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Technology News

Friday, April 26, 2024

• Net neutrality is back: U.S. promises fast, safe and reliable internet for all
  The U.S. will reinstate Obama-era regulations for internet service providers that promise fast, reliable and fair internet speeds for all consumers. What happened when those rules were taken away?
  
• A Baltimore-area teacher is accused of using AI to make his boss appear racist
  This wild case emphasizes the serious potential for criminal misuse of artificial intelligence that experts have been warning about for some time, one professor said.
  
• China's influence operations against the U.S. are bigger than TikTok
  Intelligence officials and lawmakers describe the Chinese-owned social media app as a national security threat. But they haven't shared that evidence with the public.
  
• TikTok gets the boot; plus, a 'tradwife' fantasy
  This week, President Biden signed a law that could ban TikTok nationwide unless its Chinese parent company sells the media platform within a year. Brittany is joined by NPR's Deirdre Walsh and Bobby Allyn to discuss the backdrop of this decision and its implications.
  
  Then, the tradwife - aka "traditional wife" - has taken social media by storm. But there's more to this trend than homemade sourdough bread and homeschooled children. Writer Zoe Hu chats with Brittany about her article on the "fantasy" of the tradwife and what this influx in content says about how women feel about work and the modern world.
  

Thursday, April 25, 2024

• Work. Crunch. Repeat: Why gaming demands so much of its employees
  Employees at video game companies are known for working long hours to meet product launch deadlines. This pressure, known in the industry as crunch, has only gotten more intense as games have grown more complex. Mounting layoffs in the growing industry have only made things worse on the labor front, inspiring some workers to take matters into their own hands.
  
  Today, in the next installment of our series on the business of video games, we speak to several workers in the industry about their experiences with crunch and why they feel unionization is the key to preserving their careers.
  
  Related episodes:
  Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
  Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)
  The boom and bust of esports (Apple / Spotify)
  
  For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
  
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• Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama might get a third try at unionizing
  Federal officials threw out the first vote, ruling that Amazon improperly interfered. The results of the second vote remain inconclusive. The federal government now determines what happens next.
  
• AI music isn't going away. Here are 4 big questions about what's next
  Tennessee just passed the first U.S. law regulating generative AI in music. But the technology, adept at copying real artists' voices and styles, is moving too quickly for one law to keep up with.
  
• Biden is giving $6 billion to Micron for a semiconductor project in upstate New York
  The Micron project comes after the White House has announced massive investments for Intel, TSMC and Samsung in recent weeks using funds from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
  

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

• President Biden signs law to ban TikTok nationwide unless it is sold
  The measure was included in a foreign aid package providing support to Ukraine and Israel. TikTok vowed to challenge the law in federal court.
  

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

• Tesla profits have plummeted. Elon Musk remains all-in on robotaxis
  Tesla's sales are down. It's slashing car prices and laying off staff. Yet CEO Elon Musk remains bullish on a future that's self-driving and battery-powered.