Digital society

Topic description and stories

About half the world’s population uses the internet. How do we take advantage of this digital connectivity and also protect society from risk?

Democratising design

07 Jun 2013

A new simulator could help the elderly or disabled users engage more effectively with electronic devices, including websites, smartphones and digital...

'blackeye', Joseph Nechvatal, 2010; computer-robotic-assisted acrylic on canvas and screen with digital animation, Credit: Joseph Nechvatal, courtesy of Galerie Richard, New York & Paris

Creativity that counts

14 May 2013

In a digital world, literature, art and music are often the result of collaborative efforts. But who owns what, and can copyright law cope? New...

The Emotion Sense app asks users to record their feelings on a chart designed by psychologists, then surveys them further to assess their mood accurately. This is cross-referred with data about their behaviour, picked up by sensors within the phone itself

Mood-tracking app paves way for pocket therapy

08 May 2013

An Android app which keeps tabs on users’ mood swings and works out what might be causing them has been developed by researchers, with implications...

Pirate utopias: a history of digital distribution

30 Apr 2013

How the ‘Hacker ethic’ almost killed the music industry, then helped save it, but might spell the end of ownership as we know it.

New system to combat online banking fraud

18 Apr 2013

A security solution which protects against the most serious threat to online banking customers, responsible for millions in annual losses, is being...

The virtual talking head, “Zoe”, uses a basic set of six simulated emotions which can then be adjusted and combined.

Face of the future rears its head

19 Mar 2013

Meet Zoe: a digital talking head which can express human emotions on demand with “unprecedented realism” and could herald a new era of human-computer...

Digital records could expose intimate details and personality traits of millions

11 Mar 2013

Research shows that intimate personal attributes can be predicted with high levels of accuracy from ‘traces’ left by seemingly innocuous digital...

Naked Scientists uncovers cyber security risks

30 Dec 2012

An investigation by the Naked Scientists for BBC 5 live has highlighted the risks of selling on unwanted computer hardware without correctly wiping...