S4.E4: POTUS IRL| Public Trust and AI Priorities
Release Date: 11/08/2023
S.5E.3: Coal Crisis | Silica and the Resurgence of Black Lung
What Does It Profit Podcast
This episode explores the resurgence of black lung disease among coal miners, particularly due to toxic silica dust exposure. We revisit the Season 3 story of Joe and Elizabeth Opyoke, highlighting the dangers miners face. Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America, discusses the preventability of black lung disease and the need for stricter regulations on silica dust. Recent federal regulations aim to limit silica exposure, but enforcement remains a challenge. The episode emphasizes the importance of prioritizing miners' health over profit and the ongoing fight for their...
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S5.E2: Locked Doors | The Legacy of Worker Safety Reforms
What Does It Profit Podcast
This episode take listeners back to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. This was one of the deadliest industrial tragedies in U.S. history, claiming 147 lives due to locked exit doors and inadequate safety measures. This tragedy sparked significant reforms, including the establishment of OSHA and mandatory safety regulations. Historian Hasia Diner shares that the fire changed public perception about workers' rights, leading to increased support for unions. Journalist Kim Kelly emphasizes that the fire's legacy continues to inspire workers to organize and advocate for safer working...
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S5.E1: Safety First | The Dollar General Dilemma
What Does It Profit Podcast
In the Season 5 premiere of , we explore the pressing issue of worker safety at Dollar General. Our journey begins with a bus trip to Nashville, where employees from nine states rally for fair pay and improved safety conditions. The episode highlights alarming safety violations, including blocked fire exits and inadequate staffing, which have led to numerous injuries and fatalities. We hear from workers and experts advocating for change, emphasizing the need for accountability in a company that continues to expand despite these issues. Join us as we uncover the realities of workplace safety in...
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Season 5 Trailer
What Does It Profit Podcast
To our long-time listeners... welcome back. To those who have just found us, we are the podcast that examines the social and moral value of business. In the 5th season of , we grapple with what it means to feel safe at work. We talk to historians and workforce safety experts, but most importantly we talk to workers themselves. From the surviving family members of those who died in the in NYC to the brave who refused to fly fatigued... we learn what it means to be safe at work. Subscribe now so you don't miss what we learn from sex workers, costumed theme park characters, mine workers, retail...
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S4.E6: Beyond Belief |How AI is Reshaping Religion
What Does It Profit Podcast
In the final episode of the fourth season of the What Does It Profit? Podcast, Dr. Dawn explores the impacts of artificial intelligence on religion . Dr. Dawn speaks to Josh Franklin, a rabbi at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in New York, who used the chatbot ChatGPT to help write one of his sermons. Rabbi Franklin tells us his thoughts on how he hopes AI can be used as a tool for people to become more spiritual. We also hear from Mark Graves, a researcher and director with the organization AI and Faith, and Dr. Damien Patrick Williams, an assistant professor of...
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S4.E5: Express Lane | AI's Journey to Better Transportation?
What Does It Profit Podcast
On this episode of the What Does It Profit? podcast, hitch a ride along with Dr. Dawn as she explores the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on public transportation in the U.S. In this episode, we hear first from Bill Domanico, a retired New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) driver, who talks about the ways technology changed during his career. We then turn to Barry Wilson and Anthony Garland with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents DC’s Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) employees. Wilson and...
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Thanksgiving Blend: Brewing Change at Starbucks | BONUS
What Does It Profit Podcast
This Thanksgiving week on the What Does It Profit? podcast we’re taking a break from this season’s AI theme to extend some thank you-s. Listen in for a re-air of our award-winning Season 3 episode, “Brewing Change: Labor Organizing at Starbucks.” Loyal listeners know that in this episode we left off with the story of the triumph of unionizing efforts in Buffalo, New York, which is where got started. We also left off anticipating the annual shareholder meeting where concerned shareholders were seeking an independent analysis of the company’s labor practices. Then just two...
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S4.E4: POTUS IRL| Public Trust and AI Priorities
What Does It Profit Podcast
In this unexpected mini-episode, Dr. Dawn pivots from our regular programming to reflect on President Biden’s sweeping executive order on AI. The executive order, passed on October 30, 2023, is the Biden Administration’s attempt to reconcile tech companies’ demand for profit and unchecked innovation while ensuring the public trust of Americans given the rapid rise of AI in just the past year. To better understand the executive order, Dr. Dawn speaks to Ben Winters, the Senior Counsel, who also leads EPIC’s AI and Human Rights Project. Winters delves into the details of the...
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S4.E3: Hard Hats to Hard Drives | How AI is Revolutionizing Construction
What Does It Profit Podcast
In this episode, Dr. Dawn examines the newest addition to the construction industry’s toolbox: AI technology. In this episode, we learn that AI is like a double-edged sword: While AI technology certainly threatens jobs in the construction industry, it’s also ushering in a new era of efficiency and safety. We begin this episode in conversation with Bella McCann, the president of the woman-owned and Washington, D.C.-based construction company, . McCann takes us to a renovation site to provide a look at how new technologies make on-site work more efficient and safer for workers. ...
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S4.E2: Entertaining AI: Disrupting the Creative World
What Does It Profit Podcast
In this episode, Dr. Dawn heads straight into the scene of the action, Paramount Studios in Hollywood, where writers and actors are fighting an existential battle that stems in large part from AI. We look beyond the glitzy Hollywood sets to learn more about how AI threatens the livelihoods of creatives in an industry where most struggle to even make ends meet. We set the stage for what feels like a David and Goliath story as we spotlight the battles writers and actors have been fighting against studio executives and producers in conjunction with the rise of disruptive...
info_outlineIn this unexpected mini-episode, Dr. Dawn pivots from our regular programming to reflect on President Biden’s sweeping executive order on AI. The executive order, passed on October 30, 2023, is the Biden Administration’s attempt to reconcile tech companies’ demand for profit and unchecked innovation while ensuring the public trust of Americans given the rapid rise of AI in just the past year.
To better understand the executive order, Dr. Dawn speaks to Ben Winters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s (EPIC) Senior Counsel, who also leads EPIC’s AI and Human Rights Project. Winters delves into the details of the executive order, ultimately reaching the conclusion that while the order is overall promising, its effectiveness depends on how well it will be enforced by individual government agencies.
Dr. Dawn then turns to former Congressman Jerry McNerney, who guided several congressional actions that brought to bear the rising importance of AI. With regard to Biden’s executive order, McNerney believes that the executive order’s emphasis on establishing standards on the use of AI will encourage good behavior in the tech industry. McNerney then discusses some of his work after leaving Congress, work which is primarily focused on understanding the challenges AI could pose in next year’s presidential election.
While the Biden Administration has begun to set precedents on AI regulation, the government alone cannot do all of this work. As you listen along to what this executive order means for the future, we encourage you to ask yourself: In the work we do, in the things we buy, in the investments we make, what does it profit?
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