Tech Life
Tech Life discovers and explains the ways technology is changing our lives, wherever we are in the world. We meet the people with bright ideas for rethinking the way we work, learn and play, and get hands-on with the products they dream up. We hold tech giants to account for their huge power to affect our lives, and ask who wins, and who loses, in the technology transformation. Tech Life is your guide to a future being made, and remade, at lightning speed in front of our eyes.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 25 minutes
- Episodes
- 320
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
The carbon footprint of AI
Researchers estimate that the AI industry could consume as much energy annually as a country the size of the Netherlands by 2027. We take a look at the details and ways of reducing electricity demand…
Where are we on the road to EV?
Shiona McCallum takes Tech Life on the road to find out more about electric vehicles and the challenges of rolling them out globally. Monica Miller is in Singapore experiencing some of the new cars o…
Be My AI: When innovation and privacy clash
An AI-powered tool helped blind people make sense of the world - then ran into privacy concerns. Be My AI user, the BBC's Sean Dilley, in Washington DC, tells us what happened next.
A rare interview …
The world focusses on facial recognition
Simon Gordon, founder of Facewatch, a British facial recognition company and Fraser Sampson, the UK's Biometrics and Surveillance Commissioner discuss the growing use of facial recognition tech. Dr.…
The health tech changing lives in Africa
There's a new testing kit for life-threatening diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. We hear about the technology from the project leader and some of those involved in Uganda and Kenya. Also in Tech Life, …
Battery tech goes super miniature - and tear powered
Associate Professor Lee Seok Woo, from NTU, in Singapore, tells us how a Tom Cruise film inspired him to create a battery, powered by tears, that's so small it could be fitted to a contact lens. Ben …
Charting the true cost of AI
This week, the academic Kate Crawford tells us how she travelled the world to find the true cost of AI. Reporter Chris Vallance updates us on a watermark system - developed by Deepmind, Google's AI a…
Why do smart speakers get facts wrong?
Have you ever turned to a smart assistant on your phone or a speaker to catch up on the progress of a big sports match? During the Women's Football World Cup one popular device failed to recognise th…
Tech taught me
The internet is full of ways to learn, from quick life hacks to new skills. On Tech Life we meet the teacher in Nigeria trying to share IT skills on TikTok to help people get jobs in tech and we hear…
Fighting forest fires with technology
Juan Lavista Ferres, chief data scientist at Microsoft's AI For Good Lab, tells Tech Life how artificial intelligence can help predict wildfires.
Driverless cars are popping up on streets around the w…
The cost of data
Have you thought about the cost of storing data from your phone or tablet ? We examine what cloud storage costs you financially, and its impact on the environment. In Kenya, a huge cyber-attack targe…
X marks the spot
Zoe Kleinman and Shiona McCallum talk about X, the new name for Twitter, as Elon Musk continues making changes at the firm. What will the rebrand mean and where does the platform go next? We also try…
The new world AI is making
DeepMind founder Mustafa Suleyman reflects on the AI revolution - and tells us he left the UK for Silicon Valley because it remains the top place for tech talent. But Canada is trying to lure some of…
The changing social media landscape
Meta - the owner of Facebook - has launched Threads, a text-based social media app. Tech Life's correspondent in San Francisco tells us about the launch. And we look at the development of social medi…
Elon Musk's Twitter: More changes and more competition
Bruce Daisley, a former European vice president of Twitter, talks to Tech Life. We report on scammers using artificial intelligence, bots and books to cash-in. An international firm is measuring clic…
Can artificial intelligence be a force for good?
Scientist, best-selling author and entrepreneur, Gary Marcus talks to Tech Life about the forthcoming global summit looking at AI for good, and the need for regulation. We examine the Wagner Group's …
Have we had enough of podcasts?
Technology consultant Ann Charles on the future of podcasting after Spotify ditches some of its highest profile - and highest paid - broadcasters. Tom Nunlist, senior analyst at Trivium China, on how…
The EU takes action on AI
This week Zoe Kleinman travels to Strasbourg, France to meet Margrethe Vestager, the woman leading the EU's attempts to regulate AI. Reporter Tom Gerken has been following the protest has caused Redd…
Apple's big bet on virtual reality
Tech Life goes to Apple Park at Cupertino, California, for the launch of the Vision Pro Mixed Reality headset. Zoe speaks to analyst Leo Leo Gebbie, app developer Emma Partlow, and north America tech…
The drama about AI in Hollywood
Film-maker Justine Bateman on why she and her Hollywood colleagues fear AI will take their jobs. Drug safety campaigner Dominic Milton Trott on why he's taken his message to the darknet. And Shiona M…