The Conversation Weekly The Conversation

Content created with the help of generative artificial intelligence is popping up everywhere, and it’s worrying some artists. They’re concerned that their intellectual property may be at risk if generative AI tools have been built by scraping the internet for data and images, regardless of whether they had permissions to do so.
In this episode we speak with a computer scientist about how some artists are trying novel ways to sabotage AI to prevent it from scraping their work, through what’s called data poisoning, and why he thinks the root of the problem is an ethical problem at the heart of computer science. 
Featuring Daniel Angus, professor of digital communication at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Plus an introduction from Eric Smalley, science and technology editor at The Conversation in the US.
This episode was written and produced by Tiffany Cassidy with assistance from Katie Flood. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full credits available here. A transcript will be available shortly. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

Further reading Data poisoning: how artists are sabotaging AI to take revenge on image generatorsAre tomorrow’s engineers ready to face AI’s ethical challenges?To understand the risks posed by AI, follow the moneyFrom shrimp Jesus to fake self-portraits, AI-generated images have become the latest form of social media spam 
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some young South Africans have begun to question Nelson Mandela's legacy, and the choices made in the transition to democracy after the end of apartheid in 1994. Some have even called him a "sellout". 
In the third and final part of our special series What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?, marking 30 years of democracy in South Africa post-apartheid, we talk to two academics about the way Mandela is viewed by young South Africans today, and the challenges facing the African National Congress, which has governed the country for three decades, and its current president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Featuring Sithembile Mbete, lecturer in political science at the University of Pretoria and Richard Calland, associate professor in public law at the University of Cape Town.
This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany with assistance from Gary Oberholzer and Katie Flood. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full credits available here. A transcript will be available shortly. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.
Further reading:
After the euphoria of Nelson Mandela’s election, what happened next? PodcastSouth Africans tasted the fruits of freedom and then corruption snatched them away – podcastHistory for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?South Africa’s security forces once brutally entrenched apartheid. It’s been a rocky road to reform

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of our special series What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?, marking 30 years of democracy in South Africa post-apartheid, we talk to two experts about the economic policies introduced to transform the country under Mandela's successor, Thabo Mbeki, and the ensuing turmoil of the Jacob Zuma presidency that followed. 
Featuring Mashupye Maserumule, a professor of public affairs at Tshwane University of Technology and Michael Sachs, adjunct professor of economics at the University of Witwatersrand.
This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany with assistance from Gary Oberholzer and Katie Flood. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full credits available here. A transcript will be available shortly. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.
Further reading:
After the euphoria of Nelson Mandela’s election, what happened next? PodcastJacob Zuma, the monster South Africa’s ruling ANC created, continues to haunt itSouth Africa’s first election was saved by a Kenyan: the fascinating story of Washington Okumu, the accidental mediator


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a moment many South Africans never believed they'd live to see. On 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of a democratic South Africa, ending the deadly and brutal white minority apartheid regime. 
To mark 30 years since South Africa's post-apartheid transition began, we're running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa? In this first episode, two scholars who experienced the transition at first hand reflect to Thabo Leshilo, The Conversation's politics editor in Johannesburg, on the initial excitement around Mandela's election, the priorities of his African National Congress in the transition and the challenges that lay ahead for South Africa as it set out to define its post-apartheid future.
Featuring Steven Friedman, professor of political studies at the University of Johannesburg and Sandy Africa, associate professor of political sciences at the University of Pretoria.
This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany with assistance from Gary Oberholzer and Katie Flood. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full credits available here. A transcript will be available shortly. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.
Further reading:
What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa? A new podcast series marks 30 years of post-apartheid democracy South Africa’s election management body has done a good job for 30 years: here’s why 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been 30 years since Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa and the country's brutal and deadly apartheid system came to a formal end. As part of The Conversation's coverage of the anniversary, we're running a special three-part podcast series this month on The Conversation Weekly.
In What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?, Thabo Leshilo, politics and society editor at The Conversation Africa, speaks to prominent political scholars who experienced South Africa's post-apartheid transition, about the country's journey over the past three decades.
Listen to the trailer for What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa? The first episode will be available on April 11.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For almost 15 years, scientists have debated whether the Anthropocene should be an official geological epoch marking the profound influence of humans on the planet. Then in March, an international panel of scientists formally rejected the proposal for a new Anthropocene epoch.
In this episode, two scientists give us their different opinions on whether that was the right decision and what it means for the future use of the word Anthropocene. 
Featuring Jan Zalasiewicz, professor of palaeobiology at the University of Leicester in the UK, and Erle C. Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the US. Plus an introduction from Will de Freitas, environment and energy editor at The Conversation in the UK.
This episode was written and produced by Tiffany Cassidy with assistance from Katie Flood. Eloise Stevens does our sound design, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full credits available here. A transcript will be available shortly. Subscribe to a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.
Further reading
The Anthropocene is not an epoch − but the age of humans is most definitely underwayWhat the Anthropocene’s critics overlook – and why it really should be a new geological epochAnthropocene or not, it is our current epoch that we should be fighting forThe Anthropocene already exists in our heads, even if it’s now officially not a geological epoch


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.