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...
Bytes: Week in Review — How tariffs impact consumer gadgets, e-commerce and the AI boom
The tariff rollercoaster has created a lot of uncertainty in the tech industry. We're digging into how its playing out for makers of consumer tech, e-commerce platforms and AI. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Paresh Dave, senior writer at Wired, about all these topics for this week’s Tech Bytes.
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Etsy's AI curates the search for the perfect thing
Etsy, the online marketplace known for selling one-of-a-kind handmade items, is hoping that artificial intelligence can boost sales of those crafty creations. The site has been selling less stuff and recently announced a plan to double down on high-quality and unique merchandise over cheap and mass-produced. Now, it's launching AI-curated product collections, based on trends like island luxe or maximalism. They build on the work of human trendspotters, using AI to scan the site and tag thousands of matching products. Nick Daniel, chief product officer at Etsy, explains what the company calls algotorial curation to Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino.
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What does a bear market mean for Big Tech?
After President Donald Trump's launched his “Liberation Day” tariff agenda, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite stock index suffered its biggest plunge since March 2020. The so-called Magnificent 7 — Nvidia, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Tesla — lost a combined $1.8 trillion of market value in two days. The tariff-induced downturn in business conditions is likely to be temporary, according to Daniel Newman, CEO and chief analyst at the Futurum Group, a tech research and advisory firm. Newman told Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino that tech consumers might feel more of the pain, but not much can stop corporate AI adoption and the data center buildout.
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Microsoft wants to be the world's AI platform
Microsoft celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. The company started as a small software startup co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, garage. It went on to revolutionize personal computing, business productivity and now — it hopes — artificial intelligence with its big investment in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Microsoft has set about integrating the technology across its products, and it recently unveiled a slew of upgrades to its Copilot AI assistant. They include Memory, which retains personal details like the foods you like or your kids' birthdays and can use that information to make your dinner reservations or pick out a gift. The Vision upgrade enables the AI to analyze photos and video and provide tips on, say, redecorating your kitchen. Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's consumer chief marketing officer, to learn more about the new features.
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How to ethically design a nuclear power plant
Rising demand for electricity, largely to power the artificial intelligence boom, has stirred a resurgence in nuclear energy. Older plants like Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania are being brought out of retirement, but there’s also investment in smaller-scale reactors with different designs. The fresh interest in nuclear generation has also renewed discussion about how to build these facilities ethically, in other words, with an approach that’s sensitive to the needs of the community and the world at large. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Aditi Verma, assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan, who co-created an undergrad course about ethically designing modern nuclear facilities. Verma discussed her effort to train young engineers to transform the industry.For some engineers, it’s also renewed a discussion about how to build these facilities ethically. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Aditi Verma, professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan who co-created a course for undergraduate students about how to ethically design modern nuclear facilities, about why it’s so important to be teaching this to young, would-be engineers now.
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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