Burning Platforms

The Public Square Project book launch

Western democracy has always been anchored by the idea of a public space where people gather to share ideas, mediate difference and make sense of the world. When Facebook blocked Australian users from viewing or sharing news in 2021, it sounded the alarm worldwide on our growing reliance on global tech companies to fulfil this critical role in a digital world.
 
The conflict sparked a new sense of urgency around the growing movement to imagine alternative digital spaces that operate in the public interest rather than simply for a commercial bottom line.
 
The Public Square Project draws together leading tech scholars, industry experts, writers and activists to chart a path towards a public square worthy of the name.
 
Welcome to Burning Platforms: De-Coding the Power and Politics of Big Tech. 
 
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.

Whatever happened to the free web?

The internet promised new ways to challenge power and privilege, so how has it become a tool to promote division and entrench despots?
 
Welcome to Burning Platforms: De-Coding the Power and Politics of Big Tech. 
 
Join Peter Lewis, Lizzie O' Shea, and Dan Stinton, with guest, Elaine Pearson (Asia Director at Human Rights Watch), for this week's analysis of the politics of technology from around the world.
 
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.

What’s the go with DuckDuckGo?

The dominance of Google’s data-hungry search engine is under the spotlight in Australia, with live inquiries on its role in the Ad-tech industry and anti-competitive deals which embed the search engine in smart devices.
 
But DuckDuckGo has proven that you can build a search engine that's not based on user surveillance.
 
Welcome to Burning Patforms: De-Coding the Power and Politics of Big Tech. 
 
Join Peter Lewis, Lizzie O'Shea, and Dan Stinton (managing director of Guardian Australia) for this week's analysis of the politics of technology from around the world.
 
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.

Can technology really save the planet?

As the world's leaders debate the future of the planet, technology is being put forward as the solution to the earth's climate woes. But will smart energy networks, AI and Bitcoin really save us?
 
On this week's Burning Platforms, Peter Lewis and guests, Lizzie O'Shea (founder and the chair of Digital Rights Watch) and Benedetta Brevini (journalist and Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney), dives deep into the environmental impacts of technology.
 
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.

Sovereign platforms vs. Sovereign nations

Online platforms are acting like nation-states and governments are trying to become platforms, but are they both getting it wrong?
 
Welcome to Burning Platforms: De-Coding the Power and Politics of Big Tech.
 
Join Peter Lewis and guest, Jathan Sadowski, Research Fellow, Department of Human Centred Computing - Monash Data Futures Institute, for this week's analysis of the politics of technology from around the world.
 
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.

Privacy isn’t boring: Online Privacy in Australia

With a review of the Privacy Act expected soon, and the Facebook whistleblower revealing Facebook's privacy breaches among other things, we take a deep dive into the legal frameworks for entrenching digital data rights into Australian law. From informed consent to data matching and security, is the traditional approach to privacy applicable to the online world?
 
Welcome to Burning Patforms: De-Coding the Power and Politics of Big Tech. 
 
Our regular panellists:
Peter Lewis, Former Director of The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology
Lizzie O' Shea, Chair of Digital Rights Watch
And special guests:
Anna Johnston, Director at Salinger Privacy
David Swan, journalist at The Australian
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.

The algorithms that rule Australia

Welcome to Burning Platforms, a new fortnightly podcast that unpacks the latest developments in technology from around the world.
This fortnight we explore algorithms that rule Australia, how we are increasingly outsourcing policy and governance to algorithms. We will look at how facial recognition, robo-planning and robo-welfare are entering our policy environments. This and more in the always busy world of tech! Brought to you by the Centre for Responsible Technology.
Regular panellists:
Peter Lewis, Former Director of The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology
Lizzie O' Shea, Chair of Digital Rights Watch, and
Dan Stinton, Managing Director of Guardian Australia
And special guests:
Ed Santow, Industry Professor Responsible Technology at UTS and former Human Rights Commissioner
Marie Johnson, CEO of the Centre for Digital Business
Burning Platforms is brought to you by the Centre of the Public Square - an initiative of Per Capita.