Marketplace Tech

Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Joseph Cox, a reporter at the tech news site 404 Media, about his recent reporting on how ICE is uses ISO ClaimSearch, among other databases, to find deportation targets.

Know how some companies intentionally make it hard for customers to fix their own gadgets? In the armed forces, as military contractors consolidate and equipment becomes increasingly software-driven, it's become a problem. Now, some Pentagon leaders are talking about adding right to repair provisions into procurement contracts. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with now-retired Master Sergeant Wesley Reid, who's spoken out in favor of the military's right to repair, informed by his experiences at an Afghanistan army field hospital in the late 2000s.

Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Adam Aleksic, author of the new book “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language." He's a trained linguist and also an influencer who goes by the handle "Etymology Nerd" online. True to his name, he told us what he means when he uses the term “algospeak.”

Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Rebecca Lester, a professor of accounting at Stanford, about a tax provision within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that could further tech R&D and innovation.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino leaves the social media giant on the heels of antisemitic posts from AI chatbot Grok. SCOTUS rejects a challenge to a Texas law for age verification online. President Trump this week said he'll impose a 50% tariff on copper. Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino is joined by Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, to discuss all this.

For years, AI crawlers have scraped data and content from the internet for free. But last week, Cloudflare attempted to change that. With an update to its web services, the tech company keeps AI crawlers out by default. The hope? To create a new economic model that makes AI companies finally pay for the content they collect.In this episode, Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Cloudflare co-founder and CEO, Matthew Prince, about his vision for a fairer internet.

The National Weather Service lost some 600 positions early in the second Trump administration, through early retirements and layoffs. Now the agency says it's working to fill some “mission-critical” roles. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has also proposed cutting the greater NOAA budget by more than 25% next year.A rising chorus of meteorologists and climate experts warn that efforts to shrink the federal workforce and downplay global warming could compromise accurate weather forecasts and climate monitoring.

As technology has advanced, the ways countries fight wars has changed drastically. Now, AI companies are hoping technology can also play peacekeeper and prevent the next global conflict.Anadyr Horizon, one of the AI startups, developing what many are calling “peace tech,” is doing so through simulating future conflicts and the world leaders they may involve.

More than half of all Americans have used artificial intelligence tools recently, according to a study published by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Menlo Ventures. And one in five people use it daily. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Amy Wu Martin, a partner at Menlo Ventures, to learn how they're using it in their day-to-day lives.

On this week's “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review,” Marketplace's Nova Safo and Paresh Dave, senior writer at WIRED, discuss Amazon releasing its 1 millionth robot at one of its warehouses. Plus, lawmakers contended with provisions dealing with artificial intelligence and renewable energy in that big tax and spending bill, recently passed by Congress, that consumed Washington this week.

In today's episode, Marketplace's Nova Safo speaks with Sharon Lurye, a data reporter at the Associated Press, about her recent investigation into “ghost students” — scammers who use AI to pretend to be college students in order to steal financial aid and loan money.

What once was taboo has now gone mainstream. As television and print audiences have dwindled over recent years, social media is now the No. 1 place for Americans to get their news updates.Detailed in the report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, Americans across the political spectrum are using social media for news consumptions over traditional avenues. However, conservative influencers have seen the largest audiences and most engagement.Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Nic Newman, a co-author of the report, to talk about the state of news consumption in the U.S.More on this“Overview and key findings of the 2025 Digital News Report” — from the Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford

An investigation from Tomas Apodaca, at CalMatters and The Markup, found several states were accidentally sharing private health information with tech companies. The tech companies receiving the information never even wanted it. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Apodaca to learn more about the accidental leak.

Haley Hinkle, policy counsel at the advocacy group Fairplay, recently formulated a case brought to the FTC, saying there are powers afforded to the Commission to impose new children's safety regulations on internet companies. She specifically points to Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”

On this week's Bytes: Week in Review: Apple irked customers with movie ads, the Mideast conflict reminded us of the lack of security in smart surveillance cameras, and a federal judge handed down a landmark ruling on AI's use of copyrighted works, citing a legal doctrine known as fair use.

Demand for data centers continues to grow everywhere, but their environmental impacts are causing some to consider a different option: build them in space, where there's lots of room, solar power and a cold environment. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Evan Robinson-Johnson, business reporter at The Information, to learn more.

Over the last several days, you may have seen the latest examples of a growing phenomenon: satellite images of a conflict zone. This time, they were of Iranian nuclear sites, before and after American bombs struck. Images like these come from commercial satellite companies, a change from our past reliance on government-provided photographs. The shift toward commercial satellites gained steam amid Russia's war in Ukraine, according to Mariel Borowitz, an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who specializes in space policy and the satellite industry.

Iran's government knocked out internet and mobile networks after Israel began bombing the country. That's left the population with little to no access to critical information. One person who watched this played out is Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director at Holistic Resilience, an organization that helps Iranians circumvent government censorship. He says Iran's government often restricts internet during critical times.

In California, the state Senate has voted in favor of a so-called AI Bill of Rights, which would establish new guardrails around automated decision systems. To learn more about them, Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Kate Brennan, associate director of the think tank AI Now Institute.

OpenAI and Microsoft are reportedly caught up in protracted behind-the-scenes negotiations that are in danger of boiling over into public conflict. Prosecutors say the man accused of assassinating a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker used online data brokers to help target his victims. And, the Trump Organization unveiled a new venture this week: a mobile service and a smartphone. Marketplace's Nova Safo is joined by Natasha Mascarenhas at The Information, who explains why.

Despite having free primary schools, children in Malawi are lagging behind. According to UNESCO, almost 90% of them cant read a simple sentence at the age of 10, due in part to a shortage of teachers and basic resources. But the government has gone for a high-tech solution — digital tablets.

Protests in Southern California and around the country over raids targeting undocumented immigrants played out differently on social media depending on the person or the platform. They're peaceful - look at the carnival atmosphere. They're violent - Los Angeles is in flames. These competing narratives underline the hyper-siloed nature of online discourse and the power of misinformation. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Renee DiResta, Research Professor at Georgetown University about how protest discourse has been playing out online.

Data analytics company Palantir has many contracts with federal government, just as the Trump administration is reportedly trying to construct a centralized database combining information from various agencies. That's brought Palantir renewed scrutiny. Joseph Cox has been following all of this at the tech news site 404 Media.

On today's episode of Marketplace Tech, Nova Safo speaks with Ari Redbord, global head of policy with the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, about the recent wave of cryptocurrency “wrench attacks” and why more bad actors are going after high-profile crypto investors with threats of physical violence.

Today on “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review,” we're looking at Apple's latest software and operating system updates. Also, there's a tentative labor deal between video game actors and studios. And we'll remember legendary Apple software engineer Bill Atkinson, who died at the age of 74. We begin with Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference which came and went this week with some mixed reactions. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Anita Ramaswamy, Columnist for The Information, to get her take on this year's WWDC. Tech Bytes for June 13More on everything we talked about“Apple fails to clear a low bar on AI” - from The Wall Street Journal“Apple underwhelms at WWDC with incremental AI changes, new software name and ‘liquid glass' design” - from The Associated Press”Video game performers on strike for almost a year over AI issues reach a tentative deal” - from The Associated Press“Videogame voice actors strike 'suspended' following agreement with game companies: 'All SAG-AFTRA members are instructed to return to work'” - from PC Gamer“Bill Atkinson, Macintosh Pioneer and Inventor of Hypercard, Dies at 74” - from WIRED“Bill Atkinson, who made computers easier to use, is dead at 74” - from The New York Times

Building work has started in the Finnish capital Helsinki on what's expected to become the biggest startup campus in Europe. Finland's government says it wants the small Nordic nation to offer the best startup ecosystem in Europe. The BBC's Maddy Savage has this story.

There's a trial run taking place over a type of digital wallet for data. Consumers are in control, and they can sell their data to the highest bidder. This trial run is taking place in Brazil, the first country to try something like this on a national scale. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Sao Paolo-based journalist Gabriel Daros. He's been covering the story for the news site Rest of World.

The International Energy Agency projects the global market value of critical minerals could reach almost $800 billion by 2040. That's because we must have them for the electrified future. And right now, China is a dominant supplier.The Trump administration wants to find other sources, and it's looking to U.S. and international waters to mine minerals on the ocean floor. Marketplace contributor Daniel Ackerman has been reporting on the deep-sea mining companies that are working to figure out how to harvest in unforgiving terrain.

There's a lawsuit right now that's testing the question of whether AI chatbots are protected by the First Amendment. And before we get into it, a warning that our story today includes discussion of suicide. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Jane Bambauer, law professor at the University of Florida, who's been following this case.

Yoshua Bengio, one of the so-called godfathers of AI, wants it to be less human. Plus, a federal judge temporarily blocked a law in Florida that would ban kids under 14 from getting social media accounts.But first, Meta announced an energy deal with one of the country's biggest operators of nuclear reactors. Marketplace's Nova Safo is joined by Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at the venture capital firm Collab Capital, to break down these tech stories from the week.

We've been looking at how technology is changing agriculture. Last month, we visited Central California where there's new investment in everything from electric tractors and leaf sensors to upskilling farmworkers.Today, Marketplace's Kimberly Adams visits our neighbor to the north. Specifically, Canada's first fully-automated greenhouse. It's cost millions to set up, and it's just in time for a trade war.

AI-generated deepfakes are everywhere on social media. Now, you can take a test developed by Northwestern University to see how well you spot them. Marketplace's Nova Safo took the test, sifting through a bunch of real and fake images. He got five out of six right, which is the average in a study Northwestern conducted. Lead researcher Matt Groh also helped develop a litmus test, a series of things to look for to spot deepfakes.

On this episode of “Marketplace Tech,” host Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Christopher Mims, a tech journalist at The Wall Street Journal, about the recent evolution of brain computer interfaces — technology that has enabled people with paralysis to move prosthetic limbs or type out communication using computer implants in their brains — and the neurotech startups trying to bring their implants to a larger market by making them less invasive.

Facial recognition systems use artificial intelligence to analyze patterns in faces, and they've come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in policing. There have been multiple instances of false positives leading to the arrest and detainment of innocent people. There's no federal regulation of this technology, but at least a dozen states have laws that limit its use. So, some law enforcement authorities have turned to a new system called Track, made by a company called Veritone. It doesn't analyze faces, but looks to the rest of the body for clues — things like clothing, body type or hair — according to recent reporting by James O'Donnell for MIT Technology Review.

There's a provision tucked into the Big Beautiful Bill, among the tax cuts and Medicaid cuts, that would bar states from passing laws to regulate artificial intelligence for a decade. Plus, Meta is reshuffling its AI team again in an apparent attempt to catch up to the competition. But first, this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law requiring age verification for Apple and Google app stores. It also requires parental consent for app downloads and in-app purchases by minors. But it raises some legal questions. Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino is joined by Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, to discuss all this.

The New York City Administration for Children's Services, or ACS, has been using predictive artificial intelligence to flag some families for greater scrutiny, according to a recent investigation by The Markup. Colin Lecher reported the story and tells Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino, like all AI systems, it can encode historical biases.

In late April, details came to light about a covert experiment conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich on unsuspecting Reddit users on the debate forum known as r/changemyview. They used AI chatbots posing as real humans on the forum to test their powers of persuasion and invented backstories like a rape survivor or a Black man opposed to Black Lives Matter. What they didn't have was consent. The experiment violated Reddit Terms of Service, forum rules and, critics say, academic research standards. The researchers who notified Reddit of the experiment after the fact have since apologized and said they won't publish the results. Reddit says it's increasing efforts to verify users are human. Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino spoke to Mohammad Hosseini, a professor at Northwestern University's medical school, about the potential harms that could come from a study like this one.

Big Tech firms like Microsoft, Meta and Google are using stricter performance reviews to bring up productivity and weed out low performing workers. It's a noticeable pivot away from the perks that defined Silicon Valley work culture a decade ago. Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Alistair Barr, author of the Business Insider Tech Memo Newsletter, about their recent coverage of this latest shift.

Digital banking is often seen as a smoother, less costly way to deliver financial services. But where there's tech, there are sometimes outages. Bank customers in the U.K. and other countries have seen an increasing number of banking interruptions, often with costly impacts.

On this week's episode of Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week In Review, President Donald Trump signed the "Take It Down" Act, which requires internet publishers to take down intimate images like revenge porn or deepfakes within 48 hours of a complaint. Google unveiled a suite of new AI products, upgrades and projects at its annual I/O developers conference. And the game Fortnite finally returns to the Apple App Store after a long legal drama. Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Paresh Dave, senior writer at WIRED, to discuss all these topics and more.

This week, we hit the road to check out California's Central Valley, where the future of agricultural innovation is taking shape. We visited a farm that's piloting next-gen tools and a university research center that's helping develop that tech. Today, we're at an AgTEC Workforce graduation, a community college program in this region that helps upskill farm workers.

This week, we're heading to California's Central Valley to see how technology is transforming this agricultural region. And we're going straight to the innovation source: the University of California, Merced, where academics there are guiding students to research agtech innovations to potentially develop them for commercialization.