How should we feel about garda body cams and facial recognition technology? Are we barreling towards a police state? And do we really want to be under surveillance all the time?

Practising barrister, Senator Barry Ward joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show to discuss the technology.

Irish Independent Tech Editor Adrian Weckler hosts this award-winning business podcast which dives deep into the biggest industry advances and tracks the key movers and shakers behind the innovation. From interviewing Big Tech CEOs to investigations into how tech affects our working lives, the show has become Ireland’s most listened-to technology podcast.

Every week we analyse the big tech issues, interv…

The Big Tech Show

Are we sleepwalking into mass surveillance? Garda bodycams and facial recognition technology

Is brain hacking and tracking just science-fiction? Or has emotion-sensing neurotech already arrived? And what are the applications, good and bad? 

On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by Duke University Professor and Author of ‘The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology,’ Nita Farahany. 

The Law professor first came to neurotech as a result of being a self-described chronic migrainer. She began using neurostimulation devices and neurotechnology to treat the pain and this allowed her to physically move through the migraines without using drugs with negative side effects. 

In the second part of the conversation Adrian asked about the negative applications of this novel technology. The author made the point that a lot of this futuristic neurotech is already operational in society. She gave the example of an Australian company that has been selling a device for over a decade that can tell employers if their staff are wide awake or falling asleep. There are more recent reports of workers in China wearing these devices, being exposed to communist messaging and punished if they display a negative reaction.  

You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Brain hacking and tracking: the future of wearable neurotechnology 

Have you ever been tempted to get into meme stocks? Have you heard of friends making or losing money on Gamestop stocks? Or is the whole thing just a giant ponzi scheme? 

Adrian is joined on The Big Tech Show this week by chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Gresham House Ireland, Derek Heffernan. 

A meme stock is a stock that gains popularity among retail investors through social media. The popularity of meme stocks is generally based on internet memes shared among traders, on platforms such as Reddit. Investors in such stocks are often young and inexperienced investors. Examples of some memestocks are Gamestop, AMC, Nokia and Bed Bath and Beyond. 

Derek says that memestocks became popular in 2021 because people were sitting at home, furloughed, with more disposable income and they began betting on those stocks. 

You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

GameStop, AMC and 'Roaring Kitty' -- a beginner's guide to meme stocks 

Where have all the late-night cafes gone? What's the alternative for a non-drinker? And what impact is it having on newly minted tech startups? 
On The Big Tech Show this week, Adrian is joined by assistant producer, JJ Clarke. 
In Adrian’s most recent article, he laments the disappearing cafe culture in Dublin and how they were a useful place to go or meet people, early or late if you didn’t want to go to a pub. There are very few cafes today, that open later than 11pm or do business before 6am.   
When asked what effect this may have on the budding tech entrepreneurs of today. Adrian pointed to Foursquare cofounders Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. They divided much of their early coding time between a handful of Manhattan cafes, which was partly connected to them creating a ‘mayor’ feature for the social check-in platform. He made the point that tech founders who want to meet or collaborate in 2024 have nowhere to do so. 
You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Are we sleepwalking into mass surveillance? Garda bodycams and facial recognition technology

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