The Stanford Internet Observatory studied how social media platforms are abused. Now, its top leaders are out and future funding is uncertain amid attacks on its work by conservatives.
Internal emails, interviews and in-app messages show Uber and Lyft deployed a powerful lobbying playbook to stop minimum wage laws in Minnesota. But drivers had a playbook of their own.
The billionaire philanthropist tells Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep his new TerraPower nuclear plant is safer than traditional builds. He’s putting his own money behind the project.
Apple has announced a much-anticipated partnership with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. The deal to bring AI features to iPhones and other devices is a major move for Apple, which has been slower than some competitors to jump on the AI bandwagon.
Van Jones is hoping the tech sector can bring both hope and opportunity when it comes to empowering Black and Brown communities. Speaking with GPB’s Pamela Kirkland, he talked about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and his non-profit, Dream Machine Innovation Lab.
The platform X is now hiding all users' likes, with few exceptions. It says the change protects users' privacy — but critics say it removes a layer of accountability in the process.
Early adolescence is a time when kids are becoming more independent and spending more time on social media. When it comes to curbing screen time in this age group, new research suggests some parental strategies work better than others.
The hallmarks of Russian-back influence are consistent: trying to erode support for Ukraine, discrediting democratic institutions and seizing on existing political divides.
The image, with over 50 million shares, is considered the most viral ever AI-generated photo. Tracing the image’s history has revealed a rift over its true creator.
In less than 24 hours, former President Donald Trump amassed over 2 million followers on TikTok — nearly a third of the following he has on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
AI tools have helped the people behind influence operations produce more content, but OpenAI says the operations it disrupted didn’t gain traction with real people or reach large audiences.
A new lab analysis conducted for NPR by Arizona State University data scientists shows that OpenAI's "Sky" voice is more similar to Johansson's than hundreds of other actors analyzed.
There is a constant arms race between law enforcement and criminals, especially when it comes to technology. For years, law enforcement has been frustrated with encrypted messaging apps, like Signal and Telegram. And law enforcement has been even more frustrated by encrypted phones, specifically designed to thwart authorities from snooping.
But in 2018, in a story that seems like it's straight out of a spy novel, the FBI was approached with an offer: Would they like to get into the encrypted cell phone business? What if they could convince criminals to use their phones to plan and document their crimes — all while the FBI was secretly watching? It could be an unprecedented peek into the criminal underground.
To pull off this massive sting operation, the FBI needed to design a cell phone that criminals wanted to use and adopt. Their mission: to make a tech platform for the criminal underworld. And in many ways, the FBI's journey was filled with all the hallmarks of many Silicon Valley start-ups.
On this show, we talk with journalist Joseph Cox, who wrote a new book about the FBI's cell phone business, called Dark Wire. And we hear from the federal prosecutor who became an unlikely tech company founder. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
