Technology

Is the White House budget proposal an attempt to fight with Congress? Is America’s birth rate a policy problem? Plus, KCRW examines ChatGPT’s impact on campuses.

from Left, Right & Center

Russian disinformation is shaping some answers from major AI chatbots. Large language model grooming is the tactic of poisoning databases that bots pull from.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

From meme coins to branded merch, President Trump has become marketer-in-chief, using his office to pad his personal wealth like few, if any, of his predecessors.

Trump offers White House access if you buy his meme coin. Illegal?

From meme coins to branded merch, President Trump has become marketer-in-chief, using his office to pad his personal wealth like few, if any, of his predecessors.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

President Trump is trying to deport an unprecedented number of people. The Silicon Valley company Palantir is compiling a database of sensitive information to help him do it.

Tech giant Palantir builds infrastructure for Trump’s deportation blitz

President Trump is trying to deport an unprecedented number of people. The Silicon Valley company Palantir is compiling a database of sensitive information to help him do it.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Apple is rolling out AI technology that will train itself on your messages, pictures, and more — while keeping the source material private. Is it secure?

Is artificial intelligence on your iPhone a privacy risk?

Apple is rolling out AI technology that will train itself on your messages, pictures, and more — while keeping the source material private. Is it secure?

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Google and Meta are under fire in court. Officials claim they crushed rivals to stay on top. The outcome could upend how Big Tech works.

Google and Meta face landmark antitrust battles

Google and Meta are under fire in court. Officials claim they crushed rivals to stay on top. The outcome could upend how Big Tech works.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The University of South Florida surveyed more than 1,500 kids, and found that 11 to 13-year-olds who had their own smartphones fared better psychologically than their peers who didn’t…

Kids may be better off with smartphones, USF study finds

The University of South Florida surveyed more than 1,500 kids, and found that 11 to 13-year-olds who had their own smartphones fared better psychologically than their peers who didn’t…

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Dire predictions about the future of artificial intelligence are in a recent report by a Berkeley-based group called the AI Futures Project.

Superhuman AI could be real in a few years, Berkeley group predicts

Dire predictions about the future of artificial intelligence are in a recent report by a Berkeley-based group called the AI Futures Project.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s preferences for online content creators over traditional media show no signs of slowing; how is the establishment adapting?

Can Hollywood adapt to the world according to online content creators?

Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s preferences for online content creators over traditional media show no signs of slowing; how is the establishment adapting?

from The Business

The Trump administration’s release of war plans on a group chat that included the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief raises questions about the competence of the president’s top national…

Trump Cabinet’s use of Signal raises national security, legal questions

The Trump administration’s release of war plans on a group chat that included the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief raises questions about the competence of the president’s top national…

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Carolyn Kormann shares alarming facts about how microplastics have made their way into our bodies.

Microplastics have invaded our air, our water, our food, and our brains

Carolyn Kormann shares alarming facts about how microplastics have made their way into our bodies.

from Good Food

Composed of disaffected Silicon Valley separatists, the group of mostly trans women has been linked to murders in California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

‘Zizians’: The vegan techy cult tied to murders across US

Composed of disaffected Silicon Valley separatists, the group of mostly trans women has been linked to murders in California, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The LA central library’s Octavia Lab provides free access to recording studios, 3D printers, video editing software. All you need is a library card.

Need a professional recording studio, 3D printer or laser cutter? Turn to the Octavia Lab

The LA central library’s Octavia Lab provides free access to recording studios, 3D printers, video editing software. All you need is a library card.

from KCRW Features

Gabriela Glueck puts lab grown chocolate under the microscope.

Sampling California's first lab-grown chocolate

Gabriela Glueck puts lab grown chocolate under the microscope.

from Good Food

Flip Phone February is a challenge to swear off your iPhone or Android, and return to the app-free days of the Motorola Razr. One Toronto student did this for two years.

This aspiring journalist switched to a flip phone. How’d it go?

Flip Phone February is a challenge to swear off your iPhone or Android, and return to the app-free days of the Motorola Razr. One Toronto student did this for two years.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Old press releases from ICE raids dating back to 2008 are topping search results, inflating the perceived number of ongoing enforcement operations.

Google results overstate the number of current ICE raids

Old press releases from ICE raids dating back to 2008 are topping search results, inflating the perceived number of ongoing enforcement operations.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The Department of Government Efficiency infiltrated the Treasury and other agencies after Trump’s inauguration, according to the Washington Post.

Fed employees say Musk’s AI plans are a big security risk

The Department of Government Efficiency infiltrated the Treasury and other agencies after Trump’s inauguration, according to the Washington Post.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

DeepSeek built an open-source AI chatbot to rival ChatGPT that it claims is more efficient. The company’s rise improves China’s position in the AI development race.

The Chinese AI startup disrupting the tech industry

DeepSeek built an open-source AI chatbot to rival ChatGPT that it claims is more efficient. The company’s rise improves China’s position in the AI development race.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Companies like Suno and Udio are releasing ever more sophisticated generative AI music tools, and more artists are starting to collaborate with the technology.

What’s next for AI music?

Companies like Suno and Udio are releasing ever more sophisticated generative AI music tools, and more artists are starting to collaborate with the technology.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

AI is increasingly being used to collect and process clinical information. Whether this is a good thing depends on who you ask.

Will AI replace clinicians?

AI is increasingly being used to collect and process clinical information. Whether this is a good thing depends on who you ask.

from Second Opinion