headed and whether we’re truly ready for the world we’re building.                                

We talk with Stephen M. Fiore about his research on human-AI collaboration and how it extends from Earth-based decision systems to space missions. His work examines how people and intelligent systems coordinate, adapt, and solve problems together in complex, high-stakes environments.

Jocelyn Burnham is passionate about AI and shares that passion with her students. She invites audiences to experience AI firsthand, question assumptions, and form their own independent views.

Gambling is being radically transformed by the internet and AI, and Dr. Kasra Ghaharian joins us to break down what that shift really means. From there, we zoom out to explore how AI is reshaping the world at large and where it’s all headed next.

We talk with Daniel S. Schiff of Purdue University about how AI is reshaping culture, work, art, and everyday life, exploring what we gain, what we risk losing, and how humanity can adapt.

Together with Dr. Joanna Bryson, we explore what AI really is and discuss how humans can regulate this new technology in a way that benefits all.

This week on "The Internet is Crack," we talk with renowned actor/director Andy Lauer about raising kids in a screen-saturated world and the collapse of job security for actors in the age of internet streaming.

This week, we speak with Dr. Ryan Jenkins about the ethics of using AI in warfare and autonomous vehicles. How do we build these systems without losing what makes us human?

Dr. Williams is a roboticist trying to build robots that act with ethics, empathy, and imagination. He asks how robots can serve everyone, not just tech billionaires.

Cory Doctorow explains how tech giants seize control of the web and lock the rest of us out. He tells us what it will take to break their grip and reclaim the internet for everyone.

Bitcoin: brilliant innovation or pure speculative smoke? NYU’s David Yermack breaks down the blockchain hype, the real economics, and whether the bubble is finally ready to burst.      

We talk with Dr. Motahhare Eslami about the invisible algorithms that shape our online lives and how to manage their influence. This episode breaks down how these systems drive addiction, control, and what we experience.

Dr. David Gunkel joins us to explore whether AI can truly create on its own and what that answer means for human originality. We discuss how the law is already shifting to recognize machines and why failing to keep up with this technology could have serious consequences.

Adam Rodnitzky shares his journey of building businesses in Silicon Valley, from securing funding to scaling his startup's success. We get the inside scoop from the capital of the internet.

David Rodnitzky offers an insider's look at Silicon Valley's culture, power dynamics, and what shapes success in the tech world.