Shift: Recent Episodes
Deutsche Welle
How is the Internet changing society? The magazine for digital culture, issues and technology, delivered directly from blogs and boardrooms.
Digital technologies are data-driven. But who has access to the data, and who is allowed to use it? Digital sovereignty means that people can decide for themselves how their data is used.
What would happen if medical professionals and tech entrepreneurs could control the impulses in our brains? Some diseases, such as addiction, could potentially be cured. But how would this impact a person's personality?
Non-invasive brain-computer interfaces fit into headphones or headbands. They allow you to dim the lights, play a video or measure your productivity – using only the power of your thoughts.
Discussions on the future of road-use have so far focused on the safety of self-driving vehicles. But the acceptance of future mobility also depends on factors such as data protection and sustainability.
In self-driving vehicles, the engine will no longer be so important. It's all about the computer—as data from radar, lidar and other sensors must be analyzed in real time and processed by the AI.
The US company Nvidia has created a driving simulation platform to train self-driving cars. A virtual world with large data sets, where all possible traffic situations are played out.
Does the Instagram algorithm favor certain politicians or topics? The non-profit organization AlgorithmWatch launched a study to answer these questions. Once again, Facebook hindered the research into its algorithms.
On Instagram, right-wing extremists use beautiful photos and subtle captions about home and tradition to lure new recruits. One young woman who used to be part of this scene explains how the process works.
Bonaventure Dossou speaks French, his mother only speaks Fon - a local language of Benin. The Beninese IT student is now programming a translation app.
Mozilla's Common Voice project wants to use crowdsourcing to digitize as many languages as possible, because minority languages - especially those from Africa - are rarely found online or in language assistance systems.
Tawanda Kanhema took action when he discovered that his hometown of Harare was not shown on Google Street View. He used a 360° camera to shoot more than 3,000 kilometers of Zimbabwe to upload online.
TikTok tracks its users' behavior very precisely. The platform's AI-supported algorithm accurately selects videos based on personal preferences. When a user opens the app, the videos start playing immediately. It's hard to stop.
Memes like "Bad Luck Brian"—the photo of a young man that represents persistent misfortune—are known worldwide. But there are also more multi-layered memes that only certain insiders will understand.
Telegram is the most successful WhatsApp alternative. The messaging app created by Pavel and Nikolai Durov in Russia is set to gain 150 million new users in 2021, profiting from the wave of users ditching WhatsApp.
Discord was originally a platform for gamers with an integrated chat program. But thanks to its great wealth of features, the app is becoming increasingly popular outside the gaming scene too.
The Japanese exoskeleton suit HAL uses wearers' brains signals to teach paraplegics how to walk by themselves again. DW reporter Cassandra Boh tried HAL out and turned the power of her thoughts into motion.
Exoskeletons are robotic suits that give people super strength. Even though many are just the size of a backpack, they help people lift heavy objects. They’re already used in care work, logistics and the auto industry.
Digital objects can be replicated indefinitely. But thanks to NFTs, singular ownership can now be ascribed. The so-called smart contract contains information on the edition of the work, its creator, and its owner.
Theoretically, anyone can create an NFT for a work of art and put it up for sale. This presents a danger for artists. How can they protect their work in the digital space?
Thousands of people in Africa dream of an esports career. Abidjan is the largest metropolis in Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. There, young people train hard every afternoon to have a shot at an esports career.
Esports commentator Indiana Black says there's too much sexism in the industry. As a result, she's no longer working as a commentator for the games.
PC Bangs sound like parties, but they're actually popular gaming centers for South Korea's eSport fans. Pro tip: They are especially packed on the weekends!
In South Korea, esports are trumping soccer when it comes to public screenings. Fans often meet to watch League of Legends in bars. Especially during tournaments, many gamers prefer collective viewings to watching alone at home.
Director Shalini Kantayya's documentary "Coded Bias" reveals the racist and sexist nature of AI programming and highlights the threats it poses to society.
Algorithms and artificial intelligence-based systems view the world on the basis of data. But who controls these data sets and what conclusions do they allow? The lack of computer ethics is a problem.
Do all German women become politicians? Are Eastern European and South American women always looking for a man? A DW analysis shows how Google's image search reinforces sexist and racist stereotypes.
With AI programs like Musenet, Deepart and GauGAN, anyone can become an artist - in cooperation with artificial intelligence. With Toonify, your self-portrait can be turned into a cartoon figure.
Music shows how well humans and machines can work together. An AI application makes suggestions for the next line of a song. But humans still have creative control.
Arzu Geybulla is an Azerbaijani journalist who’s had to fight against online hate. Now she helps other women defend themselves against online abuse. But there’s no one right way to do it.
Women are supporting each other in the fight against online trolls. The worldwide #metoo movement has also been a major catalyst in making the issues that women in the Arab world face more visible.
DW reporter Mania Chaudbary has frequently been the target of insults and hate speech online. Online trolls often try to silence women like her from speaking out politically or as a journalist.
Thanks to smartphones, everything from shopping to searching for partners can happen in real time online. How uncomfortable is it to go a full day without these do-it-all mobile devices?
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act could be seen as the legal foundation that today’s Internet rests upon. But that might soon change. What impact would it have if platforms were regulated for user content?
Conservative users are increasingly jumping ship from major social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and heading for platforms like Parler, Gab and MeWe. Many feel their right to freedom of speech is under threat.
Virtual reality is attracting ever more users. Some want to be entertained, others want to interact with the gaming worlds they are immersed in. And still others use VR for their work, to enhance visualization.
Ever since the devastating fire in April 2019, Paris's Notre Dame cathedral has been off-limits. A VR film crew is accompanying its reconstruction, and allowing guests to virtually tour the construction site.
Swim along the Amazon River as a caiman - the "Inside Tumucumaque" VR experience lets you do just that. Users can explore 400 hectars in a protected Brazilian rainforest from the point of view of five native species.
When officials shut down the Elysium darknet platform in 2017, there were over 111,000 user accounts. Based in Germany, the exchange platform provided pedophiles worldwide with photos and videos of severe child abuse.
Drugs make up two thirds of all offers on the dark web. Whether heroin, LSD or cannabis - these illegal intoxicants can often only be found on a single platform. Payment is made with the crypto currency Bitcoin.
The darknet offers political activists worldwide protection from state repression. On it, people have the opportunity to anonymously carry out internet research, and access websites that are censored in some countries.
Laws determine what you can say online. Freedom of speech is well protected, especially in the USA and in many EU countries. But does this also apply to hate speech?
The more people that must be fed, the more water, soil, fertilizer and energy is used in farming. In modern greenhouses, sensors measure exactly which and how much of these resources plants needs.
Moving away from industrial robots towards personal service robots! This is the trend at big international robotics fairs like iREX in Tokyo. But can robots work closely with people?
The start-up Mira Robotics marketed the robot UGO as an alternative to a maid. Even though it has 22 sensors and three cameras for space and object recognition, it still needs to be remotely controlled by an employee.
Robots have been used to assist in medical procedures for quite some time. For example, the "DaVinci Surgical Robot" from the US is used to remove tumors from patients with prostate cancer.
The company "Soft on Demand" is one of Asia’s biggest producers of pornography. It runs around 70 VR sex shops in Japan. Their goal is to use VR technology to create a more intense viewing experience.f
Yoshiaki Nomoto is one of the leading producers of VR pornography in Japan. He explains why he produces in a white studio and how he makes his VR films more interactive.
Gaming as a learning tool—that's the idea behind Serious Games, which are used for educational purposes. For the game "Through the Darkest of Times," players take on the role of resistance fighters in Nazi Germany.
A software developed in Berlin might be able to reconstitute files belonging to the GDR secret service that were torn into 600 million pieces. The ePuzzler is also being employed internationally to reconstruct destroyed files.
Pedestrians and cyclists are some of the challenges that self-driving cars are faced with. The artificial intelligence in the vehicles must learn how to predict individual behavior, which is different in each culture.
It’s predicted that 1 out of every 10 vehicles on the road will be autonomous by 2030. But how safe are self-driving cars? Does AI actually drive more safely than humans? Three experts answer these questions.
The "Lovot" robot is a true cuddle-bot. It is designed to develop a highly emotional connection with its owner. Its decisions are steered by machine-learning algorithms.
"Aibo" is outfitted with cameras, voice recognition, and motion sensors. These let the robo-pup recognize and react to its owner. Data generated by "Aibo" is kept in cloud storage.
"Qoobo" is a fluffly pillow that responds to touch, and whose tail can move in 40 different ways. It's a signature toy from the Tokyo company Yukai Engineering and aims to cheer people up.
Journalist and digital-rights activist Markus Beckedahl discusses ways to protest effectively on social media. Reaching an audience, making a mark, making a difference -- none of that happens by itself. Here is some expert advice.
In our interview, data scientist Mia Chang talks about what might happen if a hacker were to gain access to a databank, how the software can be circumvented, and the prospects that facial recognition offers.
Bracelets, rings and other smart gadgets do far more than just count steps; they measure biometric data and analyze users’ emotions. Then, they recommend meditation or breathing exercises based on the moods they detect.
Ever since the devastating fire in April 2019, Paris's Notre Dame cathedral has been off-limits. A VR film crew is accompanying its reconstruction, and allowing guests to virtually tour the construction site.
Swim along the Amazon River as a caiman – the "Inside Tumucumaque" VR experience lets you do just that. Users can explore 400 hectars in a protected Brazilian rainforest from the point of view of five native species.
For decades, Hiroshi Ishiguro has been researching with human-like robots. With his most well-known android Geminoid, he created a robotic twin to learn more about himself.