Breaking Boundaries: A podcast from Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

The season of the podcast focused on the role of technology in global affairs. In this episode, Professor Jacqueline Stevens, Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and Founding Faculty Director of the Deportation Research Clinic at the Northwestern Buffett Institute for Global Affairs shares her expertise  on the use of big data technology at the border and its impact on migration, deportation, and human rights. 

Democracies around the world are grappling with the best uses of artificial intelligence (AI), the ethical and legal challenges it can pose as well as the benefits it can bring to citizens. In this episode, Catherine Régis, expert in AI governance and regulation talks about the importance of involving experts and citizens to address AI's ethical challenges, the need for international collaboration and initiatives to address AI-related issues and the potential of AI to accelerate progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

As more consumer-focused companies harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, research on human-machine interactions is becoming increasingly important. In this episode, Venus Jin, PhD, Director of the Communication Program at Northwestern in Qatar, talks with Annelise Riles about her research in this area and examines how AI influences and shapes individuals' choices across various industries.

As the 24th President of France, François Hollande was leading the country at the launch of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals—calling them one of the UN’s “most decisive steps toward ensuring the collective well-being of people and the planet.” In this episode, Hollande reflects on progress towards the goals and addresses the need for international reform, the importance of intergenerational collaboration and the potential for democracy to address global crises.

Health and environmental risks surrounding disasters at nuclear power plants have become all the more urgent over the past year as Russia’s war in Ukraine persists and the threat of nuclear disaster looms at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine. In this episode, radiation expert Gayle Woloschak, PhD, shares insight on the impact of past nuclear disasters, how Russia's war on Ukraine brings to the surface the threat of more nuclear disasters, and how emerging technologies can help us combat these threats.

This season on the podcast, we are exploring the intersections between emerging technology, global affairs and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this episode, Annelise Riles dives into a topic she is personally passionate about: the power of multilingual engagement. Multilingualism has been identified as key to achieving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Guests Morten Christiansen and Viorica Marian join Riles to discuss multilingualism research and shed light on how the use of large language models, such as ChatGPT, might impact the way we think, speak and interact with people around the world.