Episodes

  • Robbie, From Fiction to Familiar — Robots, AI, and the Illusion of Consciousness | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3

    Robbie, From Fiction to Familiar — Robots, AI, and the Illusion of Consciousness | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3
    Jun 29 2025
    ⸻ Podcast: Redefining Society and Technologyhttps://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com _____________________________This Episode’s SponsorsBlackCloak provides concierge cybersecurity protection to corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals to protect against hacking, reputational loss, financial loss, and the impacts of a corporate data breach.BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb_____________________________Robbie, From Fiction to Familiar — Robots, AI, and the Illusion of Consciousness June 29, 2025A new transmission from Musing On Society and Technology Newsletter, by Marco CiappelliI recently revisited one of my oldest companions. Not a person, not a memory, but a story. Robbie, the first of Isaac Asimov’s famous robot tales.It’s strange how familiar words can feel different over time. I first encountered Robbie as a teenager in the 1980s, flipping through a paperback copy of I, Robot. Back then, it was pure science fiction. The future felt distant, abstract, and comfortably out of reach. Robots existed mostly in movies and imagination. Artificial intelligence was something reserved for research labs or the pages of speculative novels. Reading Asimov was a window into possibilities, but they remained possibilities.Today, the story feels different. I listened to it this time—the way I often experience books now—through headphones, narrated by a synthetic voice on a sleek device Asimov might have imagined, but certainly never held. And yet, it wasn’t the method of delivery that made the story resonate more deeply; it was the world we live in now.Robbie was first published in 1939, a time when the idea of robots in everyday life was little more than fantasy. Computers were experimental machines that filled entire rooms, and global attention was focused more on impending war than machine ethics. Against that backdrop, Asimov’s quiet, philosophical take on robotics was ahead of its time.Rather than warning about robot uprisings or technological apocalypse, Asimov chose to explore trust, projection, and the human tendency to anthropomorphize the tools we create. Robbie, the robot, is mute, mechanical, yet deeply present. He is a protector, a companion, and ultimately, an emotional anchor for a young girl named Gloria. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t pretend to understand. But through his actions—loyalty, consistency, quiet presence—he earns trust.Those themes felt distant when I first read them in the ’80s. At that time, robots were factory tools, AI was theoretical, and society was just beginning to grapple with personal computers, let alone intelligent machines. The idea of a child forming a deep emotional bond with a robot was thought-provoking but belonged firmly in the realm of fiction.Listening to Robbie now, decades later, in the age of generative AI, alters everything. Today, machines talk to us fluently. They compose emails, generate artwork, write stories, even simulate empathy. Our interactions with technology are no longer limited to function; they are layered with personality, design, and the subtle performance of understanding.Yet beneath the algorithms and predictive models, the reality remains: these machines do not understand us. They generate language, simulate conversation, and mimic comprehension, but it’s an illusion built from probability and training data, not consciousness. And still, many of us choose to believe in that illusion—sometimes out of convenience, sometimes out of the innate human desire for connection.In that context, Robbie’s silence feels oddly honest. He doesn’t offer comfort through words or simulate understanding. His presence alone is enough. There is no performance. No manipulation. Just quiet, consistent loyalty.The contrast between Asimov’s fictional robot and today’s generative AI highlights a deeper societal tension. For decades, we’ve anthropomorphized our machines, giving them names, voices, personalities. We’ve designed interfaces to smile, chatbots to flirt, AI assistants that reassure us they “understand.” At the same time, we’ve begun to robotize ourselves, adapting to algorithms, quantifying emotions, shaping our behavior to suit systems designed to optimize interaction and efficiency.This two-way convergence was precisely what Asimov spoke about in his 1965 BBC interview, which has been circulating again recently. In that conversation, he didn’t just speculate about machines becoming more human-like. He predicted the merging of biology and technology, the slow erosion of the boundaries between human and machine—a hybrid species, where both evolve toward a shared, indistinct future.We are living that reality now, in subtle and obvious ways. Neural implants, mind-controlled prosthetics, AI-driven decision-making, personalized algorithms—all shaping the way we experience life and interact with the world. The convergence isn’t on the horizon; it’s happening in real time.What ...
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    10 mins
  • Bridging Worlds: How Technology Connects — or Divides — Our Communities | Guest: Lawrence Eta | Redefining Society And Technology Podcast With Marco Ciappelli

    Bridging Worlds: How Technology Connects — or Divides — Our Communities | Guest: Lawrence Eta | Redefining Society And Technology Podcast With Marco Ciappelli
    Jun 25 2025
    ⸻ Podcast: Redefining Society and Technology https://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.com Title: Bridging Worlds: How Technology Connects — or Divides — Our Communities Guest: Lawrence Eta Global Digital AI Thought Leader | #1 International Best Selling Author | Keynote Speaker | TEDx Speaker | Multi-Sector Executive | Community & Smart Cities Advocate | Pioneering AI for Societal AdvancementWebSite: https://lawrenceeta.com On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-eta-9b11139/ Host: Marco Ciappelli Co-Founder & CMO @ITSPmagazine | Master Degree in Political Science - Sociology of Communication l Branding & Marketing Consultant | Journalist | Writer | Podcasts: Technology, Cybersecurity, Society, and Storytelling.WebSite: https://marcociappelli.com On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-ciappelli/ _____________________________This Episode’s SponsorsBlackCloak provides concierge cybersecurity protection to corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals to protect against hacking, reputational loss, financial loss, and the impacts of a corporate data breach.BlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb_____________________________⸻ Podcast Summary ⸻ In this episode of Redefining Society and Technology, I sit down with Lawrence Eta — global technology leader, former CTO of the City of Toronto, and author of Bridging Worlds. We explore how technology, done right, can serve society, reduce inequality, and connect communities. From public broadband projects to building smart — sorry, connected — cities, Lawrence shares lessons from Toronto to Riyadh, and why tech is only as good as the values guiding it. ⸻ Article ⸻ As much as I love shiny gadgets, blinking lights, and funny noises from AI — we both know technology isn’t just about cool toys. It’s about people. It’s about society. It’s about building a better, more connected world. That’s exactly what we explore in my latest conversation on Redefining Society and Technology, where I had the pleasure of speaking with Lawrence Eta. If you don’t know Lawrence yet — let me tell you, this guy has lived the tech-for-good mission. Former Chief Technology Officer for the City of Toronto, current Head of Digital and Analytics for one of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 mega projects, global tech consultant, public servant, author… basically, someone who’s been around the block when it comes to tech, society, and the messy, complicated intersection where they collide. We talked about everything from bridging the digital divide in one of North America’s most diverse cities to building entirely new digital infrastructure from scratch in Riyadh. But what stuck with me most is his belief — and mine — that technology is neutral. It’s how we use it that makes the difference. Lawrence shared his experience launching Toronto’s Municipal Broadband Network — a project that brought affordable, high-speed internet to underserved communities. For him, success wasn’t measured by quarterly profits (a refreshing concept, right?) but by whether kids could attend virtual classes, families could access healthcare online, or small businesses could thrive from home. We also got into the “smart city” conversation — and how even the language we use matters. In Toronto, they scrapped the “smart city” buzzword and reframed the work as building a “connected community.” It’s not about making the city smart — it’s about connecting people, making sure no one gets left behind, and yes, making technology human. Lawrence also shared his Five S principles for digital development: Stability, Scalability, Solutions (integration), Security, and Sustainability. Simple, clear, and — let’s be honest — badly needed in a world where tech changes faster than most cities can adapt. We wrapped the conversation with the big picture — how technology can be the great equalizer if we use it to bridge divides, not widen them. But that takes intentional leadership, community engagement, and a shared vision. It also takes reminding ourselves that beneath all the algorithms and fiber optic cables, we’re still human. And — as Lawrence put it beautifully — no matter where we come from, most of us want the same basic things: safety, opportunity, connection, and a better future for our families. That’s why I keep having these conversations — because the future isn’t just happening to us. We’re building it, together. If you missed the episode, I highly recommend listening — especially if you care about technology serving people, not the other way around. Links to connect with Lawrence and to the full episode are below — stay tuned for more, and let’s keep redefining society, together. ⸻ Keywords ⸻ Connected Communities, Smart Cities, Digital Divide, Public Broadband, Technology and Society, Digital Infrastructure, Technology for Good, Community Engagement, Urban Innovation, Digital...
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    39 mins
  • What Hump? Thirty Years of Cybersecurity and the Fine Art of Pretending It’s Not a Human Problem | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3

    What Hump? Thirty Years of Cybersecurity and the Fine Art of Pretending It’s Not a Human Problem | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3
    Jun 15 2025
    What Hump? Thirty Years of Cybersecurity and the Fine Art of Pretending It’s Not a Human ProblemA new transmission from Musing On Society and Technology Newsletter, by Marco CiappelliJune 6, 2025A Post-Infosecurity Europe Reflection on the Strange but Predictable Ways We’ve Spent Thirty Years Pretending Cybersecurity Isn’t About People.⸻ Once there was a movie titled “Young Frankenstein” (1974) — a black-and-white comedy directed by Mel Brooks, written with Gene Wilder, and starring Wilder and Marty Feldman, who delivers the iconic “What hump?” line.Let me describe the scene:[Train station, late at night. Thunder rumbles. Dr. Frederick Frankenstein steps off the train, greeted by a hunched figure holding a lantern — Igor.]Igor: Dr. Frankenstein?Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: It’s Franken-steen.Igor: Oh. Well, they told me it was Frankenstein.Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: I’m not a Frankenstein. I’m a Franken-steen.Igor (cheerfully): All right.Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (noticing Igor’s eyes): You must be Igor.Igor: No, it’s pronounced Eye-gor.Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (confused): But they told me it was Igor.Igor: Well, they were wrong then, weren’t they?[They begin walking toward the carriage.]Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (noticing Igor’s severe hunchback): You know… I’m a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I could help you with that hump.Igor (looks puzzled, deadpan): What hump?[Cut to them boarding the carriage, Igor climbing on the outside like a spider, grinning wildly.]It’s a joke, of course. One of the best. A perfectly delivered absurdity that only Mel Brooks and Marty Feldman could pull off. But like all great comedy, it tells a deeper truth.Last night, standing in front of the Tower of London, recording one of our On Location recaps with Sean Martin, that scene came rushing back. We joked about invisible humps and cybersecurity. And the moment passed. Or so I thought.Because hours later — in bed, hotel window cracked open to the London night — I was still hearing it: “What hump?”And that’s when it hit me: this isn’t just a comedy bit. It’s a diagnosis. Here we are at Infosecurity Europe, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Three decades of cybersecurity: a field born of optimism and fear, grown in complexity and contradiction.We’ve built incredible tools. We’ve formed global communities of defenders. We’ve turned “hacker” from rebel to professional job title — with a 401(k), branded hoodies, and a sponsorship deal. But we’ve also built an industry that — much like poor Igor — refuses to admit something’s wrong.The hump is right there. You can see it. Everyone can see it. And yet… we smile and say: “What hump?”We say cybersecurity is a priority. We put it in slide decks. We hold awareness months. We write policies thick enough to be used as doorstops. But then we underfund training. We silo the security team. We click links in emails that say whatever will make us think it’s important — just like those pieces of snail mail stamped URGENT that we somehow believe, even though it turns out to be an offer for a new credit card we didn’t ask for and don’t want. Except this time, the payload isn’t junk mail — it’s a clown on a spring exploding out of a fun box.Igor The hump moves, shifts, sometimes disappears from view — but it never actually goes away. And if you ask about it? Well… they were wrong then, weren’t they?That's because it’s not a technology problem. This is the part that still seems hard to swallow for some: Cybersecurity is not a technology problem. It never was.Yes, we need technology. But technology has never been the weak link.The weak link is the same as it was in 1995: us. The same it was before the internet and before computers: Humans.With our habits, assumptions, incentives, egos, and blind spots. We are the walking, clicking, swiping hump in the system. We’ve had encryption for decades. We’ve known about phishing since the days of AOL. Zero Trust was already discussed in 2004 — it just didn’t have a cool name yet.So why do we still get breached? Why does a ransomware gang with poor grammar and a Telegram channel take down entire hospitals?Because culture doesn’t change with patches. Because compliance is not belief. Because we keep treating behavior as a footnote, instead of the core.The Problem We Refuse to See at the heart of this mess is a very human phenomenon:vIf we can’t see it, we pretend it doesn’t exist.We can quantify risk, but we rarely internalize it. We trust our tech stack but don’t trust our users. We fund detection but ignore education.And not just at work — we ignore it from the start. We still teach children how to cross the street, but not how to navigate a phishing attempt or recognize algorithmic manipulation. We give them connected devices before we teach them what being connected means. In this Hybrid Analog Digital Society, we need to treat ...
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    10 mins
  • From Cassette Tapes and Phrasebooks to AI Real-Time Translations — Machines Can Now Speak for Us, But We’re Losing the Art of Understanding Each Other | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3

    From Cassette Tapes and Phrasebooks to AI Real-Time Translations — Machines Can Now Speak for Us, But We’re Losing the Art of Understanding Each Other | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter Written By Marco Ciappelli | Read by TAPE3
    May 22 2025
    From Cassette Tapes and Phrasebooks to AI Real-Time Translations — Machines Can Now Speak for Us, But We’re Losing the Art of Understanding Each Other May 21, 2025A new transmission from Musing On Society and Technology Newsletter, by Marco CiappelliThere’s this thing I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid.No, it wasn’t flying cars. Or robot butlers (although I wouldn’t mind one to fold the laundry). It was this: having a real conversation with someone — anyone — in their own language, and actually understanding each other.And now… here we are.Reference: Google brings live translation to Meet, starting with Spanish. https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-brings-live-translation-to-meet-starting-with-spanish-174549788.htmlGoogle just rolled out live AI-powered translation in Google Meet, starting with Spanish. I watched the demo video, and for a moment, I felt like I was 16 again, staring at the future with wide eyes and messy hair.It worked. It was seamless. Flawless. Magical.And then — drumroll, please — it sucked!Like… really, existentially, beautifully sucked.Let me explain.I’m a proud member of Gen X. I grew up with cassette tapes and Walkmans, boomboxes and mixtapes, floppy disks and Commodore 64s, reel-to-reel players and VHS decks, rotary phones and answering machines. I felt language — through static, rewinds, and hiss.Yes, I had to wait FOREVER to hit Play and Record, at the exact right moment, tape songs off the radio onto a Maxell, label it by hand, and rewind it with a pencil when the player chewed it up.I memorized long-distance dialing codes. I waited weeks for a letter to arrive from a pen pal abroad, reading every word like it was a treasure map.That wasn’t just communication. That was connection.Then came the shift.I didn’t miss the digital train — I jumped on early, with curiosity in one hand and a dial-up modem in the other.Early internet. Mac OS. My first email address felt like a passport to a new dimension. I spent hours navigating the World Wide Web like a digital backpacker — discovering strange forums, pixelated cities, and text-based adventures in a binary world that felt limitless.I said goodbye to analog tools, but never to analog thinking.So what is the connection with learning languages?Well, here’s the thing: exploring the internet felt a lot like learning a new language. You weren’t just reading text — you were decoding a culture. You learned how people joked. How they argued. How they shared, paused, or replied with silence. You picked up on the tone behind a blinking cursor, or the vibe of a forum thread.Similarly, when you learn a language, you’re not just learning words — you’re decoding an entire world. It’s not about the words themselves — it’s about the world they build. You’re learning gestures. Food. Humor. Social cues. Sarcasm. The way someone raises an eyebrow, or says “sure” when they mean “no.”You’re learning a culture’s operating system, not just its interface. AI translation skips that. It gets you the data, but not the depth. It’s like getting the punchline without ever hearing the setup.And yes, I use AI to clean up my writing. To bounce translations between English and Italian when I’m juggling stories. But I still read both versions. I still feel both versions. I’m picky — I fight with my AI counterpart to get it right. To make it feel the way I feel it. To make you feel it, too. Even now.I still think in analog, even when I’m living in digital.So when I watched that Google video, I realized:We’re not just gaining a tool. We’re at risk of losing something deeply human — the messy, awkward, beautiful process of actually trying to understand someone who moves through the world in a different language — one that can’t be auto-translated.Because sometimes it’s better to speak broken English with a Japanese friend and a Danish colleague — laughing through cultural confusion — than to have a perfectly translated conversation where nothing truly connects.This isn’t just about language. It’s about every tool we create that promises to “translate” life. Every app, every platform, every shortcut that promises understanding without effort.It’s not the digital that scares me. I use it. I live in it. I am it, in many ways. It’s the illusion of completion that scares me.The moment we think the transformation is done — the moment we say “we don’t need to learn that anymore” — that’s the moment we stop being human.We don’t live in 0s and 1s. We live in the in-between. The gray. The glitch. The hybrid.So yeah, cheers to AI-powered translation, but maybe keep your Walkman nearby, your phrasebook in your bag — and your curiosity even closer.Go explore the world. Learn a few words in a new language. Mispronounce them. Get them wrong. Laugh about it. People will appreciate your effort far more than your fancy iPhone.Alla prossima,— Marco 📬 Enjoyed ...
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    7 mins
  • Why Humanity’s Software Needs an Update in Our Hybrid World — Before the Tech Outpaces Us | Guest: Jeremy Lasman | Redefining Society And Technology Podcast With Marco Ciappelli

    Why Humanity’s Software Needs an Update in Our Hybrid World — Before the Tech Outpaces Us | Guest: Jeremy Lasman | Redefining Society And Technology Podcast With Marco Ciappelli
    May 20 2025

    Guest:
    Guest: Jeremy Lasman

    Website: https://www.jeremylasman.com

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremylasman
    _____________________________

    Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society & Technology Podcast

    Visit Marco's website 👉 https://www.marcociappelli.com
    _____________________________

    This Episode’s Sponsors

    BlackCloak 👉 https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb

    _____________________________

    Show Notes Blog:

    In this thought-provoking episode of Redefining Society & Technology, I sit down with Jeremy Lasman to question the most overlooked gadget in the human-tech equation: our own mind. We ask — if we keep updating our devices, why don’t we update the inner operating system that powers our thoughts, creativity, and connection to the world?

    Jeremy, a former SpaceX technologist turned philosopher-inventor, shares his journey from corporate IT to what he calls his “soul’s work”: challenging the legacy software running our lives — fear-based, outdated models of thinking — with something he calls “Imagination Technology.” It’s not metaphorical. It’s a real framework. And yes, it sounds wild — but it also makes a lot of sense.

    We touch on everything from open-source thinking to quantum consciousness, from the speed of technological evolution to the bottlenecks of our cultural structures like education and societal expectations. At the center is a call to action: we need to stop treating passion as a luxury and instead recognize it as the fuel for personal and collective evolution.

    Together, we reflect on how society tends to silo disciplines, discourage curiosity, and cling to binary thinking in a world that demands fluidity. Jeremy argues that redefining society begins with redefining the self — tearing down internal walls, embracing timelessness, and running life not on fear, but on imagination.

    Is this transhumanism? Is it spiritual philosophy dressed up in tech language? Maybe. But it’s also deeply human — and urgent. Because in a world where AI and tech evolve by the day, we can’t afford to be running on emotional floppy disks.

    So here’s the challenge: what if the next big upgrade isn’t an app, a device, or even a new piece of hardware — but a reprogramming of how we see ourselves?

    Enjoy. Reflect. Share with your fellow humans.

    And if you haven’t already, subscribe to Musing On Society & Technology on LinkedIn — new transmissions are always incoming.

    You’re listening to this through the Redefining Society & Technology podcast, so while you’re here, make sure to follow the show — and join us as we continue exploring life in this Hybrid Analog Digital Society.

    End of transmission.

    ____________________________

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    👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTUoWMGGQHlGVZA575VtGr9

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    42 mins
  • The Future Is a Place We Visit, But Never Stay | A Post RSAC Conference 2025 Reflection | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter with Marco Ciappelli and TAPE3 | Read by TAPE3

    The Future Is a Place We Visit, But Never Stay | A Post RSAC Conference 2025 Reflection | A Musing On Society & Technology Newsletter with Marco Ciappelli and TAPE3 | Read by TAPE3
    May 10 2025
    The Future Is a Place We Visit, But Never StayMay 9, 2025A Post-RSAC 2025 Reflection on the Kinda Funny and Pretty Weird Ways Society, Technology, and Cybersecurity Intersect, Interact, and Often Simply Ignore Each Other.By Marco Ciappelli | Musing on Society and TechnologyHere we are — once again, back from RSAC. Back from the future. Or at least the version of the future that fits inside a conference badge, a branded tote bag, and a hotel bill that makes you wonder if your wallet just got hacked.San Francisco is still buzzing with innovation — or at least that’s what the hundreds of self-driving cars swarming the city would have you believe. It’s hard to feel like you’re floating into a Jetsons-style future when your shuttle ride is bouncing through potholes that feel more 1984 than 2049.I have to admit, there’s something oddly poetic about hosting a massive cybersecurity event in a city where most attendees would probably rather not be — and yet, here we are. Not for the scenery. Not for the affordability. But because, somehow, for a few intense days, this becomes the place where the future lives.And yes, it sometimes looks like a carnival. There are goats. There are puppies. There are LED-lit booths that could double as rave stages. Is this how cybersecurity sells the feeling of safety now? Warm fuzzies and swag you’ll never use? I’m not sure.But again: here we are.There’s a certain beauty in it. Even the ridiculous bits. Especially the ridiculous bits.Personally, I’m grateful for my press badge — it’s not just a backstage pass; it’s a magical talisman that wards off the pitch-slingers. The power of not having a budget is strong with this one.But let’s set aside the Frankensteins in the expo hall for a moment.Because underneath the spectacle — behind the snacks, the popcorns, the scanners and the sales demos — there is something deeply valuable happening. Something that matters to me. Something that has kept me coming back, year after year, not for the products but for the people. Not for the tech, but for the stories.What RSAC Conference gives us — what all good conferences give us — is a window. A quick glimpse through the curtain at what might be.And sometimes, if you’re lucky and paying attention, that glimpse stays with you long after the lights go down.We have quantum startups talking about cryptographic agility while schools are still banning phones. We have generative AI writing software — code that writes code — while lawmakers print bills that read like they were faxed in from 1992. We have cybersecurity vendors pitching zero trust to rooms full of people still clinging to the fantasy of perimeter defense — not just in networks, but in their thinking.We’re trying to build the future on top of a mindset that refuses to update.That’s the real threat. Not AI and quantum. Not ransomware. Not the next zero-day.It’s the human operating system. It hasn’t been patched in a while.And so I ask myself — what are these conferences for, really?Because yes, of course, they matter.Of course I believe in them — otherwise I wouldn’t be there, recording stories, chasing conversations, sharing a couch and a mic with whoever is bold enough to speak not just about how we fix things, but why we should care at all.But I’m also starting to believe that unless we do something more — unless we act on what we learn, build on what we imagine, challenge what we assume — these gatherings will become time capsules. Beautiful, well-produced, highly caffeinated, blinking, noisy time capsules.We don’t need more predictions. We need more decisions.One of the most compelling conversations I had wasn’t about tech at all. It was about behavior. Human behavior.Dr. Jason Nurse reminded us that most people are not just confused by cybersecurity — they’re afraid of it.They’re tired.They’re overwhelmed.And in their confusion, they become unpredictable. Vulnerable.Not because they don’t care — but because we haven’t built a system that makes it easy to care.That’s a design flaw.Elsewhere, I heard the term “AI security debt.” That one stayed with me.Because it’s not just technical debt anymore. It’s existential.We are creating systems that evolve faster than our ability to understand them — and we’re doing it with the same blind trust we used to install browser toolbars in the ‘90s.“Sure, it seems useful. Click accept.”We’ve never needed collective wisdom more than we do right now.And yet, most of what we build is designed for speed, not wisdom.So what do we do?We pause. We reflect. We resist the urge to just “move on” to the next conference, the next buzzword, the next promised fix.Because the real value of RSAC isn’t in the badge or the swag or the keynotes.It’s in the aftershock.It’s in what we carry forward, what we refuse to forget, what we dare to question even when the conference is over, the blinking booths ...
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    8 mins
  • Inside the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge: Securing Tomorrow’s Critical Infrastructure Through AI and Healthy Competition | An RSAC Conference 2025 Conversation with Andrew Carney | On Location Coverage with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli

    Inside the DARPA AI Cyber Challenge: Securing Tomorrow’s Critical Infrastructure Through AI and Healthy Competition | An RSAC Conference 2025 Conversation with Andrew Carney | On Location Coverage with Sean Martin and Marco Ciappelli
    Apr 28 2025
    During RSAC Conference 2025, Andrew Carney, Program Manager at DARPA, and (remotely via video) Dr. Kathleen Fisher, Professor at Tufts University and Program Manager for the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC), guide attendees through an immersive experience called Northbridge—a fictional city designed to showcase the critical role of AI in securing infrastructure through the DARPA-led AI Cyber Challenge.Inside Northbridge: The Stakes Are RealNorthbridge simulates the future of cybersecurity, blending AI, infrastructure, and human collaboration. It’s not just a walkthrough — it’s a call to action. Through simulated attacks on water systems, healthcare networks, and cyber operations, visitors witness firsthand the tangible impacts of vulnerabilities in critical systems. Dr. Fisher emphasizes that the AI Cyber Challenge isn’t theoretical: the vulnerabilities competitors find and fix directly apply to real open-source software relied on by society today.The AI Cyber Challenge: Pairing Generative AI with Cyber ReasoningThe AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) invites teams from universities, small businesses, and consortiums to create cyber reasoning systems capable of autonomously identifying and fixing vulnerabilities. Leveraging leading foundation models from Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, the teams operate with tight constraints—working with limited time, compute, and LLM credits—to uncover and patch vulnerabilities at scale. Remarkably, during semifinals, teams found and fixed nearly half of the synthetic vulnerabilities, and even discovered a real-world zero-day in SQLite.Building Toward DEFCON Finals and BeyondThe journey doesn’t end at RSA. As the teams prepare for the AIxCC finals at DEFCON 2025, DARPA is increasing the complexity of the challenge—and the available resources. Beyond the competition, a core goal is public benefit: all cyber reasoning systems developed through AIxCC will be open-sourced under permissive licenses, encouraging widespread adoption across industries and government sectors.From Competition to CollaborationCarney and Fisher stress that the ultimate victory isn’t in individual wins, but in strengthening cybersecurity collectively. Whether securing hospitals, water plants, or financial institutions, the future demands cooperation across public and private sectors.The Northbridge experience offers a powerful reminder: resilience in cybersecurity is built not through fear, but through innovation, collaboration, and a relentless drive to secure the systems we all depend on.___________Guest: Andrew Carney, AI Cyber Challenge Program Manager, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) | https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-carney-945458a6/Hosts:Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.seanmartin.comMarco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine | Website: https://www.marcociappelli.com______________________Episode SponsorsThreatLocker: https://itspm.ag/threatlocker-r974Akamai: https://itspm.ag/akamailbwcBlackCloak: https://itspm.ag/itspbcwebSandboxAQ: https://itspm.ag/sandboxaq-j2enArcher: https://itspm.ag/rsaarchwebDropzone AI: https://itspm.ag/dropzoneai-641ISACA: https://itspm.ag/isaca-96808ObjectFirst: https://itspm.ag/object-first-2gjlEdera: https://itspm.ag/edera-434868___________ResourcesThe DARPA AIxCC Experience at RSAC 2025 Innovation Sandbox: https://www.rsaconference.com/usa/programs/sandbox/darpaLearn more and catch more stories from RSAC Conference 2025 coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/rsac25___________KEYWORDSandrew carney, kathleen fisher, marco ciappelli, sean martin, darpa, aixcc, cybersecurity, rsac 2025, defcon, ai cybersecurity, event coverage, on location, conference______________________Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverageWant to tell your Brand Story Briefing as part of our event coverage? Learn More 👉 https://itspm.ag/evtcovbrfWant Sean and Marco to be part of your event or conference? Let Us Know 👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/contact-us
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    28 mins
  • Living Forever (Sort Of): AI Clones, Digital Ghosts, and the Problem with Perfection | A Carbon, a Silicon, and a Cell walk into a bar... | A Redefining Society Podcast Series With Recurring Guest Dr. Bruce Y. Lee

    Living Forever (Sort Of): AI Clones, Digital Ghosts, and the Problem with Perfection | A Carbon, a Silicon, and a Cell walk into a bar... | A Redefining Society Podcast Series With Recurring Guest Dr. Bruce Y. Lee
    Apr 17 2025
    Guest: Dr. Bruce Y LeeSenior Contributor @Forbes | Professor | CEO | Writer/Journalist | Entrepreneur | Digital & Computational Health | #AI | bruceylee.substack.com | bruceylee.com Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA is a writer, journalist, systems modeler, AI, computational and digital health expert, professor, physician, entrepreneur, and avocado-eater, not always in that order.Executive Director of PHICOR (Public Health Informatics, Computational, and Operations Research) [@PHICORteam]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-y-lee-68a6834/Website | https://www.bruceylee.com/_____________________________Host: Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society PodcastVisit Marco's website 👉 https://www.marcociappelli.com _____________________________This Episode’s SponsorsBlackCloak 👉 https://itspm.ag/itspbcweb_____________________________We’re back at the bar. Bruce is here, the garlic took the day off (too young to drink?), and we’re talking about something that’s not science fiction anymore — the idea that your digital self could outlive you.Yeah. Living forever. Or at least… being replicated forever.It starts with a hologram of Princess Leia and ends with people in Japan marrying bots. And in between? There’s a messy, fascinating, unsettling space filled with AI companions, algorithmic flattery, uncanny valley doppelgängers, and the very real possibility that we’re confusing memory with simulation.Bruce brings up Star Trek — of course he does — where Captain Kirk debates a machine version of a long-dead friend who insists he’s still the real deal. Spoiler: Kirk says no. And I get it. But what if that machine knows everything I’ve ever posted, recorded, written, liked, said, or searched? What if it feels like me?Would you want to talk to it?As always, our conversation doesn’t offer a final answer — we’re not here to draw lines in the philosophical sand. We’re here to hold up a mirror and ask: is that reflection still you if it’s built out of pixels and training data?This episode is personal and playful, but also incredibly relevant. Because we’re already building legacies we don’t fully understand. Every photo, every search, every rant, every laugh — it’s all on the record now. Our historical memory is no longer dusty boxes in the attic; it’s a neural net waiting to be queried.So yeah, one day, you might be sipping your espresso while a synthetic version of your late uncle offers you advice, cracks a joke, and asks if you still listen to that one podcast.Just remember what Captain Kirk said: that might look like him, sound like him, even think like him — but it’s not really him.Still… it’s a hell of a conversation.So join Bruce and me. Pull up a virtual stool. It’s Season 2, Episode 3. And no, that laugh you just heard isn’t AI-generated — not yet.⸻Keywords:digital immortality, AI relationships, uncanny valley, chatbot therapy, synthetic identity, Star Trek, brain uploading, holograms, emotional AI, algorithmic intimacy, digital clone, memory simulation, techno-sociology, posthumanism, virtual consciousness, AI ethics, social engineering, digital legacy, artificial friends, future of identitySee You Next TimeYou'll find links to connect with Bruce and explore his incredible contributions in journalism and medicine. I promise you; he's just as insightful and entertaining as he seems in the series. So, see you next time – same bar, same garlic, new topics!_____________________________Resources/ReferencesThe Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AIby Ray Kurzweil____________________________Listen to more Redefining Society & Technology stories and subscribe to the podcast:👉 https://redefiningsocietyandtechnologypodcast.comWatch the webcast version on-demand on YouTube:👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnYu0psdcllTUoWMGGQHlGVZA575VtGr9Are you interested Promotional Brand Stories for your Company and Sponsoring an ITSPmagazine Channel?👉 https://www.itspmagazine.com/advertise-on-itspmagazine-podcast
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    43 mins