Marketplace Tech

Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, breaks down this week’s big tech headlines. She covers a landmark court ruling on social platforms’ addictive design and its wider legal ripple effects. She also explains a new AI literacy course from the Department of Labor and Kalshi’s fresh self-regulation steps for prediction markets.

Jim Harkness, chief engineer leading the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild, oversees design, structural work, and monitoring plans. He discusses a higher, longer cable-stayed design. Sensors will provide near-real-time structural health data. Towers will include elevators and equipment for maintenance. The new bridge will handle heavier port loads and aims to open in late 2030.

Linda Tadic, digital archivist and founder of Digital Bedrock, rescues and preserves obsolete audio and media for broadcasters. She shares horror stories of seemingly vanished digital tapes. She explains why old hardware and legacy systems are often needed to recover files. She warns that cloud storage still depends on physical media and requires active migration.

Megan McCarty Carino, Marketplace reporter who covers markets and regulation. She breaks down how prediction platforms operate across state gambling rules. She explains why regulators view some contracts as futures. She discusses manipulation risks, military-related betting concerns, and what the CFTC might require for market integrity.

Heather Schwartz, co-director of the American Youth Panel at RAND and co-author of a report on student AI use, discusses research on how students use AI for homework. She covers why many students worry about impacts on critical thinking, how reliance can reduce cognitive practice and future skills, and strategies like protected AI-free time and scaffolding to preserve first-draft thinking.

Anita Ramaswamy, financial analysis columnist at The Information, breaks down big tech business moves. She covers Gecko’s $71M Navy contract and its drones and wall-climbing robots. She explores BuzzFeed’s shaky finances and AI pivot. She examines Amazon’s push for one- and three-hour delivery and what faster shipping means for retailers and consumers.

Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at CNAS and expert on drone warfare, explains how modern low-cost drones reshape conflict. She discusses Iran’s reliance on cheap strike drones, how commercial parts and global supply chains enable mass production, and why layered, local defenses and jamming are crucial as attackers adapt.

Tomáš Holanek, a Cambridge researcher on ethics and AI-driven memorialization. He explains how postmortem avatars are built from messages and videos. He explores who uses them and how common they are. He highlights ethical concerns about dignity, consent, privacy, psychological risks, and unequal access. He discusses potential responsible uses and the need for oversight.

Josh Bersin, HR analyst and creator of workplace tools like Galileo, explores AI that records meetings, summarizes conversations, and builds digital twins. He describes how these tools mimic writing and speaking style. Short takes cover when to use twins versus people, how monitoring shifts behavior, and why transparency matters.

Dave Reibstein, Wharton marketing professor and co-creator of the Consumer Cryptocurrency Confidence Index, talks about a new monthly measure of how people feel about crypto. He covers the index’s purpose and its potential to predict prices. He discusses how bitcoin price movements and demographics shape confidence. Regional and age trends in crypto interest and investment are highlighted.