Critical Clicks Podcast
Critical Clicks: Examining the Influence of our Online Interactions is a micro podcast dedicated to exploring the many dimensions of our increasingly digital world. Hosted by Dr Valerie Lopes, each episode of “Critical Clicks” discusses the undercurrents of various aspects of our digital lives. The topics are wide ranging – from the potential of artificial intelligence and the ethical quagmires it presents, the complexities of internet safety and privacy, the dynamism and paradoxes of social media, and the often-unseen forces controlling our digital interactions. “Critical Clicks” endeavors to decode how these digital influences are molding our society, and more importantly, our individual identities and views of the world.
- Episode #1 – Stepping into the Digital Landscape: Your Impact, Your Identity
- Episode #2 – Explore the Invisible World or Algorithms
- Episode #3 – Explaining AI and Machine Learning
- Episode #4 – OpenAI: Promise, Peril and Paradox in the AI Landscape
- Episode #5 – AI’s Double-Edged Sword: Ethics, Bias and Potential Harms of AI Technologies
- Episode #6 – Invisible Persuaders: The Deceptive Patterns of Web Design
- Episode #7 – Information or Illusion: Deciphering Truth in the Age of Misinformation
- Episode #8 – The Attention Economy and Click Bait
- Episode #9 – Navigating the Digital Echo Chamber: Understanding and Overcoming Perception Polarization
- Episode #10 – Unmasking Deepfakes: The New Age of AI-Driven Deception
- Episode #11 – Invasion of the Ad Trackers: The Hidden Side of Online Advertising
- Episode #12 – The Smartphone and Spy in your Pocket
- Episode #13 – Balancing Acts: Navigating Privacy and Security in the Digital World
- Episode #14 – The Internet’s Carbon Footprint and Environmental Impact
- Episode #15 – The Social Comparison: The Mirror and Mirage of Social Media
- Episode #16 – Exploring the Power of the ‘Like’: The Binary Code That Shapes Our Online World
- Episode #17 – Social Media Influencers
- Episode #18 – Pixelated Power: How Virtual Influencers Shape Our World
- Episode #19 – Redefining Relationships: Social Media’s Impact on Human Connection
- Episode #20 – Love in the Digital Age: The Privacy Paradox of Dating Apps
- Episode #21 – Toxic Online Behaviours
- Episode #22 – The Internet of Behaviours: A Convenience or An Ethical Minefield?
- Episode #23 – Digital Puppeteer: User or Used?
Interspersed with examples, insights, reflection questions and resources, this podcast series encourages listeners to develop a discerning perspective towards our digital lives. It underscores the importance of critical engagement with our online existence, equipping us with the tools and knowledge to navigate the digital world responsibly and consciously. Listen, as we unravel the intricacies of our digital existence. Each episode is only about 5 minutes long. Tune-in and take a step towards becoming a more informed digital citizen. As I continue to develop the website and micro-podcast episodes, each episode page will include a list of resources about the topic.
This podcast is also a companion resource for a college course – CUL145 Digital Trends and Issues – that is offered in the General Arts Program in the School of Arts and Science at Seneca Polytechnic. It will be used as a springboard for class debates, discussions, and assignments. Join us as we zoom into the vibrant and sometimes, vexing world of technology!
Note: In the creation of the ‘Critical Clicks’ podcast, I harnessed the power of artificial intelligence, specifically the advanced capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4. This large language model assisted in some parts of the scriptwriting process, generating the initial outlines of some episode content, and suggesting some reflective questions. This saved a lot of time as the scripts were created. It’s one example of how AI can contribute to content creation and education, being cognizant of the inherent biases, ethical concerns and accuracy of content generated by AI. If you are interested in finding out more about the process I used, I would be happy to discuss this with you – email podcast@valerielopes.ca
Creative Commons: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Valerie Lopes, BSc, MA, PhD | valerielopes.ca