Botocracy: Is AI going to take over all aspects of public life?

Cammin’. Cammin’. And I hope you like Cammin’, Too?: What Are Platforms Doing to Intimacy?

Innovation and technology have reshaped almost every aspect of our romantic and sexual lives: from how we flirt, to how we perform desirability (even male strippers wear tool belts), to how we understand what counts as “normal” intimacy. If you watch the film Kinsey, about his famous US sex study in the 1948 and 1953 in America, all anyone wants to know of the researchers is, “Am I normal?” We are 'On Tech and Sexual Politics' here on this podcast, but as platforms tighten their rules around sexual content, and governments introduce sweeping legislation like the Online Safety Act, the politics of pleasure have become more visible than ever. I discuss this with Dr Hanne Stegeman [https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/45136-hanne-stegeman], a researcher at the University of Exeter whose work examines how people navigate sexuality in digital spaces. Dr Stegeman is especially interested in how people experience intimacy on the internet. Her work is concerned with the digital spaces people use to express intimate feelings, share sexual content, or learn about sexuality. Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London [https://www.bil.ac.uk/].

The Singularity and Ready to Mingle? What AI means for modern love

This is a recording of our inaugural The Great RomCon? real-life event in London. Our budding singles and AI enthusiasts were in for a singles night with a difference: bonding over a fireside discussion with AI expert, Dr Antonio Weiss [https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonioeweiss/?originalSubdomain=uk]. We turned the tables and let AI prompt the conversation for once, where Dr Weiss discussed his further insights from his book 'AI Demystified [https://www.amazon.co.uk/AI-Demystified-Unleash-artificial-intelligence/dp/1292742674]': AI is disrupting businesses and workplaces, but what will it do to our relationships? Event held at the Conduit Club, London.

The Therapist Is Online Now: How is technology changing the way we view ourselves?

"Why don’t you like me?" No, not the beginning line of a progressive one-woman show, but one of many questions that we may ask ourselves about our friends, colleagues and lovers. If we have the time (and money), we may even pay someone to listen to us, in the form of talking therapy, in an effort to better understand ourselves and other people. Therapy has now gone mainstream - but what does that actually mean for how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and the digital world we now live in? In this episode, we are speaking to Dr Aaron Balick [https://www.aaronbalick.com/], a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, author, psychological consultant [https://balintconsultancy.com/dr-aaron-balick/], honorary senior lecturer at The Department for Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Studies at the University of Essex, and cultural theorist and one of the UK’s most thoughtful voices on how psychological ideas shape everyday life. Aaron’s work has long examined what happens when therapy leaves the consulting room and enters the public sphere: from the rise of therapy-speak, to the boom in online counselling, to the way digital culture reshapes our expectations of intimacy. He is a speaker, writes for GQ, and has written three books: ‘The Psychodynamics of Social Networking’ in 2013 and 'The Little Book of Calm' in 2018. Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London [https://www.bil.ac.uk/].

Botocracy: Is AI going to take over all aspects of public life?

Artificial intelligence has moved from a niche technical field to a force shaping how we work, communicate and even participate in democracy. As governments and organisations increasingly rely on automated systems in the name of efficiency and convenience, questions about trust, transparency and public understanding have become impossible to ignore. What does it mean for everyday life when decisions that affect us are mediated by technologies most people (including the people who created them) don’t fully understand? In this episode, I speak to Dr Susan Oman [https://sheffield.ac.uk/spir/people/academic/susan-oman], Senior Lecturer in Data, AI and Society at the University of Sheffield. Susan’s research explores how data and evidence operate in practice, and what this means for policy areas such as well‑being, loneliness, inequality and class. Together we unpack the public’s uneasy relationship with AI, and the democratic implications of experiments like the AI avatar launched by Mark Sewards MP. From dystopian parallels to the realities of digital public engagement, Susan offers a grounded and nuanced perspective on what happens when technology starts to stand in for human judgement and understanding. Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London [https://www.bil.ac.uk/].

Love is Blind: How is tech helping when dating with a disability?

Technology has transformed almost every aspect of modern romance, but for many disabled people, the digital world can be both a gateway to connection and a barrier to it. Dating apps promise opportunity, yet often overlook the needs of those who rely on them most. At the same time, our online lives have reshaped how we think about infidelity, financial imbalance, and even the boundaries of flirting. To explore these questions, I speak to writer and broadcaster Rob Crossan [https://www.robcrossan.co.uk/], who has spent over two decades covering travel, culture and disability affairs. Drawing on his personal experiences as a visually impaired man navigating the dating world, Rob offers a candid and funny account of how technology can help, and hinder, the search for intimacy. They discuss everything from accessibility failures in app design, to the emotional politics of digital temptation, to why going analogue sometimes feels like the only option when looking for love. Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London [https://www.bil.ac.uk/].