What is a recommender algorithm? Should they be switched off? And how do they create toxic narrative bubbles? 
Johnny Ryan, digital rights campaigner and director of Enforce at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. 

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

Inside the system designed to keep you hooked 

Is the world of espionage now online? Are the Irish the cyber weak link in Europe? And how is digital sabotage being used today? 
Richard Aldrich, professor of International Security at the University of Warwick and leading expert on intelligence, espionage and cybersecurity. 
The security expert explained how bad-acters can hack into the back of the internet connected fridges and get them to overheat on a windy day. Getting fridges to catch fire simultaneously is a contingency that the UK government is just starting to consider as a threat. 
You can listen to the full episode here, on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Spies, lies and Irish cybersecurity with Professor Richard Aldrich

Online polarisation, Trump, Elon Musk, AI, media, Ireland and startups — Mark Little is thinking about a lot of things right now.
In this extended episode, he lays out some bare truths about the state of the world and what his own plans are at present.

The world according to Mark Little

Who is rising and falling in the US tech world? What events will shape 2026? And will Elon weather the Grok scandal? 
Blake Montgomery, the Guardian’s US Tech editor, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.  
The conversation began by Adrian asking the Guardian’s US tech editor about the reaction in America to the Grok AI scandal. The US-based journalist explained that the reaction to X’s Grok AI tool in the US has been muted and heated than Europe. According to Montgomery, a couple of US lawmakers have voiced their concerns and called for a Grok ban but because the reaction to the AI tool globally, Musk has begun to dial back the AIs capabilities. 
You can listen to the full episode here, on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Inside the system designed to keep you hooked

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