Today on “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review,” we're looking at Apple's latest software and operating system updates. Also, there's a tentative labor deal between video game actors and studios. And we'll remember legendary Apple software engineer Bill Atkinson, who died at the age of 74. We begin with Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference which came and went this week with some mixed reactions. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Anita Ramaswamy, columnist for The Information, to get her take on this year’s WWDC. Tech Bytes for June 13More on everything we talked about“Apple fails to clear a low bar on AI” - from The Wall Street Journal“Apple underwhelms at WWDC with incremental AI changes, new software name and ‘liquid glass’ design” - from The Associated Press”Video game performers on strike for almost a year over AI issues reach a tentative deal” - from The Associated Press“Videogame voice actors strike 'suspended' following agreement with game companies: 'All SAG-AFTRA members are instructed to return to work’” - from PC Gamer“Bill Atkinson, Macintosh Pioneer and Inventor of Hypercard, Dies at 74” - from WIRED“Bill Atkinson, who made computers easier to use, is dead at 74” - from The New York Times
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Can Finland take Europe’s startup crown?
Building work has started in the Finnish capital Helsinki on what’s expected to become the biggest startup campus in Europe. Finland’s government says it wants the small Nordic nation to offer the best startup ecosystem in Europe. The BBC’s Maddy Savage has this story.
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The startups bringing brain-computer interfaces to market
On this episode of “Marketplace Tech,” host Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Christopher Mims, a tech journalist at The Wall Street Journal, about the recent evolution of brain computer interfaces — technology that has enabled people with paralysis to move prosthetic limbs or type out communication using computer implants in their brains — and the neurotech startups trying to bring their implants to a larger market by making them less invasive.
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Police use new AI tool that can identify someone without facial features
Facial recognition systems use artificial intelligence to analyze patterns in faces, and they've come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in policing. There have been multiple instances of false positives leading to the arrest and detainment of innocent people. There's no federal regulation of this technology, but at least a dozen states have laws that limit its use. So, some law enforcement authorities have turned to a new system called Track, made by a company called Veritone. It doesn't analyze faces, but looks to the rest of the body for clues — things like clothing, body type or hair — according to recent reporting by James O'Donnell for MIT Technology Review.
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Bytes: Week in Review — Texas’ age verification law, a potential moratorium on local AI laws, and Meta splits its AI team
There's a provision tucked into the Big Beautiful Bill, among the tax cuts and Medicaid cuts, that would bar states from passing laws to regulate artificial intelligence for a decade. Plus, Meta is reshuffling its AI team again in an apparent attempt to catch up to the competition. But first, this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law requiring age verification for Apple and Google app stores. It also requires parental consent for app downloads and in-app purchases by minors. But it raises some legal questions. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino is joined by Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, to discuss all this.
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.