X, formerly Twitter, is facing a global backlash because users are directing the platform's AI chatbot, Grok, to generate non-consensual intimate imagery. Users have been popping up in the replies of women — and sometimes minors — tagging Grok and asking it to generate images of them in bikinis or undressed.

The company and its owner, Elon Musk, have both clarified illegal content will not be tolerated on the platform.

Plus, President Donald Trump signed an executive order late last year aimed at blocking states from enforcing local AI regulations — something a majority have adopted in some form.

And, Meta is a victim of its own success. Its new Ray-Ban smart glasses are selling too fast to keep up with demand.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, to discuss all these topics on this week’s Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.

For the past couple months, YouTube technologist Benn Jordan has been investigating Flock Safety surveillance cameras. With the help of 404 Media, they found that many of these cameras were not only tracking, zooming and following every passerby, but the footage was freely accessible on the internet.

Jordan joined Marketplace Tech host Meghan McCarty Carino to talk about how he found the footage and the dangers the surveillance system poses to privacy and other civil liberties. Remember, Big Brother is always watching.

Over a century ago, farmers exchanged their horses and plows for the automated tractor. Generations of farmers have come, gone and watched technology transform their industry.

Automation and biotechnology have continued to propel farming forward, but with the emergency of AI technology, farmers have gained another tool up their sleeve.

Andrew Nelson is a fifth-generation farmer in Farmington, Washington, and he is now using his computer science degree to help tend to his crops.

Artificial intelligence isn't just chatbots. The technology is being integrated all across our economy and our lives. And that convergence of AI and robotics, biology and more is likely to be the most important tech trend in 2026, according to Futurist and CEO of the Future Today Strategy Group, Amy Webb.

The 2024 presidential race was the first big election to happen in the new generative AI era. There have, of course, been major concerns that the technology could be used to deceive voters or interfere with the exercise of democracy. But so far, that kind of activity has been limited, according to Tim Harper, a senior policy analyst and coauthor of a recent report from the Center for Democracy and Technology.

The digital detox economy is estimated to grow to $20 billion by 2032. The gamification that got you addicted to your phone might be the key to putting it down.

When it comes to homebuilding, Ronda Conger, vice president of CBH Homes, wants to be like the Savannah Bananas.

“We are out there trying to do things so differently,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons we embraced AI so quickly.”

But there are growing fears that artificial intelligence will begin to replace human employees. For Conger’s team, the bots are doing the grunt work, so the real humans can shine.

2025 brought some new speed bumps for electric vehicle sales, namely the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It cut federal EV tax credits — up to $7,500 for new cars and $4,000 for used ones. Those incentives had been on the books in some form since 2008 and were expanded during the Biden administration. They expired at the end of September.

Consumers rushed to take advantage before they disappeared, leading to record high sales earlier this year. But now the market faces an uncertain road ahead.

Marketplace's Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with her colleague Henry Epp about the outlook for EV sales in the U.S. now that federal tax credits are gone.

AI psychosis became a thing in 2025. That's when a chatbot leads a user into a delusional spiral.

The technology's tendency to affirm what people say can result in conversations that become untethered from reality and, in the worst cases, has ended with real-world harms. Kashmir Hill has been reporting on this phenomenon for The New York Times.

Content warning: This episode includes mention of self harm and suicide.

This year turned out to be a pretty big year for autonomous vehicles. Waymo is the leader in the robotaxi race and over the last year, its signature Jaguar electric vehicles have become a common sight on the streets and recently freeways of cities around the country.

Companies like Uber and Zooks have expanded their fleets to several metropolitan areas. And Tesla finally rolled out its cybercab service in a limited capacity in Austin.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke to Kirsten Korosec, transportation editor at TechCrunch, about how the robotaxi became a common fixture on city streets this year.