Responsible Bytes
Responsible Bytes
Podcast Description
Welcome to the Responsible Bytes podcast, where we talk about all things safe and responsible technology. Technology is changing our world and the way we live in it. In this podcast we explore what those changes look like and what they mean for our present and our future. Listen in as I chat to people working in and around the technology sector, unpacking our increasingly complex and evolving digital world. Responsible Bytes is created and hosted by Dr Zena Assaad.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast addresses themes related to responsible technology, legal implications of AI, and ethical considerations in digital advancements. Recent episodes have focused on topics like AI in warfare with legal scholar Nehal Bhuta, analyzing international humanitarian law, and the future of voice acting with Rhiannon Moushall, exploring the human aspect amid AI-generated content.
Welcome to the Responsible Bytes podcast, where we talk about all things safe and responsible technology.
Technology is changing our world and the way we live in it. In this podcast we explore what those changes look like and what they mean for our present and our future. Listen in as I chat to people working in and around the technology sector, unpacking our increasingly complex and evolving digital world.
Responsible Bytes is created and hosted by Dr Zena Assaad.
In this episode of the Responsible Bytes Podcast, Dr. Zena Assaad speaks with Dr. Neil Renic about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and what the story reveals about the moral and psychological costs of war. They explore how heroic narratives can obscure civilian suffering, how moral injury affects those returning from conflict, and how ideas like “war is hell” or “the ends justify the means” can weaken accountability for human choices. The conversation also examines military apologism, the dangers of othering adversaries, the long-term consequences of war crimes, and the ways technology can distance people from the effects of their actions. Together, they ask what modern audiences can learn from The Odyssey about responsibility, ethical decision-making, and the importance of recognising the humanity of those affected by violence.
Links from this episode:
🔗 The Tragicized Politics of Nuclear Weapons and Armed Drones and the Making of Unaccountability: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ethics-and-international-affairs/article/tragedy-trap-on-the-tragicized-politics-of-nuclear-weapons-and-armed-drones-and-the-making-of-unaccountability/4C3EFB8C0A5C9A822D63BC61BEB001EE
🔗 Dirty hands, savage enemies, and bad apples: A taxonomy of war crimes apologia: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/DE05B66AA9FC46D504B5E39CD708E213/S0260210525101472a.pdf/dirty_hands_savage_enemies_and_bad_apples_a_taxonomy_of_war_crimes_apologia.pdf
🔗The Guardian article – AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/mar/26/ai-got-the-blame-for-the-iran-school-bombing-the-truth-is-far-more-worrying
More about our guest:
📘LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilcrenic/
🔵BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ncrenic.bsky.social
🌐Website: https://www.neilrenic.com/
More about our host:
📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zena_assaad/
📘LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-zena-assaad/
🔵BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/zenaassaad.bsky.social
🌐Website: https://www.zenaassaad.com/
Follow us online:
📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responsiblebytespodcast/
📘LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responsible-bytes-podcast/
🌐Website: https://www.zenaassaad.com/responsible-bytes-podcast
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