Big Ideas brings you the best of talks, forums, debates, and festivals held in Australia and around the world, casting light on the major social, cultural, scientific and political issues.
Latest Programs
Thursday 30 May 2019
In business and government it's getting harder to speak to a human. Computer programs are being used to deliver all kinds of services. They can decide if you're eligible for a loan , a welfare benefit or even to judge if you're a good candidate for parole. Are these automated decision-makers fair and ethical?
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Intelligent machines can perform tasks usually done by humans but should they make life and death decisions? Lethal autonomous weapons will be deployed on the battlefields of the future unless a campaign to ban them is successful. Should robots be asked to make moral decisions?
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Wednesday 29 May 2019
Four different perspectives: Does racism in this country occur on the fringes of society or do we have a broader, structural problem? And how does an undercurrent of racism fit in with our supposedly successful multicultural society?
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Tuesday 28 May 2019
We’ve just had a long and exhausting election campaign. Regardless of who you voted for, the electoral system did its job. Australia was ahead of the pack with votes for women and compulsory voting. And where else can you vote and eat a sausage sandwich?
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Monday 27 May 2019
Companion animals are caught in the crossfire of domestic violence. Should we view them as victims, in their own right?
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Thursday 23 May 2019
We have the technology but do we have the ability to manage it? Governments are struggling to keep up with digital technology and artificial intelligence which is remaking the world in its own image. Without active public policy, will the technology work for all of us or just benefit the chosen few?
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Wednesday 22 May 2019
Many people no longer relate to the left and right divide in politics. They see politics through the lens of their identity: ethnicity, religion, gender or race. But will playing politics this way achieve transformative social change? Analyst Kenan Malik says that solidarity not difference is the way forward.
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Tuesday 21 May 2019
Worldwide there are more than 25 million refugees. But their suffering doesn’t end once they reach a safe place. They continue to fight the experience of torture and trauma.
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Monday 20 May 2019
Vince Kadlubek on how a weird anarchist art collective from Sante Fe, New Mexico, became a cultural juggernaut and 'alt Disney' enterprise.
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Thursday 16 May 2019
Some consumers will go out of their way to avoid genetically modified produce. Despite reassurance from GM scientists, the debate about GM food goes on. As Tasmania reviews its moratorium on genetically modified crops we debate the pros and cons of GM agriculture.
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Wednesday 15 May 2019
Ex-Australian Greens leader, Bob Brown, in conversation. He discusses why the environment is our most pressing concern, the impact of big money - and the Murdoch press - on politics, and more.
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Tuesday 14 May 2019
War crimes and human rights abuses are nothing new but have we lost the will to fight them? An advocate for Human Rights Watch says that atrocities have become the new normal as governments and militias act with impunity. Despite laws and conventions, the international community seems unwilling to stop the persecution and to make the guilty pay. Why has this happened and can we turn it around?
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Monday 13 May 2019
Did you know that music has played a role in shaping our periodic table of chemical elements? Yes – chemistry is intrinsically linked to music. Big Ideas celebrates the 150-year anniversary of the periodic table.
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As music gets quiet, so too must listening. Deep Listening is a philosophy that treats musical work as immersive soundscapes. The music, the environment of the performance and the audience form an interdependent listening experience.
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Thursday 9 May 2019
Do you love to drive or would you rather sit back and read a book? With an autonomous vehicle, a driverless car, you could use your commute time to do other things. But are you willing to hand over complete control to the car? What are the risks and benefits of autonomous vehicles?
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Who decides what robots look like and how they should be used?
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Wednesday 8 May 2019
Our criminal justice system has certainly changed since the First Fleet unloaded its cargo of convicts in 1788. But is our prison system doing any better in reducing crime and returning offenders to society? That’s the question explored in this lecture by the Honourable Kate Warner Governor of Tasmania and Professor Emeritus of Law. She compares Australia’s original convict system with current crime and imprisonment rates.
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