Episódios

  • FCC cuts expansion to broadband, hotspot access
    Oct 15 2025

    Before the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission voted to end funding for Wi-Fi on school buses and the lending of hotspot devices from libraries. Nicol Turner Lee, author of “Digitally Invisible,” said this could further the digital divide for marginalized communities.

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    9 minutos
  • Is surveillance technology a more humane alternative to detaining immigrants?
    Oct 14 2025

    Countries all over the world use technology to keep track of immigrants released from detention centers. The idea is to allow people to live in communities while their cases are adjudicated.


    But Petra Molnar of the Refugee Law Lab at York University said the technology is also often employed in ways that are too intrusive and can act like digital shackles. She told Marketplace’s Nova Safo that even smartphone apps, which can be glitchy, are a challenge for immigrants who are often waiting on asylum claims.

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    12 minutos
  • AI companies are eyeing your shopping cart and your data
    Oct 13 2025

    Open AI has added a checkout feature to ChatGPT, partnering with Etsy and Shopify to let users purchase some items from select merchants. OpenAI says ChatGPT's answers are still organic and unsponsored. But why not offer a seamless way to buy things that come up in certain responses?


    Eventually this could lead to so-called “agentic” shopping: letting AI research items, pick one, and then buy it on our behalf. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with colleague Meghan McCarty Carino about what AI companies stand to gain from integrating e-commerce tech.

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    7 minutos
  • Bytes: Week in Review - OpenAI's new deal with AMD raises more concerns of AI bubble
    Oct 10 2025

    The ongoing government shutdown has caused a lapse in the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act,a law that's key to protecting the nation against major cyberattacks. Plus, OpenAI this week made a huge investment in chipmaker AMD, the latest in a round of blockbuster deals. And Google said it will be updating its smart home devices with its advanced artificial intelligence, Gemini. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, about all these headlines on this week’s Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.

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    10 minutos
  • Why cybersecurity training isn’t enough to stop phishing hacks
    Oct 9 2025

    A recent study of nearly 20,000 University of California, San Diego Health workers found cybersecurity training reduced the likelihood of successful phising attacks by just 2%.


    Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Ariana Mirian, senior researcher at the cybersecurity firm Censys and co-author of the study, who explained that many workers are just not taking those training programs seriously enough.

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    6 minutos
  • AI "workslop" is hurting coworker dynamics
    Oct 8 2025

    AI slop is pointless content shared online like fake images and videos. A new study in the Harvard Business Review wants us to consider a variant: “workslop,” or AI-generated reports, emails and more that are sloppily crafted.


    The authors of the study say 40% of workers they surveyed have encountered workslop. And that's costing time and money.


    Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with social psychologist and vice president of BetterUp Labs Kate Niederhoffer, who co-authored the study. She said workslop harms interpersonal work relationships, such as when one employee receives an AI written report from another.

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    7 minutos
  • Online job scams are a growing problem
    Oct 7 2025

    The number of scams involving job postings and offers nearly tripled between 2020 and 2024, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The change translates to more than $500 million in reported losses.


    These scams have proliferated on legitimate job boards and you might have even received some via email or text message — fake recruiters reach out with “enticing” offers which are too good to be true. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Mark Anthony Dyson, author of the Job Scam Report newsletter, about how to spot scams.


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    5 minutos
  • Export controls on TikTok's algorithm are unique but not unprecedented
    Oct 6 2025

    Algorithms, which are just sets of instructions expressed in code, are harder to restrict than physical goods. But, as Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino reports, governments — including the U.S. — have long tried to prevent their export.

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    5 minutos