• Each episode features experts who reveal the new technologies at play and how to maximise their benefits while minimising risks in their respective fields
• Episodes cover education, energy, health, psychology and engineering

The latest Charles Sturt University podcast series – Digitised Lives – uncovers how a variety of industries are balancing the risks and rewards of rapidly advancing technologies.

Each of the series five episodes feature an expert in their respective field who is at the cutting edge of these advancements, navigating the impacts on various sectors including education, energy, health, psychology and engineering.

Lecturer in inclusive education in the Charles Sturt School of Education Dr Natalie Thompson shared her knowledge on the emergence of ‘stunt double’ teachers during the Education episode.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) obviously comes with great risk, but one fascinating way it’s being integrated into classrooms is through programs which essentially allow a teacher to generate a digital agent programmed to give feedback and support in a similar way to how the real teacher would,” Dr Thompson said.

These agents, sometimes described as ‘stunt double teachers’, are trained on the teacher’s materials and classroom context to simulate their responses.

Senior Research Fellow in Energy and Circularity in the Gulbali Institute Dr Simon Wright said the podcast series helped bring vital discussions around renewable energy to the forefront.

“Australia is one of the best placed countries to take advantage of renewables because we have such amazing natural resources; the sun shines a lot, the wind blows a lot, and we have other sources of renewables such as hydro power,” Dr Wright said.

“But there are other emerging forms we can also embrace too, particularly biomass, which is using organic agricultural waste from, say, pig or poultry farms, collecting this and processing it in somewhat of a pressure cooker – like a man-made digestive system – that creates methane which can then be flared to generate power.

“Not only does this generate renewable energy, it also takes that methane out of the air from an environmental perspective.”

Director of Renewables in the Agriculture Centre of Excellence, Innovation and Impact, and Lead at Food Agility Mr Stephen Summerhayes joined Dr Wright for the Energy episode of the podcast.

He said there is some exciting research taking place around second-life solar, diverting early retired solar panels from the waste dump and putting them back into service through vitivoltaics, or ‘solar-powered Pinot’.

“By repurposing second-hand but still functional solar panels, they can act as pergolas for our grapes, reducing the effects of intense sun and temperatures,” Mr Summerhayes said.

“This not only reduces emissions but also generates power to run the farm and electric machinery, enhances water and nutrient efficiency using sensors and micro-electric technologies and makes it easier to keep pesky pests at bay.”

Another episode covers the issue of using AI in therapy settings. Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the Charles Sturt School of Psychology Dr Rachel Hogg said the age of ‘digital intimacy’ comes with risks.

“The concept of ‘relationship’ comes under scrutiny in a new way when we consider human-robot relationships, and many would argue that AI offers a hollowed-out version, not just of empathy, but of humanity - a kind of diet-lite version of human connection,” Dr Hogg said.

“This lack of humanity can blur lines between taking things literally in scenarios that would otherwise require emotional interpretation.”

While risks are rife in a psychological setting, engineers across Australia and the world are reaping the benefits of advancing technologies.

Director of Engineering in the Charles Sturt School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering Professor Timothy Anderson said his episode of the podcast discussed how modern technologies are helping to create ‘healthier homes’.

“A new concept in development is mechanical ventilation heat recovery systems, or MVHRs, which provide a total ventilation system for well-sealed homes,” Professor Anderson said.

“Essentially, they draw in external air and push out stale, internal air on a constant cycle, but the real advancement is the ability to extract the thermal energy from outgoing, humid air using a heat exchanger which is then used to temper fresh incoming air, and vice versa in summer.”

The fifth episode focuses on the advancements of remote scanning technologies in healthcare. Charles Sturt School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences and founding director of TeleMed Mr Peter Tually explains how remote operated nuclear medicine scanning is creating a new age of equitable healthcare between metropolitan and regional locations.

“We already have mobile CT and MRI trucks, but the idea now is to take battery-powered scanners to put on a truck so it doesn’t have to be tethered to a power plug somewhere stationary,” Mr Tually said.

“The goal is to implement a means of recharging these batteries using the motion of the truck, which they do with vehicles in certain mining companies and even in Formula One racing cars.

“This, coupled with other digital and AI programs to input patient data and package it up to be reported on by the best metropolitan doctors, can significantly close the regional healthcare gap.”

Listen to each of the five episodes within the Charles Sturt Digitised Lives podcast series below:

• Episode 1. Education – ‘Maximising AI for more equitable learning’, featuring:
  • Lecturer in Inclusive Education in the Charles Sturt School of Education Dr Natalie Thompson
• Episode 2. Energy – ‘Minimising waste, maximising power’, featuring:
  • Senior Research Fellow in Energy and Circularity in the Gulbali Institute Dr Simon Wright, and
  • Director of Renewables in the Agriculture Centre of Excellence, Innovation and Impact, and Lead at Food Agility Mr Stephen Summerhayes
• Episode 3. Psychology – ‘Setting boundaries with robot relationships’, featuring:
  • Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the Charles Sturt School of Psychology Dr Rachel Hogg
• Episode 4. Engineering – ‘Smarter homes for healthier living’, featuring:
  • Director of Engineering in the Charles Sturt School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering Professor Timothy Anderson
• Episode 5. Health – ‘Remote scanning tech lifting regional healthcare barriers’, featuring:
  • PhD student in the Charles Sturt School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences and founding director of TeleMed Mr Peter Tually

The complete series is available here.