Marketplace Tech

Diplomats from nearly 200 countries made at deal at the United Nations COP26 climate conference to do more to limit global warming. Not enough, according to experts, but it’s something. Even without stronger global action, many are looking to individual actions to reduce emissions. For example, Google Maps now offers hints at eco-friendly driving routes, and many electric utilities are pushing consumers to install smart thermostats in their homes, with the idea that small changes by millions of consumers will make a difference for the environment, and for people’s wallets. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with John Picard, an “innovation catalyst” and sustainability expert. Picard says the tech to do this is already here.

The one trillion dollar infrastructure package goes beyond money for bridges and roads. It also includes around 65 billion dollars for a different type of infrastructure: broadband. Something that was especially vital for many in this pandemic, with those lacking access often unable to work or attend school remotely. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Christopher Mitchell, the director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He says that while that $65 billion is going into lots of different programs, there are a few big themes.

All this week, we’ve been talking about what it will take to update our laws and regulations to address some of the thorniest issues in tech and society. Today, Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams reports on the tech industry perspective.

The tech industry is kind of every industry at this point, including the financial industry, which is why the the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is starting to pay a lot more attention to tech companies. From PayPal, to Apple Pay, to Meta’s digital currency, the agency set up to rein in big banks is now calling out Big Tech. Last month, it asked online payment processors for more information on how they are operating. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams went to the CFPB’s offices, just across the street from the White House, and asked the new director, Rohit Chopra, if he believes his agency is adequately equipped to take on these big companies.

All this week we’re talking about what regulation of the tech industry could look like. Lawmakers are examining how companies manage online content, including whether Section 230, which shields platforms from liability for what users post, needs a closer look. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has been outspoken on the issue. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams sits down with Grassley for an interview at the U.S. Capitol.

This week we’re looking at what it will take to update the regulation of the tech sector. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has put forward several bills that would do just that. Klobuchar, who’s been working on this issue for years now, thinks we might be in something of a moment. Parts of the tech world have themselves acknowledged the need for updated rules and regulations (although maybe not exactly the ones the senator has in mind). Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams visited Klobuchar in her office on Capitol Hill to discuss her policy work and priorities.

This week, Kimberly Adams talks with two U.S. Senators and other Washington and Silicon Valley leaders as “Marketplace Tech” examines the different ways the federal government is trying to regulate the tech industry, and what it will take to actually make it happen. In this episode, advocates discuss what future legislation could look like.

It’s been about six months since China started banned cryptocurrency mining. That’s the extremely energy-intensive process where computers run complex math problems to get rewarded with cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin. Until recently, China was the epicenter of this activity, partly because the electricity needed to run all those computers is relatively cheap there. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Jennifer Pak, Marketplace’s China correspondent, to check in on where things stand after the ban.

Author Jeanette Winterson has been reading and writing about artificial intelligence and its relationship to humans for years. Her new book, a collection of essays called “12 Bytes: How We Got Here. Where We Might Go Next,” explores these themes. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Winterson, who said she wrote the book because she wanted to understand the implications that AI has for humans — the good and the bad, especially when it comes to AI and robotics. And in that space, Winterson said, a lot of the investment is going toward the good.

An invention that can pull lithium out of geothermal brine is a main character in this week’s episode of the new Marketplace podcast, “How We Survive,” hosted by regular “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood. Against the backdrop of the United Nations climate summit this week, where more than 40 world leaders have pledged to work together to bring down the cost of green technology, we’ll hear more about one of those solutions: batteries. Batteries are key to getting off fossil fuels. And a mineral called lithium is a key ingredient in those batteries. In this episode, Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Molly about what’s happening near California’s Salton Sea.