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Marketplace

Monday through Friday, Marketplace demystifies the digital economy in less than 10 minutes. We look past the hype and ask tough questions about an industry that's constantly changing.

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Yesterday · 12 min
AI borrowing slowdown raises questions about investor exposure
It's been a bit of a rocky week in tech markets, particularly for companies heavy on debt. We'll get into it on this week’s “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.” Plus, the king of streaming, Netflix, announces plans to cut around 6% of its staff. And on Wall Street, AI skills could be your ticket to a raise. Here to discuss is Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital. More on this: AI borrowing slows as investors grow wary of debt binge — from the Financial Times Netflix to lay off roughly 1,000 employees, or 6% of workforce — from CNBC Wall Street firms tie bonuses, promotions to AI skills, survey finds — from Reuters Check out our YouTube page to watch more episodes of “Tech Bytes.”
Thursday · 8 min
Regulating the tech sector in the AI era
Europe may have weeks of paid vacation, quaint walkable cities and incredible, affordable local wines. But there's something the continent lacks (besides ice cubes and AC): shiny, new Big Tech products. Take Apple's revamped Siri, Meta's Muse or OpenAI's competing AI assistant dots. They've all launched in the U.S., and in some cases other markets. But largely, not in the EU, which has a network of tech regulations targeting data protection, interoperability and AI. Max von Thun, director of the antitrust think tank Open Markets Institute Europe, explains more on this. More on this: “A Continent Without A.I. Agents: Europe Has to Wait for Dots, Muse and Siri AI” — from Trending Topics EU “Europe’s AI Blues: US Companies Slow Deployment” — from Center for European Policy Analysis
Wednesday · 13 min
Is AI solving the right problems for consumers?
New AI features are quickly rolling out in the apps we use every day — from Google’s AI-generated search summaries to Meta’s Muse agent. But there's a big gap between what these tools can do and what most consumers find useful. The vast majority use free versions of chatbots, for searching the web, not running swarms of agents to manage their lives. Kate Moran, a user experience researcher at Gibbons and Moran, joins us to unpack the AI adoption gap. More on this The Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps from Andreessen Horowitz Not quite mAInstream: A consumer AI profile from Bank of America Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact from Pew Research Center
Tuesday · 8 min
Colleges are training the next generation of content creators
An increasing number of schools are offering classes and even majors and minors in the art of influencing. Charlie Randall is a senior pursuing a double major in theater and content creation at Arkansas Tech University, which launched their digital content creation degree about three years ago. He hopes to use the degrees to break into voice acting.
Monday · 10 min
Talking with AI ghosts of loved ones
There's a growing market for AI models that promise to recreate the experience of interacting with a lost loved one. They're sometimes called generative ghosts, and they're the topic for today's “Uncanny AI,” our series about sometimes-unsettling experiences with this technology. Jack Manning, a Ph.D. candidate studying information science at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been looking into this. He recently published a study on how people experience talking to generative ghosts. More on this: “Designing Conversations with the Dead: How People Engage with Generative Ghosts” from Association for Computing Machinery “When AI is used to immortalize the dead, what are the ethical implications?” from Marketplace Tech
October 9 · 16 min
Trump names his new AI task force the "Super Intelligence Force"
President Donald Trump named a new superhero-sounding AI task force this week dubbed the “Super Intelligence Force.” It's led by Jay Clayton, the new AI Czar and also director of national intelligence. Plus, Democrats in the Senate blocked a bill to address data center energy costs ahead of the midterm elections, and a new poll shows Americans are not feeling too great about how our leaders in government are dealing with the risks from AI. Cristiano Lima-Strong, senior AI and government reporter at Bloomberg Government, joins Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino to break down these stories on this week’s “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”
October 8 · 9 min
How a Meta AI prompt changed one mom’s approach to online privacy
It started when Kalie Robins posted an Instagram video with her kid. Meta's built in AI chatbot, Muse, started prompting her to ask questions about her daughters and personal life, which sent her down a social-media-privacy rabbit hole. Robins took to her feed — at the time, with only a few hundred followers — to share her experience. “It starts pulling completely separate information for each of my kids: their names, birth information, pictures and videos of them. And then it says, ‘pinpointing Kalie Robbins' location,’” she said in her now viral video. Meta responded to the incident saying it “missed the mark” and has fixed the issue that prompted those questions. But Robins says she's now been catapulted into the AI privacy discourse. And it's pretty uncomfortable. More on this: Mother Horrified When Meta’s AI Scours Instagram and Facebook for Invasive Information About Her Young Daughters — from Futurism Meta’s Muse AI Agent Is Building a Dossier On You — from Time
October 7 · 7 min
AI spending takes center stage ahead of midterms
OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife recently backed out of a planned $25 million donation to Leading the Future, an artificial intelligence-focused political action committee. Brockman said the PAC had become a “distraction” at OpenAI. But only after the executive had already given an initial $25 million. AI-focused PACs are spending big to shape competing visions for AI policy in the midterm elections. Brendan Glavin, Director of Insights at OpenSecrets, explains how these PACS are looking to influence elections this year.
October 6 · 12 min
What could slowing the AI frontier mean for the economy?
The AI industry appears to be getting more serious about safety. Leaders of top companies signed a non-binding agreement at the White House Sept. 30, laying out standards and best practices for responsible development of advanced AI. OpenAI delayed the release of its latest model due to safety concerns. And Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on the sector to slow things down and "pace the frontier." Wall Street initially wasn't too happy about that push and stocks related to the AI buildout took a momentary tumble. But Jordan Nanos, at the chip research and consulting firm SemiAnalysis, argues that greater investment in AI security could actually drive more demand for computing power.
October 5 · 9 min
Inside the mindset of AI safety workers
We've been hearing a lot about the threat of out-of-control of AI in recent weeks; mostly, from the people making the technology. There was the Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, who publicly quit and kicked off the whole discussion. Others, including that company’s CEO Dario Amodei, chimed in with alarming appraisals of AI's existential risk. Making sense of all this as an outsider can sometimes feel like decoding an unfamiliar civilization. So, we called Spencer Kaplan, a Ph.D. candidate at Yale, who studies anthropology and researches AI workers.
October 2 · 12 min
Trump and tech leaders agree to voluntary AI safety accord
While the White House hosted tech luminaries this week to sign a voluntary agreement on AI safety standards, the Federal Trade Commission opened a broad investigation into AI labs over potential safety risks their products may pose to consumers. Plus, a nearly four-hour documentary on Elon Musk is stirring up controversy over whether social media platforms will run ads for it. We’ll get into it on today’s “Bytes: Week in Review.” Check out our YouTube page to watch more episodes of Tech Bytes.
October 1 · 8 min
AI-powered surveillance costs lives at the southern border
Over the last 25 years, the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to build a "virtual wall" of video surveillance at the southern border. The network can signal Border Patrol to respond when it detects suspicious activity. And officials have touted the benefit of providing aid to migrants in distress. But a recent investigation by MIT Technology Review and the Times of San Diego found more than 1,000 migrants have died over the last decade within range of one of these cameras. Eileen Guo co-reported the series, “Dying on Camera.” More on this: “The US spent billions on border surveillance. Why can’t it catch people before they die?” from MIT Technology Review “A congressional representative just proposed killing America’s border tower program” from MIT Technology Review
September 30 · 8 min
Can data centers ever be "good neighbors"?
Further proof — in case you need it — that AI data centers aren't very popular: A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows 60% of Americans aren't comfortable welcoming one to the neighborhood. And concerns have grown since the beginning of the year across every demographic group, making the backlash a key issue in the midterm elections. Scott Brennen, director of NYU's Center on Technology Policy, recently published a report on how data centers could better work with communities. More on this: “Americans’ views of data centers have turned more negative” from Pew Research Center “Collective Goods but Local Harms: How Data Centers Can Earn Community Support” from Center on Technology Policy “Residents voice concerns as Hobart City Council approves Amazon data center” from WGN9 “More Americans concerned about AI, even as it drives economy” from Marketplace
September 29 · 8 min
Why one X user is microblogging history in real time
Content creator Manny Marotta has gone viral in recent weeks for his X feed recounting the news of 25 years ago as if it's happening now. His minute-by-minute account of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, attracted hundreds of thousands of new followers. And the 27-year old is posting day-by-day accounts from 50 and 100 years ago, as well. Marotta says it's become a time-consuming hobby alongside his job as a law clerk for a non-profit.
September 28 · 7 min
Amazon wants Alexa to finish your to-do list, not just research it
The AI smart speaker market is getting crowded. This year, Amazon, which is a Marketplace underwriter, rolled out a large language model-powered version of its classic voice assistant. You can still talk to Alexa+ using Amazon echo devices, but it also operates as a text chatbot, replacing the old Rufus AI. It's capable of conversational searches, managing to-do lists and even generating podcasts. Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo, broke down what's new with Alexa+. More on this: “I’ve Been Testing Alexa for a Decade. Here’s My Take on How Alexa+ Compares.” from Wirecutter “Amazon's Alexa+” from Amazon
September 25 · 15 min
Meta’s new Muse AI agent gives investors the warm-'n-fuzzies
Meta's new Muse AI assistant is having a moment — and it's kind of adorable. Meta announced a slew of new integrations for its AI assistant at a company event this week, including a customizable furry lil’ avatar and a Tamogatchi-like wearable device for interacting with it. Plus, Wall Street is betting billions on growing demand for cybersecurity in the age of AI and social media platform Discord enters its age-gating era. Anita Ramaswamy at The Information is here to help us unpack the week in tech. More on this: I Gave My Life Over to Meta’s A.I. Agent and Was Blown Away — New York Times Meta Tests Muse AI Agent Calls That Are Actually Made By Humans in a Call Center — 404 Media CrowdStrike and Okta Trade at Big Premiums Despite Unproven AI Payoff — The Information Discord’s age-verification era is upon us, despite community backlash — Tech Crunch
September 24 · 8 min
Finding common ground in the U.S.-China AI rivalry
AI is the big item on the agenda this week as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Trump in Washington, D.C. The talks come after a firestorm of news that has brought AI safety front and center: the hack of Hugging Face by rogue OpenAI agents, the resignation of an Anthropic researcher, plus calls by AI leaders to pace the frontier always met with the rejoinder, “what about China?” Samm Sacks, senior fellow at the think tank New America, tells us more about China's approach to these AI talks. More on this: “US and China Hail Talks as Positive Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit” from Bloomberg “US proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China, Bessent says” from Associated Press
September 23 · 9 min
The beauty industry is betting big on AI
The global beauty market is expected to hit almost $600 billion by 2030, according to a report by McKinsey & Company. And just like pretty much every industry, it's being transformed by AI. L’Oréal and OpenAI announced a partnership this summer to bring virtual makeup try-ons and product discovery to ChatGPT. An AI styling firm called Alta is integrating e.l.f. Beauty products into its virtual try on avatars. And consumers are increasingly looking to chatbots for skincare and makeup recommendations. Apparently beauty inquiries account for almost half of generative AI retail referral traffic, according to market research firm EuroMonitor. For more we're joined by fashion-tech journalist and consultant Maghan McDowell, who's been following this trend.
September 22 · 8 min
The cost of digitally disconnecting
Sure, you can put down your phone and go touch grass for free. But for those looking for a little help committing to a more disconnected lifestyle, there's a growing market of products and services from retreats to apps to devices that promise to supercharge your ability to unplug — for a price. Paula Mejia has covered the booming digital detox industry for Mother Jones, and spoke with “Marketplace Tech” host Meghan McCarty Carino about her reporting. More on this: “Adventures in Unplugging” from Mother Jones “Meta to pay up to $18bn to settle claims its platforms harm children” from BBC9
September 21 · 9 min
How attitudes toward AI differ across generations
At this point we've probably all been a part of heated dinner conversations about AI. Rana el Kaliouby has them almost nightly at home. She's an AI scientist and investor who hosts the podcast Pioneers of AI. But her own daughter is an AI skeptic, her teenage son, on the other hand, is an AI super user — which makes for some pretty interesting conversations at home.

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