Shows / Marketplace Tech
Marketplace Tech
Monday through Friday, Marketplace demystifies the digital economy in less than 10 minutes. We look past the hype and ask tough questions about an industry that's constantly changing.
Episodes
Marketplace TechCan Silicon Valley give AI good taste?
Generative AI models can produce enormous volumes of text, images and video in seconds. But without expert human instruction, the output is often generic. (You…
Marketplace TechTikTok excluded millions from crucial safety guardrails
This story includes discussion of suicide. Back in 2021, TikTok tweaked its algorithm in an effort to address dangerous filter bubbles — a sort of algorithmic…
Marketplace TechAI subscriptions are rapidly taking over baby nurseries
Remember those grainy old baby monitors? So passé. Today, the modern nursery can be equipped with HD cameras and biometric sensors — all analyzed with…
Marketplace TechSubstack CEO on the platform’s new AI detector
Substack, the platform popular for online newsletters, recently launched an artificial intelligence detection feature powered by Pangram. The detector allows…
Marketplace TechGig workers train humanoids on household chores
Is your shirt-folding technique good enough to train a robot how to do it? Could MySpace be creeping back into our browsers? We get into all this on today’s…
Marketplace TechAI chatbots have linguistic slips when they go off-script
Let’s say you're chatting away with AI — perfect grammar, great vocabulary. Then, boom: a random word in another language! That's the topic for today's…
Marketplace TechAI-driven law could be an answer to accessible legal help
AI has already changed the legal field, bringing new efficiencies — along with some high-profile mistakes — to tasks like research and drafting contracts. But…
Marketplace TechChina’s soft power play in the global AI arms race
Last month, President Xi Jinping spoke at an AI conference in Shanghai, China. There he promoted AI accessibility for the world, touting China’s adoption of…
Marketplace TechOpening the curtain of AI business integration
OpenAI released its first ChatGPT model in November of 2022. Since then, companies across the U.S. have worked to integrate AI models into their workflows as…
Marketplace TechMeta and Microsoft report different AI earnings
Meta and Microsoft — as well as other tech titans — have been reporting quarterly earnings, and investors are looking at AI spending with a more skeptical eye…
Marketplace TechCentering humans in AI education might be key to innovation and research
Shri Narayanan, professor of engineering, psychology and linguistics at the University of Southern California, teaches his students to privilege humans when…
Marketplace TechUSC is betting on an AI education across all its fields of study
The University of Southern California is aiming to integrate AI across its campus, thanks to a $200 million dollar gift from a venture capitalist. Gaurav…
Marketplace TechAn "antacid" to fight climate change
The ocean is already one of the best climate solutions we’ve got. It absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that would otherwise contribute to global…
- Marketplace Tech
How AI nudify apps are proliferating on social media
A proliferation of AI apps that allow users to create sexualized images of real people have grown into a multi-million dollar industry. Social media platforms…
Marketplace TechOpenAI model unintentionally hacks another company's system
OpenAI revealed this week that two of its advanced AI models escaped containment and hacked into the systems of AI company Hugging Face, which had the answers…
Marketplace TechA modern-day odyssey through AI chatbot hellscape
A missing package can easily ruin a day, but chasing where that package went — or even a refund — is like following Odysseus on his treacherous journey. And in…
Marketplace TechUncanny AI: Why AI bots remember random, sometimes useless information
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino has been using chatbots pretty intensively the last couple years. And there are some details she’s shared about herself…
Marketplace TechAI debt is flooding the bond market
The Big Tech companies driving the AI boom are expected to spend more than $700 billion on data center infrastructure this year. To finance this spending…
Marketplace TechAI firms are going back on their safety promises
As top AI firms race to develop a “superintelligent” agent — one that surpasses human cognition — are they prioritizing safety guardrails along the way? Not…
Marketplace TechThe Apple vs. OpenAI legal showdown
Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the AI startup stole trade secrets. The iPhone maker claimed that former Apple employees were asked to bring…
Marketplace TechWhy state AGs are taking Meta to court
The attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are suing Meta for $1.4 trillion, claiming the social media giant designed Facebook and…
Marketplace TechNetflix struggles to retain viewers after a series' first season
Netflix may be the undisputed king of streaming, but it's facing a new challenge: "the sophomore slump." Internal data reported by Bloomberg show audiences…
Marketplace TechFroggle, Goofstump, and the fake AI companies winning hearts online
Last month, comedians Harris Alterman and Dave Ross posted a series of advertisements for made-up tech companies around the New York City subway system. The…
Marketplace TechThe high cost of vacuuming carbon from the sky
Mitigating climate change likely requires not only lowering emissions, but removing existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And while the Trump…
Marketplace TechOpenAI’s GPT-5.6 release raises questions about White House control over new models
OpenAI is rolling out its most advanced GPT-5.6 model after delaying the release for testing with the government. But the White House denied that the review…
Marketplace TechHow drone warfare is reshaping battlefield medicine in Ukraine
In the post-9/11 years, the U.S. military has adhered to the “golden hour” rule: Wounded troops should be evacuated to higher-level care within 60 minutes. But…
Marketplace TechDigital personal data is protected by the Fourth Amendment
We're still unpacking the slew of consequential Supreme Court decisions that came down at the end of the term last week. Among them was a 6-3 ruling on digital…
Marketplace TechSan Francisco's housing market soars amid AI cash flow
Both OpenAI and Anthropic are planning to go public, each pushing a valuation of $1 trillion as of their latest funding rounds. But even before these mega-IPOs…
Marketplace TechWatch Duty dives into flood detection
During last year’s massive wildfires in Los Angeles, concerned residents and firefighters went to one app to get up to date information: Watch Duty. Now, the…
Marketplace TechGene editing technology can help de-extinct some animals — but should it?
Many scientists believe we’re in the midst of a sixth mass extinction brought on by factors like climate change, deforestation, fishing and hunting. The…
Marketplace TechChicago's quantum leap into the future
AI is the buzzy tech of the moment. It's made plenty of money not only for companies but the cities and states where investment is pouring in. Illinois and…
Marketplace TechHow Anthropic is tracking AI's impact on the labor market
Who is using AI? And what are they using it for? Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, has been trying to answer these questions to better understand how AI…
Marketplace TechWhy Boston Dynamics is deploying robot dogs at the World Cup
The resemblance to an actual dog is loose but the quadrupedal robot dogs known as “Spot” from Boston Dynamics do have four legs. They're often used to do…
Marketplace TechHospitals pull back on robotic nursing assistants
There’s a longstanding nursing shortage in the U.S. that's only expected to get worse. Some hospitals have experimented with robotic nursing assistants to…
Marketplace TechWhy SpaceX stock soared, then stumbled
SpaceX stock prices fell back to earth this week after they skyrocketed in the wake of the IPO a couple weeks ago. Plus, why a Google AI subsidiary is…
Marketplace TechStanford launches AI economy indicator to match AI's pace
We here at Marketplace love indicators that give us insights into which direction the economy is moving. But AI is evolving fast and it can be hard for the…
Marketplace TechTech companies are turning to HBCUs to host AI data centers
Big Tech is looking for land to build its AI data centers. HBCUs are looking for new funding after federal cuts. And partnerships between them, like one…
Marketplace TechWhy this Silicon Valley priest wants to teach AI right from wrong
In late May, Pope Leo XIV released Magnifica Humanitas. His first papal encyclical is an appeal for a more human-centered approach to artificial intelligence…
Marketplace TechNurses want a seat at the table when it comes to AI in healthcare
Nurses have a tough job. AI tools promise to take care of some of the more mundane and repetitive tasks that eat up so much time and, by extension, money in…
Marketplace TechSnap's new smart glasses received mixed reactions — mainly on aesthetics
Meta responded to plummeting morale this week with a pledge to do better with company snacks. Plus, the new AI augmented reality smart glasses everyone's…
Marketplace TechOnline casting scams hit Hollywood
AI has ushered in a golden age for scams. There are the deepfake kidnapping calls, the vibecoded ecommerce websites and one of the latest, according to a…
Marketplace TechWho should get an AI kill switch?
Last week, the Trump Administration ordered Anthropic to cut off access to its most advanced AI models — Mythos 5 and the pared-down public version, Fable 5 —…
Marketplace TechAre our electric grids too big to function?
Demand for power is growing thanks to the rapid expansion of data center infrastructure across the U.S. But as utility bills continue to rise, states and grid…
Marketplace TechIt's a tough time to break into cybersecurity
On today’s episode, Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino walks us through how AI is making it harder to break into the cybersecurity sector.
Marketplace TechWhy Siri AI isn't coming to the EU
The White House is not giving up its push to preempt states from passing their own AI laws, something it tried and failed to accomplish last year. We'll get…
Marketplace TechCan humans and AI complement each other?
Should you learn prompt engineering, or maybe a physical trade? There's almost no skill that AI won't eventually surpass, according to neuroscientist Vivienne…
Marketplace TechA climate change solution from science fiction
Earth keeps getting hotter. And despite some efforts to slow planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, they're still rising, leaving a lot of people hungry for…
Marketplace TechWhen AI fabricates your quotes
File this under the definition of irony: last month, The New York Times reported that a high-profile new book, "The Future of Truth: How AI reshapes reality,"…
Marketplace TechThe Take It Down Act is in full effect. Now what?
Enforcement of the Take It Down Act began last month. If tech firms don’t comply and take down non-consensual intimate images — AI-generated or not — within 48…
Marketplace TechSpaceX is reportedly overvalued ahead of its IPO
SpaceX is targeting a $1.77 trillion valuation, but some analysts think it's worth half that. Plus, Florida sues OpenAI — the first state to take legal action…
Marketplace TechMaryland's plan for the AI future
When a store offers different shoppers different prices depending on factors like the weather, the time of day, and what the store knows about each buyer, it’s…
Marketplace TechAI bots are collecting debts — or at least trying to
If you have a debt, you may get a call, a letter or a text prodding you to pay it back. Now, that call could come from an AI agent. The AI debt collection…
Marketplace TechWall Street sets its sights on an AI futures market
There is growing demand for time with GPUs, the chips that power artificial intelligence. AI companies need those chips in order to keep their models up and…
Marketplace TechWhat happened to alternative energy investments from the 1970s?
The price of oil has gone up significantly since late February, when the US invaded Iran. And when oil prices see a crazy rise, it makes other sources of…
Marketplace TechThe great AI race to Wall Street
This week, rideshare drivers in Massachusetts unionize; plus, Robinhood lets AI agents trade on behalf its customers. But first, there’ve been hints for a…
Marketplace TechPlug-in solar is gaining traction in the U.S.
Like the name suggests, plug-in solar panels can be plugged into an electrical outlet just like you would your toaster. But instead of using electricity, they…
Marketplace TechAmid AI backlash, brands are emphasizing the human side of marketing
Public backlash to content generated by artificial intelligence has pushed brands to reconsider how AI is used in their marketing. Some companies are swerving…
Marketplace TechStartups are betting on a legalized peptide market
Peptides are short chains of amino acids. GLP-1 weight loss drugs are peptides. Insulin is one, too. And there are thousands of others. Now, people are seeking…
Marketplace TechHow one company is using AI for improved wildfire risk mitigation
The wildfire risk mitigation company Technosylva helps utilities, insurers and government agencies predict where and when a fire could spark. It uses…
Marketplace TechGoogle search gets an AI makeover
On this week’s Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review, we take a look at how college graduates do not wanna hear about AI. Plus, what we all learned from the…