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Bytes: Week in Review — Nvidia and AMD's new chip deal with President Trump Aug 15, 2025

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On today’s Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review, Perplexity AI has offered $34.5 billion to buy Alphabet's Chrome browser, despite the fact the tech giant hasn't said it's for sale. Plus, the reviews are in for OpenAI's highly anticipated GPT-5 model and they're kinda…mixed. But first, President Trump gave chipmakers Nvidia and AMD the green light to sell their less powerful semiconductors in China, in exchange for a 15% cut of sales revenue. The deal is already raising eyebrows and legal questions.

Work weeks are getting more intense for AI startups Aug 14, 2025

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China’s labor market is known for being intense, especially in the tech sector. For years high profile tech workers have embraced the “996” schedule – that's 9am to 9pm six days a week.

And recently, Silicon Valley startups have reportedly been leaning in to the “996” grind themselves. So now China is taking it up a notch.

AI in local government agencies may mean more work for administrators Aug 13, 2025

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Implementing AI in government agencies — where the public goes for things like food stamps and unemployment or disability benefits — could come with tradeoffs, according to a recent report by the Roosevelt Institute. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino sat down with Samantha Shorey, who authored that report on AI and public administration.

Travelers aren't big fans of TSA's facial recognition program, report finds Aug 12, 2025

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In recent years, the Transportation Security Administration has been piloting facial recognition at security checkpoints. But opting out of getting scanned can be complicated, according to a recent report from the non-profit Algorithmic Justice League. Joy Buolamwini is president of the organization and co-authored that report.

Data centers are causing problems for their neighbors Aug 11, 2025

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U.S.-based data centers are expanding at a fast pace, thanks largely to the boom in generative artificial intelligence software and cloud computing. But they’re also reportedly causing environmental issues and other problems for their neighbors. The BBC’s Michelle Fleury reports from Georgia on how the boom in data centers is raising environmental and sustainability concerns from the people who live near them.

Bytes: Week in Review – Apple adds billions more to U.S. investments, OpenAI embraces openness, and Google restructures DEI funding Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

OpenAI’s new open-weight models are designed to run on a local computer and can be fine tuned by users. A Tech Transparency Project report shows Google dropped more than 50 DEI-related groups from its funding list. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s investment to build up its supply chain in the domestically. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, to discuss all of this and more.

The uncertain future of consumer data control Aug 07, 2025

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Section 1033 of the Dodd Frank Act was finalized at the end of the Biden administration and would require banks to give consumers free access and control of their personal banking data.

The rule had met legal pushback from the bank industry and the CFPB under the Trump administration planned to scrap it. But last week, the bureau said it will instead rewrite Section 1033.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino discusses the news with Rohit Chopra, who served as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when the rule was finalized in 2024.

Email my heart: USPS falls behind digital communication Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

Marketplace’s Alice Wilder has been waiting for a love letter from her boyfriend to arrive at her home since March. But it’s not just her — years of financial troubles and political turmoil mean that those still sending letters are experiencing longer delivery times. Today, Wilder explores how email has eaten into USPS’ letter traffic since 2008 and whether a romantic email could ever replace the intimacy of a handwritten letter.

How much input do employees have in workplace tech adoption? Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

A new national study from groups including Gallup and the non-profit Jobs for the Future found that relatively few employees have any influence over how new technology is adopted in the workplace.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Molly Blankenship, director of strategy and impact at Jobs for the Future, about what that means for employers and employees as technology like generative AI becomes more common in the office.

Seattle's great robotaxi experiment Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

As autonomous vehicles become more common, cities are grappling with how to keep robotaxis from interfering with emergency response efforts. Julia Pickar reports on how Seattle is trying to fix this problem.

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