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Podcast: Making outrage addictive

Podcast: Making outrage addictive

Social media has become a part of our daily lives, as we scroll endlessly through curated feeds. But it’s clear that these platforms are having a negative impact on our lives and our society in ways we never imagined.

Platforms that were once a way to connect people have become a place where disinformation flows freely, controversy and division turns a profit, and people are pushed into echo chambers where everyone believes the same things and get fed disinformation that amps up their views.


In episode 39, Weston unpacks social media’s psychological and cultural ramifications, but also its impact on our democracy and politics — looking at where we can go from here and discussing the need for increased transparency and accountability.

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MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border
Way into future, RPA Airmen participate in Red Flag 16-2 > Creech ...

MQ-9 Predator Drones Hunt Migrants at the Border

FT HUACHUCA, Ariz. - Inside a windowless and dark shipping container turned into a high-tech surveillance command center, two analysts peered at their own set of six screens that showed data coming in from an MQ-9 Predator B drone. Both were looking for two adults and a child who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and had fled when a Border Patrol agent approached in a truck.

Inside the drone hangar on the other side of the Fort Huachuca base sat another former shipping container, this one occupied by a drone pilot and a camera operator who pivoted the drone's camera to scan nine square miles of shrubs and saguaros for the migrants. Like the command center, the onetime shipping container was dark, lit only by the glow of the computer screens.

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A child holding a smartphone.

As children scroll through endless violence on their screens, experts warn of a mental health crisis fueled by trauma, desensitization, and the erosion of empathy.

Trauma Through Screens: Are We Failing the Children?

The first time I watched the video of George Floyd’s final moments as he gasped for air, recorded on a smartphone for the world to witness, it was May 2020, and it was gut-wrenching to see a man’s life end in such a horrific way with just a click.

That single video, captured by a bystander, spread across over 1.3 billion screens and sent a shockwave throughout the country. It forced people to confront the brutality of racial injustice in a way that could not be ignored, filtered, or explained away.

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A person on their phone, using a type of artificial intelligence.

AI is transforming the workplace faster than ever. Experts warn that automation could reshape jobs, wages, and opportunities for millions of American workers.

Getty Images, d3sign

AI Reshapes the American Workplace—But Where Are the Jobs?

In recent years, American workers have been going through an unprecedented experiment in how we work. During the COVID pandemic and social distancing, U.S. businesses embraced the latest online technologies to vastly expand remote work. That, in turn, ushered in the slow creep of artificial intelligence (AI) applications into every crack and seam of society, including in the workplace.

If 2023 was about increasing adoption of AI coming out of the pandemic, experts are saying 2025-26 will be when companies implement deeper changes in the workplace based on ever more pervasive AI.

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A child looking at a cellphone at night.

AI is changing childhood. Kevin Frazier explains why it's critical for parents and mentors to start having the “AI talk” and teach kids safe, responsible AI use.

Getty Images, Elva Etienne

The New Talk: The Need To Discuss AI With Kids

“[I]t is a massively more powerful and scary thing than I knew about.” That’s how Adam Raine’s dad characterized ChatGPT when he reviewed his son’s conversations with the AI tool. Adam tragically died by suicide. His parents are now suing OpenAI and Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, based on allegations that the tool contributed to his death.

This tragic story has rightfully caused a push for tech companies to institute changes and for lawmakers to institute sweeping regulations. While both of those strategies have some merit, computer code and AI-related laws will not address the underlying issue: our kids need guidance from their parents, educators, and mentors about how and when to use AI.

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