Ethics – Looks Like New https://lookslikenew.net The show that asks old questions about new technology, produced by the Media Economies Design Lab at CU Boulder. Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:14:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://lookslikenew.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/LooksLikeNew-5-150x150.png Ethics – Looks Like New https://lookslikenew.net 32 32 Can AI be rebuilt to serve communities? https://lookslikenew.net/podcast/can-ai-be-rebuilt-to-serve-communities/ Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://lookslikenew.net/?post_type=podcast&p=67351 ]]> In this month’s episode, in conversation with MEDLab fellow Stephanie Abdalla, Dr. Gebru discusses AI ethics research, the history of the AGI movement, and movements of resistance that can lead us to alternative AI futures.

Dr. Timnit Gebru is the founder and executive director of the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR for short), an independent organization of academics, activists, and engineers who believe in technology that benefits everyone. Dr. Gebru is also the co-founder of Black in AI, a nonprofit that works to increase the presence, inclusion, visibility, and health of Black people in the field of AI, and is on the board of AddisCoder, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching algorithms and computer programming to Ethiopian and Jamaican high school students. She has received a number of accolades, including being named one of Nature’s Ten people who helped shape science and one of TIME 100’s most influential people.


]]> How is open-source software like magic? https://lookslikenew.net/podcast/how-is-open-source-software-like-magic/ Thu, 27 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000 https://lookslikenew.net/?post_type=podcast&p=67256 ]]> Writing code can be like casting a spell: magic words, written in a special language, bring new worlds into existence. But spells can have consequences. Who is responsible for how technology impacts society? This month on Looks Like New, MEDlab research fellow Adina Glickstein talked to Coraline Ada Ehmke. Who is dedicated to helping technologists make sense of – and take accountability for – the ethical implications of their work.

Ehmke developed the Contributor Covenant, a code of conduct that is widely used across digital communities, as well as the Hippocratic License, a software license designed to protect human rights. She previously appeared on Looks Like New to explore why software development communities need ethical standards. This month, Ehmke returns to Looks Like New to talk about her work as a tech ethicist, experimental musician, and occult practitioner. As the Executive Director of the Organization for Ethical Source, Ehmke considers software’s real-world impacts and works to promote the fundamental rights and well-being of diverse communities affected by technology.

Ehmke’s writing appeared in the MEDLab publication “Change is in the Cards,” a zine that explores open-source governance through the lens of tarot. The zine is freely available for download here

Curious to hear more about Ehmke’s work as a tech ethicist? Listen to her previous appearance on Looks Like New here

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