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Bytes: Week in Review – Spotify is sliding into our DMs Aug 29, 2025

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Chipmaker NVIDIA reported quarterly earnings this week and they were strong - better than expected, even. NVIDIA's sales rose last quarter by over 50% though its data center business was a little softer than expected. So why did share prices fall? Plus, OpenAI says it's updating ChatGPT to better handle mental distress. And Spotify is sliding into our DMs. The music streamer has launched a messaging system on its platform. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital, about all these headlines for this week’s Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.

U.S. officials pressure EU regulators to soften tech regulations Aug 28, 2025

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President Donald Trump called out countries trying to regulate U.S. tech companies earlier this week, warning they could face new tariffs. The White House has struck a provisional trade deal with the European Union, but tensions remain over the bloc's sweeping tech laws, like the Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to moderate illegal content and disinformation.

Automated application systems add insult to injury in a tough job market Aug 27, 2025

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Job growth in the economy has slowed, and the ranks of the long-term unemployed are growing. It makes the indignities of the modern hiring process even more frustrating for those in the market. Job-seekers are navigating a gauntlet of automated application systems set up to whittle down the hundreds — sometimes thousands — of applicants. Only for many to never hear from a human. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino has more from the front lines of algorithmic application hell.

Denmark to end 400 years of letter delivery service Aug 26, 2025

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Across Europe, postal services are grappling with declining letter volumes, amid a rise in digitalization. In Demark, where the decline has been particularly steep, the publicly-owned national postal service, PostNord, is bringing an end to 400 years of letter deliveries, to focus solely on parcels from 2026. And while a private firm will step into the gap, letters are a shrinking business. So as digitalization grows, do letters have a future? The BBC’s Adrienne Murray reports from the Danish capital with more details.

Workers aren't getting what they want from AI Aug 25, 2025

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A survey of about 1,500 workers showed AI has been a useful tool for repetitive work. But some respondents want more — sometimes, more than the technology is capable of.

In this episode, Marketplace’s Meghan Mccarty Carino speaks with Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson about the disconnect between workers' wants and AI's current role in the workplace.

Bytes: Week in Review: The White House joins TikTok Aug 22, 2025

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On this week’s “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review,” Meta is under scrutiny on Capitol Hill after an investigation revealed troubling policies about how the company's chatbots can interact with children. Plus, the White House has officially joined TikTok, despite a looming deadline next month in the on-again-off-again effort to force the app's Chinese owners to divest or face a nationwide ban. But first, the Trump Administration itself is looking to claim a 10% equity stake in a different tech company - the chipmaker Intel. That stake would be in exchange for the grant money it was promised under the Biden Administration's CHIPS act. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, to learn more.

New tools make it harder for AI to train off copyrighted music Aug 21, 2025

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Last month, a band called The Velvet Sundown surged in popularity on Spotify with its 70s inflected rock. Yeah, it was all generated by AI.

Synthetic music is getting better and better, leaving a lot of human artists concerned that their original work could be used to feed the machines that might take their jobs. Now some researchers are fighting back with a tool called “MusicShield.”

AI-powered wearables raise privacy concerns Aug 20, 2025

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Wearables aren't just for tracking steps or monitoring heart rates anymore. In AI-crazed Silicon Valley, a new crop of tech-enabled accessories has taken hold… and they could be listening to everything we say.

China tells businesses to embrace AI. Where does that leave humans? Aug 19, 2025

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Marketplace’s Jennifer Pak recently attended the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. She asked Chinese AI firms what they think about the humans who might lose jobs to their AI products.

What happens to esports athletes when they retire? Aug 18, 2025

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Esports is a multi-billion dollar industry, with players making millions by getting good at video games. But while traditional athletes, usually, retire into coaching, managing or being a pundit, what does an esports player do when they’ve hung up their controller? The BBC’s Will Chalk files this report from the U.K.

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