A Spoonful of Data

A Spoonful Of Data Podcast

Hi, this is our podcast talking about AI, data and information law. We are Mona and Will, two lawyers who are nerds about new technology and the laws around it. We put this podcast together to share our enthusiasm for what is sometimes seen as a fairly dry topic! We’re mainly focusing on the emerging area of AI governance at the moment. We want to help people who are developing, adopting or otherwise affected by the technology to understand what rules currently apply to its use, and what’s coming down the legislative tracks. Want us to talk about anything specific? Get in touch: you can reach us via social media (@aspoonfulofdata) or by e-mail (spoonfulofdata@proton.me). Disclaimer: yes, we’re lawyers. No, this podcast isn’t intended as legal advice - it’s provided for general information only, and all opinions expressed are our own, not our firm’s. read less

TechnologyTechnology

BusinessBusiness

ManagementManagement

Play Trailer

Trailer - Live Podcast Recording - 19th September 2024

Trailer - Live Podcast Recording - 19th September 2024

Forgive our excitement, but we had to let you know about this upcoming event - a live recording of an upcoming podcast episode! It's going to be part of the Leeds Digital Festival in September, so if you are in the Leeds area, and interested in AI (particularly in an education context) why not come along and join the audience? Details are here: https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/events/we-dont-need-no-ai-education/ We'll hope to see you there!

Episodes

Spoonful Live Special: AI in Education

Spoonful Live Special: AI in Education

In a first for the podcast, Mona and Will went on the road to take part in the Leeds Digital Festival recently. This is the live recording of their episode all about AI in education (our first ever live episode, so apologies for the slightly patchy audio in places!). It's a bumper-length episode, including some questions from the studio audience, and a really wide-ranging discussion about the issues which arise when we talk about deploying AI in schools and universities. What a way to kick off our new season of episodes! If there are topics you'd like us to discuss, do get in touch on social media (@aspoonfulofdata) or email (spoonfulofdata@proton.me). While Will and Mona are both lawyers, this podcast is for general information purposes only and not intended as legal advice.

Summer Spoonfuls: AI holiday planning

Summer Spoonfuls: AI holiday planning

And just like that our mini-series of summer specials is over, much too soon (like all the best parts of a summer holiday!) Will's top tip is to stave off the back to work blues by booking another holiday, and he and Mona are talking about a range of AI tools that promises to be able to help with just that task. Some of them might even be genuinely helpful! We hope you've enjoyed this mini-series and look forward to being back with a full series in the autumn. Now what are you doing hanging around listening to podcasts? Get out in the sunshine while there still is some! As ever - all opinions are their own and not the views of their firm. These podcasts are provided for general information, and are not legal advice.

Summer Spoonfuls: AI relationship support

Summer Spoonfuls: AI relationship support

It's summer time and Mona and Will are back with a short series of seasonal specials, something for you to enjoy on your travels or on quiet days in the office while everyone else is on holiday! As promised at the end of our last episode, we kick this one off with discussion of an AI tool which promises (although maybe not very convincingly) to help us to get better at relationships! Something we thought was likely to be particularly in demand as people spend more time with their nearest and dearest over the summer break! As ever - all opinions are their own and not the views of their firm. These podcasts are provided for general information, and are not legal advice.

Trailer - Live Podcast Recording - 19th September 2024

Trailer - Live Podcast Recording - 19th September 2024

Forgive our excitement, but we had to let you know about this upcoming event - a live recording of an upcoming podcast episode! It's going to be part of the Leeds Digital Festival in September, so if you are in the Leeds area, and interested in AI (particularly in an education context) why not come along and join the audience? Details are here: https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/events/we-dont-need-no-ai-education/ We'll hope to see you there!

Summer Spoonfuls: AI entertains the kids

Summer Spoonfuls: AI entertains the kids

It's summer time and Mona and Will are back with a short series of seasonal specials, something for you to enjoy on your travels or on quiet days in the office while everyone else is on holiday! In this Summer Spoonful, Mona's trash TV viewing has an unexpected side effect, prompting a discussion about using AI assistants to keep an eye on the children during the long (long) summer holidays, and highlighting some of the dangers of ubiquitous surveillance technology. As ever - all opinions are their own and not the views of their firm. These podcasts are provided for general information, and are not legal advice.

Summer Spoonfuls: AI recommends a restaurant

Summer Spoonfuls: AI recommends a restaurant

It's summer time and Mona and Will are back with a short series of seasonal specials, something for you to enjoy on your travels or on quiet days in the office while everyone else is on holiday! This Summer Spoonful focuses on a topic that's likely to be relevant to many of us - using crowd-sourced information to choose restaurants, hotels and holiday excursions, and the dangers of the rising tide of AI-generated fake reviews. As ever - all opinions are their own and not the views of their firm. These podcasts are provided for general information, and are not legal advice.

Summer Spoonfuls: AI at the Olympics

Summer Spoonfuls: AI at the Olympics

Will and Mona have been having a break (aka focused on their day jobs), but it's summer time and they're back with a short series of seasonal specials, something for you to enjoy on your travels or on quiet days in the office while everyone else is on holiday! In this first Summer Spoonful: it's the Olympics, and trust Mona to have found an AI-related angle to provide an excuse to talk about them! As ever - all opinions are their own and not the views of their firm. These podcasts are provided for general information, and are not legal advice.

Top 5... Fictional AI's

Top 5... Fictional AI's

Today Mona and Will are celebrating reaching ten full episodes of the podcast, with a fun discussion of their top five fictional AI's (together with a run-down of the audience's favourite 5 as well!) If you ever wondered which famous AI was once burned at the stake, or which was the best violinist, this is definitely the podcast for you!

Environmental Impact

Environmental Impact

Everyone is using AI, or at least talking about using it. But that's not the only hot air that we are concerned with this week, as we focus in on the rarely discussed environmental impact of this new technology. Find out how many homes could be powered for an hour, for the same energy cost as training a new language model. Discover how much water is consumed in cooling the average data centre. Warning, this might make you think twice before drafting your next prompt!

A Discussion on Deepfakes

A Discussion on Deepfakes

One of the hottest topics in AI has been the proliferation of deepfakes, so we're doing our best to do it justice this week, with a wide-ranging episode covering everything from Donald Trump to Taylor Swift, and from some playful uses of the technology right through to things that are far more serious. As ever, these podcasts are for general information, not legal advice. Do get in touch if you want to discuss any of the issues in more detail!

Four EU pre-nups and an AI 'meet-cute'

Four EU pre-nups and an AI 'meet-cute'

It was an age old tale - emerging technology meets established trading bloc, they decide to pursue mutually beneficial negotiations and then, after a montage of walking hand-in-hand along beaches and late night discussions in committee, the EU AI Act was born. Want to know more? Here's the latest episode of the Spoonful of Data podcast to tell all!

A Chat About Chatbots

A Chat About Chatbots

After a week away we are now back to chat about (what else?) chatbots! According to mastersofcode.com, chatbots are becoming increasingly prevalent with 73% of consumers expecting websites to offer digital assistants, and only 9% opposing the use of the technology. But as these tools become increasingly sophisticated and realistic, what are some of the risks and pitfalls that need to be watched out for?

Algorithmic Impact Assessments

Algorithmic Impact Assessments

In this week’s episode Will and Mona start to get to grips with the practicalities of safely working with AI - beginning with the important topic of impact assessments. But who is Stan, and how can his long and lonely career teach us about planning for AI impacts? As ever, the podcast is provided for information only, and is not intended as legal advice.

AI Regulation in the UK

AI Regulation in the UK

What do children and terrorists have in common? Why is Will’s freezer full of ice cream? And what does any of this have to do with the current state of AI regulation in the UK? Listen to find out! Will and Mona share their experience as data and information lawyers specialising in all things technology and AI-related. This podcast is not intended as legal advice, and represents their personal views and opinions rather than those of their firm or clients.

Workplace Surveillance

Workplace Surveillance

A topical episode this week, picking up on the recent decision of the CNIL in relation to Amazon France's surveillance of its warehouse employees. In the post-Covid world of flexible working, an increasing number of companies have been exploring different options for keeping an eye on their workforces, so this episode aims to provide some practical guidance for anyone thinking about deploying surveillance technology in a safe and compliant way.

After introducing our theme of AI Governance last week, Will and Mona get back to basics this week with a discussion of what we mean when we talk about AI. Will thought we'd be starting the discussion in the Fifties, but he was quite a long way out! If you are enjoying this podcast series and want to get in touch you can find us as @aspoonfulofdata on most major social channels, or you can e-mail us at spoonfulofdata@proton.me

Introduction to AI Governance

Introduction to AI Governance

Hello world! We're Will and Mona, two lawyers who love talking about data, technology and all the legal issues around them. In this opening episode we talk about what is generally meant by AI governance and why it matters. If you enjoy our podcast do get in touch and let us know what else you'd like us to talk about, or any burning AI/data questions you'd like answered. Disclaimer: we're lawyers, but this podcast is provided for general information, not as legal advice.

Happy Data Protection Day!

Happy Data Protection Day!

Can you believe Mona has never heard of Data Protection Day? Neither could Will. We weren't supposed to have an episode out until next week, but here's a sneaky bonus prequel to introduce us and talk about this most important day in the data protection lawyers' calendar!