Machines that fail us

University of St. Gallen, Philip Di Salvo

English Education News Tech News Technology

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Episodes 10

Avg. Duration 31m

Activity Sporadic

Since Mar 2024

Latest Episode Jul 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule

Monthly

Format

Episodic

Hosting

feeds.captivate.fm

About This Podcast

From educational institutions to healthcare professionals, from employers to governing bodies, artificial intelligence technologies and algorithms are increasingly used to assess and decide upon various aspects of our lives. However, the question arises: are these systems truly impartial and just in their judgments when they read humans and their behaviour? Our answer is that they are not. Despite their purported aim to enhance objectivity and efficiency, these technologies paradoxically harbor systemic biases and inaccuracies, particularly in the realm of human profiling. “Machines That Fail Us” investigates how AI and its errors are impacting on different areas of our society and how different societal actors are negotiating and coexisting with the human rights implications of AI. The "Machines That Fail Us" podcast series hosts the voices of some of the most engaged individuals involved in the fight for a better future with artificial intelligence. The first season of "Machines That Fail Us" has been made possible thanks to a grant provided by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)’s "Agora" scheme, whereas the second one is supported by the University of St. Gallen’s Communications Department. The podcast is produced by the Media and Culture Research Group at the Institute for Media and Communications Management. Dr. Philip Di Salvo, the main host, works as a researcher and lecturer at the University of St.Gallen.

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Recent Episodes

S2E5 Machines That Fail Us - Season 2, Episode 5: "Heating Algorithms: AI and the Climate Crisis"

Jul 24, 2025 31m

Artificial intelligence promises a smarter future, but at what cost? In this final episode of “Machines That Fail Us”, we take a look at the often-overlooked environmental footprint of AI’s…

S2E4 Machines That Fail Us - Season 2, Episode 4: Creative Machines: Rethinking Art with AI

Jun 19, 2025 30m

In this episode, we deal with the impacts of generative AI on art and aestethics, looking at how the rise and commercial success of tools such as Dall-E, Midjourney, and Sora have raised profound…

S2E3 Machines That Fail Us - Season 2, Episode 3: Who governs AI? Global challenges in addressing harm

May 15, 2025 32m

In this episode, we delve into the global push to regulate artificial intelligence, as governments around the world are faced with the challenge to respond to its social and ethical challenges. With…

S2E2 Machines That Fail Us - Season 2, Episode 2: "Teaching the Machine: The Hidden Work Behind AI’s Intelligence"

Feb 27, 2025 32m

The training and coding of AI systems, particularly generative ones, depend on the work of humans teaching machines how to think. This work includes content moderation and labeling, is often…

S2E1 Machines That Fail Us - Season 2, Episode 1: "Artificial Lies and Synthetic Media: How AI Powers Disinformation"

Jan 30, 2025 30m Transcript

How is artificial intelligence being used for disinformation purposes? How effective can it be in influencing our reality and political choices? We discuss the rise of synthetic media with Craig…

S1E5 Machines That Fail Us #5: "The shape of AI to come"

Jul 04, 2024 30m

The AI we have built so far comes with many different shortcomings and concerns. At the same time, the AI tools we have today are the product of specific technological cultures and business…

S1E4 Machines That Fail Us #4: Building different AI futures

Jun 13, 2024 34m

We don’t necessarily have to build artificial intelligence the way we’re doing it today. To make AI really inclusive we must look beyond Western techno-cultures and beyond our understanding of…

S1E3 Machines That Fail Us #3 Errors and biases: tales of algorithmic discrimination

May 16, 2024 27m

The records of biases, discriminatory outcomes, and errors as well as the societal impacts of artificial intelligence systems is now widely documented. However, the question remains: How is the…

S1E2 Machines That Fail Us #2: Following the AI beat – algorithms making the news

Apr 18, 2024 26m

What’s the role of journalism in making sense of AI and its errors? With Melissa Heikkilä, senior reporter at the MIT Technology Review. Host: Dr. Philip Di Salvo.

S1E1 Machines That Fail Us #1: Making sense of the human error of AI

Mar 20, 2024 39m

What are the errors that artificial intelligence systems can make and what’s their impact on humans? The Human Error Project team discusses the results of their own research into AI errors and…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Machines that fail us have?

Machines that fail us has published 10 episodes since March 2024, covering topics in Education, News.

Is Machines that fail us still active?

Machines that fail us is currently sporadic with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 31m.