DigiSoc: Towards a Positive Digital Society

In this episode, Anastasia Siapka discusses her research on AI and the future of work through the lens of neo-Aristotelian ethics. She challenges the prevalent negative outlook on AI's impact on employment by proposing a vision of “human flourishing” facilitated by AI, and advocating for a reconfiguration of work and leisure that prioritises well-being. Anastasia also explores the role of law...

In this episode, Yennef Vereycken talks about his research on employee participation in technological innovation processes. Yennef explains how his work investigates the quality of working life, the power dynamics between employers and employees, and the impact of new technologies, like automation and data collection, on workplace relations. He highlights the importance of involving employees in d...

In Sub-Saharan Africa there is a lack of access to healthcare technologies, which is aggravated by a digital divide. As mobile phones are widely available however, this offers an opportunity to integrate them into the healthcare system. In this episode, Genet Tadese Aboye talks about how she is designing and developing a mobile digital health platform for self-management of diabetes for people liv...

The line between videogames and gambling is blurring in the past decade, especially with the advent of monetisation of videogames. Children are particularly vulnerable, as they are progressively exposed to gambling in their games, potentially leading to problematic behaviour. In this episode, Maarten Denoo brings some nuance in this debate, without resulting to moral panic. He discusses how this t...

AI is developing rapidly, but teachers not always use the opportunities inside and outside the classroom in an optimal way. In this episode, Kristina Krushinskaia explains what the impact of artificial intelligence is on the transformation of the teacher’s role, and how they can benefit from it. The most obvious benefit is how it can support the development of personalised learning or providing th...

Brain computer interfaces (BCI) aim to reconstruct what human beings perceive or imagine from their brain activities. In this episode, DigiSoc researcher Jingyuan Sun explains how brain activities can be decoded to reconstruct linguistic and visual perception, as well as how language and visual inputs are represented in human brain. He further talks about his experiments with neuro-imaging data re...

In this episode, Sofie Vranken and Robyn Vanherle talk about their research on the impact of social media on young people's health risk behaviours, focusing on alcohol use, smoking, and vaping. Robyn discusses how social media content influences adolescents' alcohol consumption, while Sofie investigates the effects of new media platforms and influencers on their alcohol use, smoking and va...

Wearable technology, such as smart bracelets or watches, is already all around us in sports and for recreative purposes, but can also be of added value in healthcare. In this episode, Bert Bonroy explains how wearable technology and virtual reality applications can be used in healthcare settings, for example for monitoring or managing stress. In particular, he discusses how it can help nursing sta...

Policy makers try to integrate digital health technologies such as electronic health records, mobile health apps, or digital pills into their existing healthcare infrastructure through standards, policies, regulations or government frameworks. In doing so, they negotiate different ways of looking at health, lifestyles or medical devices. Elisa Lievevrouw discusses the challenges of doing research...

Top athletes in various sports endure a lot of mental and physical stress during both training and competitions. Wearable technologies allows them and their coaches to better monitor these stress levels and adapt their training schedule accordingly. Jasper Gielen explains how he researches how wearable technology can be of added value in golf, snowboarding and kayaking, in collaboration with sever...

As in all aspects of life, technology is ever more present in our classrooms. Despite the promising benefits of digital technologies that adapt to students’ needs, teachers are not always well equipped to put this into practice in their own classroom. Rani Van Schoors talks about her efforts to involve teachers in the design, development and implementation of digital personalized learning systems....

Our conceptions of nature, such as forests, mountains and rivers, are partly based on our own culture and individual or family history. However, social media help people connect with nature in new ways. Sean Smith talks about his ethnographic research on how people in Oman are connecting to nature through digital technologies. He explains how in the anthropocene, environmental concerns are pressin...

Accuracy is a principle in data protection, described in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and individuals have the right to rectify inaccurate data about themselves. Elisabetta Biasin explains what data accuracy means and what are its practical application and associated harms in society. We also talk about the accurateness of data generated by ChatGPT, the trade-offs between accurac...

Adolescents encounter political information on both social media and TV series, which shapes their political beliefs and political self at a moment where they are undergoing a lot of socio-cognitive changes. Anaëlle Gonzalez explains how the political content shared by influencers, athletes and celebrities on social media is interwoven with entertainment messages and use different ‘frames’ than tr...

As a decentralised technology, the blockchain has potential for bringing transparency and simplifying process for public administrations, but what value it can bring is still largely unknown. Stanislav Mahula explains how he analyses existing blockchain projects, cases and initiatives with local governments to uncover how the blockchain shapes public governance, and vice-versa how the public secto...

Mobile dating applications like Tinder and Bumble transform how people are meeting, interacting and forming relationships online. Femke Konings talks about the opportunities and challenges these apps pose for young adults’ well-being. We also discuss the impact of ‘ghosting’, and how swiping through pictures makes young adults sometimes forget they are interacting with real people. This episode wa...

In an ‘always-on, always connected’ society, how can digital disconnection increase employees’ well-being and productivity? Alice Verlinden talks about how you can reclaim control by self-managing our relationship with digital technologies, and how you can help your co-workers to digitally disconnect. But we also discuss the role of organizations, big tech companies and regulations in digital disc...

Ilse Vranken talks about the portrayal of professions in televised series and on social media, and how adolescents use it as a source of information on the brink of making their career choices, shaping their vocational identity, and influencing their well-being in the long-term. We discuss the role of 'woman boss content', gender stereotypes, and specific work values such as working hard t...

Jeroen Ooge talks about the use of visualisations in explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), helping lay people to understand how AI models work. He discusses how visual explanations can help students getting insight in why AI recommends specific exercises adapted to their level of mastery, and how both transparency and control are needed to increase trust in AI-based systems. This episode was...

Priscilla Van Even talks about her research on creating a framework for evaluating the quality of science communication, and its role in helping science communicators to deal with misinformation and polarization. Her research is part of the EU project ParCos. More information can be found here: The ParCos  Trainer Cards tool  to design, iterate and evaluate science outreach The  protocol  and the...