For Tech’s Sake
Elaine Burke & Kelly Earley · For Tech's Sake
Show overview
For Tech’s Sake has been publishing since 2022, and across the 4 years since has built a catalogue of 117 episodes, alongside 37 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 75 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence, with the show now in its 5th season.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 34 min and 45 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language Technology show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed yesterday, with 20 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2023, with 38 episodes published. Published by For Tech's Sake.
From the publisher
Join Elaine Burke and Kelly Earley as they look at tech through a critical lens – not evangelising or demonising it, but definitely throwing a bit of shade when it’s deserved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest Episodes
View all 117 episodesWhat have data centres ever done for us? (with Patrick Bresnihan and Patrick Brodie)
How easy is it to scam a bot?
AI’s doomer cult
Game over for discs
Back to school!
What social media bans get wrong
Are data centres a drain? (with Prof Hannah Daly)
Is technology making us lonely? (with Dr Colman Noctor)
Get your clips out (with Aoife Barry)
Do we like prediction markets? Yes/No
Hitting the AI kill switch
Wikiphilia (with Amy O’Riordan)
AI Ready… or not! (with Laura Grehan)
Instagram’s end to encryption
AI for good? (LIVE! with Dr Abeba Birhane)
S5 Ep 5The internet is coiled spaghetti (with Jane Ruffino)
In this episode, Elaine tries to turn Kelly into a subsea cables stan with the help of Jane Ruffino, a PhD candidate who recently visited a ship in the midst of (literally) winding up TAT-8, the world’s first transatlantic fibre-optic cable. Jane enthusiastically shares what we can learn from the subsea cable industry’s ‘minimum necessary technology’ mindset, and why it’s important that the infrastructure and labour that keeps us connected is made visible.Find Jane on LinkedIn and at CharacterWorks.co.*** Good things we recommend ***>> Jane’s superb article in Wired >> Our podcast episode, The internet under the sea >> The Undersea Network, a book by Nicole Starosielski>> Atlantic-Cable.com >> Derek Cassidy, communication archaeologist >> Irish artist Fiona Marron >> Ye Olde Hurdy-Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio in Howth, Co. Dublin*** More from us ***Kelly’s Substack: kellysrubbish.substack.com FTS blog: for-techs-sake.ghost.io FTS TikTok: fortechssakepod FTS Instagram: fortechssakepod FTS Bluesky: fortechssakepod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 Ep 4Access to AT (with Patrick Fitzgerald and Sarah Boland)
This week, Kelly and Elaine are talking about AT, assistive technology, and how we can all have nicer digital experiences because of it. Our expert guides to AT in this episode are Patrick Fitzgerald, an AT user and DigiCoach for others, and Sarah Boland, an AT facilitator and mentor. We find out some fundamentals for designers and developers to make the web more accessible, as well as some tips for ourselves to be more inclusive with what we post online. Will you take on our anti-Lent alt text challenge? *** Good things we recommend ***>> St John of God Liffey Services >> FreedomTech.ie >> AccessDesign: An inclusive co-design toolkit >> Osmo >> For Tech’s Sake Live! *** More from us ***Kelly’s Substack: kellysrubbish.substack.com FTS blog: for-techs-sake.ghost.io FTS TikTok: fortechssakepod FTS Instagram: fortechssakepod FTS Bluesky: fortechssakepod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 Ep 3Pokémon Go to train an AI
Pokémon Go collected 30 billion street-level image scans from its players, and now its creators are using that data to help train delivery robots. This prompted Kelly and Elaine to discuss the many ways human labour contributes to AI training, whether we are aware of it or not. *** Good things we recommend ***>> Humanitix ticketing >> Gravity Climbing Centre >> For Tech’s Sake Live! >> Svenska Dagbladet’s investigation into Meta’s AI training *** More from us ***Kelly’s Substack: kellysrubbish.substack.comFTS blog: for-techs-sake.ghost.io FTS TikTok: fortechssakepodFTS Instagram: fortechssakepodFTS Bluesky: fortechssakepod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 Ep 2We need to talk about how we talk about AI (with Prof Aphra Kerr)
EToday’s episode is a lesson in AI literacy, busting some myths and revealing the strings behind the magic trick (with a smattering of Irish for Seachtain na Gaeilge). Kelly quizzes Elaine on how we can adapt our language to be clearer in communicating what AI is, and we also speak to Prof Aphra Kerr about the award-winning AlgoWatch project and its efforts to boost literacy among young people.*** Good things we recommend ***>> AlgoWatch.eu>> Elaine’s keynote at CESIcon 2026>> #DiscussAI>> Age-Friendly AI>> Switched On*** More from us ***Kelly’s Substack: kellysrubbish.substack.comFTS blog: for-techs-sake.ghost.io FTS TikTok: fortechssakepodFTS Instagram: fortechssakepodFTS Bluesky: fortechssakepod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S5 Ep 1Dubai influencers
We’re back with an all-new season of For Tech’s Sake, just in time for a digital media literacy lesson on the Dubai influencer economy and how this shapes the content you see in your feed. We also have some news about our upcoming 100th episode – but you’ll have to listen to find out about that. *** Good things we recommend ***>> Check out Ned Leddy’s e-waste sculpture in St Patrick’s Park from March 14th to 16th.>> Spot a fish, ring a doorbell at visdeurbel.nl*** More from us ***Kelly’s Substack: kellysrubbish.substack.comFTS blog: for-techs-sake.ghost.io FTS TikTok: fortechssakepodFTS Instagram: fortechssakepodFTS Bluesky: fortechssakepod.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.