The Gem of all Mechanisms

In the first mini-episode of 2023, CEO of OpenUK Amanda Brock tells Brian Runciman MBCS about open source software, hardware and data - and how February 2023's conference will help the open source cause. Its associated 'unconference' will also provide much needed face to face opportunities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new campaign from BCS looks at the IT industry’s effect on net zero, and what it can do to ameliorate the effects of climate change. This launch debate covers the increasing use of AI, the digital divide, what top 3 things computer science graduates need to know, the role of data centres, our view of data… and how we should define progress. Brian Runciman MBCS speaks to BCS CEO Rashik Parmar, Go...

The internet's libertarian roots are important, but it's added a European bourgeoise aspect, developed an American commercial approach and now has the Chinese paternalist version. Kieron O'Hara, author and Emeritus Fellow at Southampton University discusses where the internet goes next, the choices India and Africa face, the influence of political ideologies and the potential for the UK to fill a...

OpenUK's Amanda Brock and Smooth Media's Jennifer Barth talk to Brian Runciman about their open source software research for 2022. Open source use is maturing - over 90% of respondents take a collaborative approach, billions are now invested in open source software with millions of downloads per year. What does this mean for the UK government's approach? What are the geopolitical implications? And...

The BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium is an annual one day conference for women and non-binary students of computing and related subjects. Johanna Hamilton MBCS speaks to organiser Hannah Dee and also some of the students, poster prize winners and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamillah Knowles talks to Brian Runciman about incongruous AI images - from the Terminators that do no favours to AI stories, to the embodied AIs when we are actually talking about software. She talks about using depictions that work for multiple audiences, colour usage, visualising networks and AI functions - and how we can do a better job of really communicating what AI is and does. Hosted on Ac...

Open source software economic evaluation needs far more than a total cost of ownership calculation. A new survey looks at its value in broader terms, alongside compliance, legal issues and other aspects of the journey to maturity. Amanda Brock from OpenUK and Jennifer Barth at Smooth Media discuss the commitment of the community and the aims of the forthcoming report. You can get involved too - th...

Matthew Bellringer, Chair of the newly formed NeurodiverseIT Specialist Group speaks to Brian Runciman about the unique talents of the neurodiverse. The group's design philosophy of 'nothing about us without us', and the importance of deciding explicit use cases for products. He also stresses the value of co-design and co-development whilst acknowledging that, whilst there can be no best practise,...

New BCS President Mayank Prakash talks about reimagining business and whether if all companies are tech companies we should view all workers as technologists. He also discusses that fact that every manager has a responsibility to understand and apply technology, his view of learning from many sources, his ongoing geekiness and the vital role of diversity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Weather prediction contributes to important issues - for example, feeding emission scenarios into the COP agenda to assess climate change impacts. For people in general, it has made today's five day forecast as good as the one day forecast from 40 years ago. This modelling has traditionally been driven by brute force computing, based on Moore's law, but where is it going next? Professor Penny Ende...

Jacqueline de Rojas CBE discusses her journey from a take-away in Folkestone to President of Tech UK. Along the way she discusses the problems with the BAME bucket, tech-enabled abuse, the importance of neurodiversity, her roots in Swindon and tech as a people business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

60% ROI, reductions in churn, creativity boosts for the workforce... AI expert Sarah Burnett talks about the autonomous enterprise, how to start the journey to get there and why job losses won't be a problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharon Moore MBE is Chief Technology Officer Public Sector at IBM. As co-author of the BCS Women in Tech book she talks about the frustration of saying the same things over and over again, and whether it is worth being 'one of the guys'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clem Herman is Professor of Gender and Technology at the Open University. As co-author of the BCS book on Women in Tech, she looks at translating research into action, the impact of career breaks and the unsuitability of the ladder climbing analogy in women's careers, and what we can learn from other cultures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chair of BCS Women Andrea Palmer (And No. 4 in Computer Weekly's Top 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2021) talks about the importance of different ways of thinking, how to attract more women into tech and creating the right culture. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah Dee is a Computer Science Lecturer and started the BCS Women Lovelace Colloquium. She talks about her part in the new BCS book on women in tech, cross-disciplinary use of robot submarines and the experience of young women in schools and at university to better understand the (problematic term alert!) pipeline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shilpa Shah is a contributor to the new BCS book ‘Women in Tech - a practical guide’ and leads the Deloitte women in technology group. She talks about her inspiration from old tech, the importance of practical tips and guidance and her 3 c’s - care about the subject, call it out when diversity is lacking, and commit…  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gillian Arnold talks about editing the new BCS book ‘Women in tech - a practical guide’. Bigger companies can get it right, but culture issues are key - as her stripper experience exemplifies. As she says, equality is not only a moral imperative - it’s good for business.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dame Wendy Hall talks about her role as UK AI skills champion, the February 2021 road map for AI update and subsequent UK national strategy and how the UK is already a superpower in science and can be the same for AI and data ethics. She also discusses diversity, how she would like to see people from under-represented groups paid to do degree courses, and her new book - Four Internets - with India...

Dr Sue Black talks about the success of TechUPWomen, retraining women from under-served backgrounds, how Durham University doubled its number of female computing undergraduates and how diversity has gone from a tick-box exercise to good business sense. She also discuses her personal journey of overcoming fear of conferences and public speaking, her social mobility experience and impostor syndrome,...

How could your home look after you if you suffer from dementia or have had a stroke? How sophisticated should home sensors be to balance health requirements and privacy? The UK’s only black (Afro-Caribbean) female professor of computer science, Dorothy Monekosso, a BCS Honorary Fellow from Leeds Beckett University, discusses her work on smart homes, diversity in the tech sector and her lifelong pa...

Amanda Brock is CEO of OpenUK - she talks to Brian Runciman about open source and whether business understands its value, whether the public need to know more, the three reasons Microsoft are so big in OS now, popstar Imogen Heap and her mini-moo glove and the importance of free speech in code. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grady Booch - Turing Award medal winner, IBM Alumni and creator of UML - speaks to Brian Runciman about embodied cognition, inclusive language in IBM’s code base, the computing version of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, GPT 3 passing the Trump test but not the Turing test and more. Along the way we are not libellous about Elon Musk, but name check MC Hammer! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

We speak to investigative journalist Geoff White on how the web from reflecting a hippy utopian ideal of communal living to the dark web - and we touch on the role of the US government, the Grateful Dead and how a barium-style trace could help our personal data use. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Suzanne Doyle-Morris, CEO of Inclusiq and author of The Con Job, talks to Brian Runciman MBCS about competence versus confidence; imposter syndrome as a super power, the role of humility and what useful confidence looks like.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.