Tech Mirror: Recent Episodes
Tech Policy Design Centre
How do we ensure technology makes our lives better? Tech Mirror explores how technology impacts our lives: the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.
Technology reflects the society in which it is designed, manufactured, used, and disposed.
Technology is made by humans.
When we refocus on these foundational truths, it opens the possibility that technology can be made differently.
Questions about how we might shape technology differently are not just “technical” questions. The answers to these questions go to the very core of the fabric of our societies.
Through interviews with the movers and shapers, and analysis by experts and opinionated guests, this podcast will encourage and empower you to think differently about technology and how it is shaping our world.
In this episode, Johanna interviews Professor Ciaran Martin, former CEO of the UK’s Cyber Security Centre, and Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations at Oxford University.
The pair discuss cyber operations in Ukraine, the role of the private sector in cyber defense, the ethical and legal questions raised in Johanna’s interview with Cyber Partisans spokesperson Yuliana Shemetovets in Episode 9, and much more.
Tech Mirror is recorded on Ngunnawal land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respect to elders past, present, and emerging.
Professor Johanna Weaver is Director of the Tech Policy Design Centre at the Australian National University.
Relevant links:
The Hacker and the State, by Ben Buchanan: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/51589806-the-hacker-and-the-state
Confidant Cyber Security, by Jessica Barker: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55286316-confident-cyber-security
Ciaran Martin on Twitter: @ciaranmartinoxf
Blavatnik School of Government on Twitter: @BlavatnikSchool
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
In this episode, Professor Johanna Weaver interviews Professor Michelle Simmons AO, world-leading quantum pioneer and Director of Sydney-based manufacturer Silicon Quantum Computing.
The pair discuss SQC’s breakthrough delivery of the world’s first atomic-scale integrated circuit, the opportunities for Australia in the global race for quantum progress, how Australia can maintain and build on its advantages, and much more.
Tech Mirror is recorded on Ngunnawal land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respect to elders past, present, and emerging.
Relevant links:
Australian Academy of Science on Quantum Computing: https://www.science.org.au/curious/technology-future/quantum-computing
Quantum Computing for the Determined:
https://michaelnielsen.org/blog/quantum-computing-for-the-determined/
Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Michael A. Nielsen, Isaac L. Chuang: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153910.Quantum_Computation_and_Quantum_Information
Michelle’s Piece in the Australian Financial Review: https://www.afr.com/technology/australia-s-cultural-levelling-mechanism-is-holding-back-our-science-20220701-p5ayhw
SQC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/silicon-quantum-computing-pty-ltd/
SQC on Twitter: @silicon_quantum
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
The Tech Policy Design Centre is proud to introduce our new title Tech Mirror: Reflecting on technology and society with Johanna Weaver. To launch our new title, the TPDC team is putting Johanna in the hot seat for the first time. Prodded by Centre researcher Ben Gowdie, Johanna talks about her time at the UN, Australia’s role in global tech policy, and what a healthy tech eco-system looks like.
Tech Mirror is recorded on Ngunnawal land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respect to elders past, present, and emerging.
Relevant links:
Code: Version 2.0 by Lawrence Lessig: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44874.Code
Hacked World Order: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25273682-the-hacked-world-order
The Illuminae Files #1: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23395680-illuminae
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Thanks to Ben Gowdie for his research and post-production (and audio!) support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
This week, we bring you Johanna’s discussion with Anirudh Suri, Managing Partner at India Internet Fund and author of the new book, The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations.
The pair canvas what it’s actually like being a venture capitalist, Anirudh’s motivation for writing the book, and how the rules of the “great tech game” differ from the rules of the “great game” that dominated colonial era geostrategic competition. Anirudh challenges us to think beyond bipolar (West/China) perspectives and to take a broader view of the forces shaping the technology that is shaping our world.
Relevant links:
The Great Tech Game: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60233107-the-great-tech-game
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Noah Yuval Harari: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38820046-21-lessons-for-the-21st-century
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Thanks to Ben Gowdie for his research and post-production support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Follow Anirudh: @AnirudhSuri
Tech Policy Design Centre Director and host of the pod, Johanna Weaver, was invited to deliver a keynote address at NATO’s annual International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) in Tallinn earlier this month.
In her address, Johanna reflected on her role in the UN negotiations related to the application of International Humanitarian Law in cyberspace, and what this means in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Johanna shared hard truths about the rules-based international order, and dives into what should be done to make a more persuasive case for the order especially in the context of NATO cyber operations. Her message is simple: the rules-based international order is ours to lose; and if we lose it, we won’t get it back.
Relevant links:
Video of Johanna’s keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8eFiJaNzRU
GGE Report: https://www.un.org/disarmament/group-of-governmental-experts/
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Thanks to Ben Gowdie for his research and post-production support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Follow NATO CCDCOE: @ccdcoe
Spokesperson for Belarusian digital resistance group Cyber Partisans, Yuliana Shemetovets, joins Johanna on the sidelines of CyCon. The pair dive into the efforts of Cyber Partisans to disrupt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as Cyber Partisans' broader mission to return democracy to Belarus. They discuss how Yuliana found herself in the position she is, what cyber operations can achieve, and Yuliana's hopes for Belarus’ future.
Discussed Leaks:
[Caution: content of these clips is graphic and may be distressing]
Belarus 2020 elections - Policeman is beating a woman for honking, political persecution: https://youtu.be/a1-g82WzrhE
Belarus "gulag" - Policemen are discussing putting chlorine 3 times a day to prison cells for political prisoners: https://youtu.be/ywnnLKrJ844
Belarus wiretapping - evidence of rape, abuse: https://youtu.be/OpBaZSX_8a8
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Thanks to Ben Gowdie for his research and post-production support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Follow Yuliana: @yuliana_shem
Follow Belarusian Cyber Partisans @cpartisans
On this episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna does a speed chat with Angela Zhang, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Chinese Law at the University of Hong Kong. She is also author of the excellent book Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How The Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation. The pair canvass misperceptions between China and the West, whether we can distinguish between tech wars and trade wars anymore, the application of game theory to the Sino-US rivalry, as well as China’s Anti-Monopoly Law and much more.
Relevant Links:
Agility Over Stability: China’s Great Reversal in Regulating the Platform Economy - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3892642
Chinese Anti-Trust Exceptionalism: How the Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56375131-chinese-antitrust-exceptionalism
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Thanks to Ben Gowdie for his research and post-production support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Follow Angela and her work: @AngelaZhangHK @CCLHKU
In this episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna sits down with Professor Lachlan Blackhall, Entrepreneurial Fellow and Head of the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at The Australian National University. The pair delve into the vital work Lachlan and his team are undertaking, interrogate what innovation really is, and reflect on the value of ideas – drawing from Lachlan’s exquisite blog “Death of a Startup.”
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Thanks to Ben Gowdie for his research and post-production support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydeisgncentre@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Follow the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at: @AnuGrid
Australia was the first country in the world to establish the position of eSafety Commissioner. In this episode of Tech Mirror Julie and Johanna discuss how the position has evolved since it was first established in 2015, and delve into the Commissioner's recently expanded mandate (now covering online adult cyber abuse, as well as child cyberbullying, imaged-based abuse and illegal content). The pair also discuss the checks and balances on the Commissioner's powers and the practicalities of the complaints process (including how the investigative and information-gathering powers are wielded).
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Ben Gowdie provided invaluable research support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydeisgncentre@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Relevant Links:
@eSafetyOffice
@tweetinjules
Pivot Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/pivot/id1073226719
Platformer – Casey Newton
https://www.platformer.news/
The Culture Code by Danial Coyle
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33517721-the-culture-code
In a special episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna is joined by Michele G Markoff, Deputy Coordinator for Cyber Issues at the US Department of State, and Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, Director of the Digital Society Institute at the European School of Management and Technology, Berlin.
The episode is prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which ANU and the Tech Policy Design Centre strongly condemn. The trio discuss the intersection of cyber issues and international law, and touch on the history of cyber negotiations and how the attitudes and threat perceptions of states have changed over time.
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Ben Gowdie provided invaluable research support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydeisgncentre@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Relevant Links:
@MarkoffMichele
@StateDept
@HeliKlaar
@esmtberlin
Donate to the International Committee of the Red Cross - Ukraine
https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/ukraine
Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare by Thomas Rid
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45892235-active-measures
The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia’s Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24945323-the-red-web
In the fourth episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna is joined by Justin Warren, Chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia.
The pair discuss live issues in tech policy design, from bizarre Internet advertising to privacy and surveillance, to protecting liberal democracy. Justin walks through why we didn’t have to build our Internet and tech systems the way we did, and how we can design something better.
This episode was produced by Jack Fox. Ben Gowdie provided invaluable research support.
Send us your questions: techpolicydeisgncentre@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Relevant Links:
Programmed Inequality by Marie Hicks https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32078427-programmed-inequality
Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34762552-algorithms-of-oppression
Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28186015-weapons-of-math-destruction
Future Histories by Lizzie O’Shea https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43560857-future-histories
@SwiftOnSecurity
In the third episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna sits down with David Masters, Head of Global Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Atlassian.
The pair discuss Atlassian’s rise, the opportunities and challenges that come from being an Australian company operating globally, and the leadership Atlassian has taken on shaping thinking in the tech policy space.
This episode was produced by Anna Davies. Tanvi Nair and Amy Denmeade provided invaluable research support, and Ben Gowdie production support only an avid podcast listener could provide.
Send us your questions: techpolicydeisgncentre@anu.edu.au
Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Relevant Links:
The Vergecast: https://www.theverge.com/the-vergecast
regulate.tech Podcast: https://www.regulate.tech/podcast/
Weaving the Web by Tim Berners-Lee: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/821987.Weaving_the_Web
Kara Swisher: @karaswisher
Ben Thompson: @benthompson
Neelay Patel: @neelay_patel
Stigherrian: @stilgherrian
James Riley: @888riley
Ben Grubb: @bengrubb
ASPI: @ASPI_org
TCA: @techcouncil_aus
In the second episode of Tech Mirror, Johanna is joined in conversation by Melinda Cilento, CEO at CEDA and host of the Economist’s Corner; Stilgherrian, journalist and host of the 9PM Edict; and Dr Emily Van Der Nagel, lecturer in social media at Monash University.
Together, the group discuss Johanna’s interview with Minister Fletcher while examining Australia’s approach to tech policy and the strengths and weaknesses of the government’s recent round of regulatory changes.
This episode was produced by Anna Davies. Tanvi Nair and Amy Denmede provided invaluable research support, and Ben Gowdie production support only an avid podcast listener can provide.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Relevant Links:
Dr Van Der Nagel on the Anti-Trolling Legislation: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-11-30/online-bullying-trolling-identity-verification-legislation/100658084
Sex and Social Media: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54703063-sex-and-social-media
The Economist’s Corner Podcast: https://www.ceda.com.au/NewsAndResources/VideosAndPhotos/Economy/The-Economists-Corner-Episode-1
9pm Edict Podcast: https://stilgherrian.com/the_9pm_edict/
Stilgherrian’s Paper on Encryption: https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/03/31/encryption-debate-in-australia-2021-update-pub-84237
The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver: https://www.goodreads.com/fr/book/show/27064345-the-mandibles
Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism by Jillian C. York: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56047610-silicon-values
Lawless: The Secret Rules That Govern Our Digital Lives by Nicolas P. Suzor: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43504846-lawless
TheGovLab: https://thegovlab.org/
Technology and Public Purpose Project: https://www.belfercenter.org/project/technology-and-public-purpose
New America: https://www.newamerica.org/
Electronic Frontiers Australia: https://twitter.com/efa_oz?lang=en
ZDNet: https://www.zdnet.com/au/
iTnews: https://www.itnews.com.au/
Lawfare – Arbiters of Truth (With special thanks to the Australian host, Evelyn Douek): https://www.lawfareblog.com/topic/arbiters-truth
eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/
In the inaugural episode, Johanna Weaver, Director of the Tech Policy Design Centre at ANU, sits down with The Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts.
The pair discuss measures the Australian government has implemented ranging from online trolling and adult cyberbullying to encryption, the Media Bargaining Code and knowledge gaps in the tech policymaking space.
This episode was produced by Anna Davies. Tanvi Nair and Amy Denmede provided invaluable research support, and Ben Gowdie production support only an avid podcast listener can provide.
Send us your questions: techpolicydesign@anu.edu.au Follow us on Twitter: @TPDesignCentre
Relevant Links:
Paul Fletcher, Governing In The Internet Age: https://publishing.monash.edu/product/governing-in-the-internet-age/
Social Media (Anti-Trolling) Bill: https://www.ag.gov.au/legal-system/social-media-anti-trolling-bill
Online Safety Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021A00076
eSafety Commissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/
Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021A00021
Media Statement on Inquiry into Big Tech: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/parliamentary-committee-put-big-tech-under-microscope