Deep dive into the digital divide

From Sydney’s 2SER 107.3 and the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion, series 3 of All Things Equal is here: Digital Divides.

The investigative podcast continues its interrogation of equality in our modern society: first the #metoo movement, then fairness in education, and now turning its focus to human rights and technology in the digital age.

Technology has reshaped all aspects of life on the planet. Every advance offers exciting possibilities, but also unintended consequences… This series goes behind the tech hype, to hear the real human stories of Australians living through the upheaval of the fourth industrial revolution:

  • Technology has huge potential benefits for those with disabilities, but as it becomes ubiquitous, also threatens to exclude. Inclusive design (involving people with disability in the design process from the ground up) offers benefits to everyone.
  • In education, rote learning times tables is obsolete. Computers are capable of processing far more information than humans, and in a fraction of the time. What students can learn about machines and their programming has become far more relevant.
  • We see some of the most obvious benefits new technology creates for human kind in the health field. But equality of access to these expensive technologies will prove problematic, especially when it comes to our greatest, and most terrifying, feat: gene editing.

Our exploration into this has come out of a three year partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The podcast reflects research and projects by our academics, but they also get to the heart of the issues we are looking into through human stories.

Verity Firth, Executive Director, Social Justice, UTS

With over 10,000 downloads already, All Things Equal is capturing the imagination and egalitarian spirit of Australian podcast listeners. The previous season, Uniform, is a finalist in the forthcoming 2020 NY Festivals Radio Awards, in the category of 'Social Issues'.

Find out why the series is making such an impact – All Things Equal: Digital Divides is on your favourite podcast app now, or listen here: 

By turns, I’ve been fascinated and terrified while making this series… what stands out to me most is the two realities of tech: there are amazing opportunities, and terrible dangers. It’s up to us to decide which way we want to go.”

Dan Butler, series producer, 2SER 107.3

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