Tariffs, Trade Wars, & Technology

Despite some corporate leaders' insistence that "return to work" initiatives are a great idea; it turns out, that flexibility about employee location is actually the key to success. That is what Harvard Business Professor and author, Prithwiraj “Raj” Choudhury, concludes in his new book, "The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity, and Innovation". Listen now, to find out why he believes that employees being able to choose where they live and work, is a big win for not only the companies that employ them, but also for society at large, and in particular; for cities here in the Midwest, like Akron or Cleveland, for example, that have lost thousands of jobs over the past four decades to globalization. Choudhury maintains that remote work arrangements allow people to take advantage of more affordable housing and a better quality of life than is available in crowded and expensive big cities, can be a very big win for everyone involved–as long as there are still opportunities for teams to gather, create, and collaborate in person. Of course, remote work depends on good and reliable teleconferencing technology, so we'll also be talking about how the app that was once the dominant, gold-standard leader in that arena–Skype–was phased out for good this week by Microsoft, after other apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, have become increasingly popular.

The national debate over security issues raised in early March when top-level US officials engaged in a Signal messaging app group text chat using their personal mobile phones instead of on secure government-issued devices, or in a secure government facility, continues to rage this week. In fact, the official who started that text chat, US National Security Advisor, Mike Walz, was replaced just yesterday, Thursday, May 1, by Marco Rubio, who will fill that position in addition to his other duties as Secretary of State, and Acting Administrator of The US Agency For International Development (USAID). Walz, though, was not dismissed entirely from the Trump administration, as President Trump says he plans to nominate Walz to be US Ambassador to The United Nations. That appointment though, needs to be confirmed by the Senate. What made that text chat, (and at least one other that followed) so controversial, is that not only were they carried out using insecure devices, on a commercial mobile app; they also contained what many military and national security experts contend was classified information, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other Trump administration officials contend it was not. It was in fact the potentially classified nature of the information conveyed–specific attack plans for a raid on Houthi rebels in Yemen–that brought that conversation into the national spotlight, when Atlantic Magazine Editor-In-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg discovered and then revealed that he had somehow been inadvertently included in the group chat. So, with the dust from this event far from settled this week; I had a conversation about it with CBS News Military Analyst, Jeff McCausland, who is a retired US Army Colonel, the former Dean of Academics at the U.S. Army War College, and is currently a visiting professor of National Security at Dickinson College, in Pennsylvania. Find out more. Listen now.

While Instagram's parent company, Meta, battles the government in court over antitrust claims; they're also battling to keep your kids safe online.  Or so they say. But, can we believe them? That's the question I asked former CNET Editor and current CBS News Tech contributor, Ian Sherr, about Instagram's announcement this week that they're rolling out a new AI tool that can protect young teens from harmful content, by being able to detect whether they are lying about their age. But, what they are not doing, is requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use their platform, which is what the State of Ohio wanted, when legislators passed the Social Media Parental Notification Act last year. That law, however got struck down just last week, when a Federal judge ruled it unconstitutional, because it violated First Amendment free speech protections for both children, and social media companies. The ruling was made in connection with a lawsuit filed by NetChoice, an organization representing Google, Meta, Snapchat, X, and other major tech companies. But Ohio is not alone when it comes to trying to pass laws to protect children from harm online. A number of other states have crafted similar laws, some of which include Texas, Louisiana, Utah, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. Those laws, however, are also facing legal challenges. So, if laws aren't working (so far), and AI is at this point more of a promise than proven protection; what can parents do to ensure their kids safety on social media where it has been proven time and time again that they are often the targets of cyberbullies, scammers, pedophiles, sextortionists, and all manner of other online predators?  Find out. Listen now.

If the foundation of your house is made of sand, it will eventually fall, and if the foundation of a legal case is built on questionable evidence; it may do so as well. That is what is playing out right now in Cleveland, where where a murder case is in the process of potentially falling to pieces, because it was based, in part, on  AI-driven facial recognition technology. At a time when we are all increasingly under surveillance from both public and private security cameras– whether on lamp posts, in convenience stores, or mounted on our neighbors' front doors–our faces are scanned, tracked, and recorded practically everywhere we go, and we don't have any way to stop it. Then, add in all the pictures we post to social media, and take a moment to consider that all of those images are being stored in a database somewhere–perhaps by a company that makes money by selling them to law enforcement–like for example, Clearview AI. That company advertises that they provide cutting-edge technology for law enforcement to investigate crimes, and enhance public safety. But they have also faced, and settled a major lawsuit filed by the ACLU in 2022, for allegedly violating privacy laws by collecting images of people without their consent. Today, we're focusing on another ACLU legal action related to that facial recognition software, but it is not about privacy. Instead, is about the accuracy and reliability of the software when it is applied to suspects with dark skin, how Cleveland police used it to build a case against murder suspect, Qeyeon Tolbert, and how they hid the fact that they used it, from the Judge who granted them the warrant for the search and seizure of what authorities believe was the murder weapon. Once the defense found out about it though, and raised an objection; the judge hearing the case excluded the gun from evidence; dealing what could be a death blow to the Prosecution's case. But it is not over yet, and that's where our guest today, Attorney, Nathan "Nate" Freed Wessler, comes in. He is the Deputy Director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, who entered the case as a "friend of the court"; filing an amicus brief on behalf of the defense, arguing that facial recognition technology is unreliabe, and that police using it without informing either the judge, or the defense, violates the defendant's civil rights. But while we are using the facts of this case as a jumping off point; the real focus of our conversation is about the technology itself; how it is used, why its accuracy has been questioned on the basis of racial bias, and why some police departments don't use it. At this point, the appeals judge in Cleveland hasn't yet ruled on whether or not the evidence against 23 year old Qeyeon Tolbert can be used at trial, but questions raised by the facts of the case, are worth considering outside of the context of that particular trial. What if your picture somehow got included in a police "six pack" (photo lineup) and shown to a witness in a criminal case, and what if you were nowhere near the crime scene, and what if it was all a big mistake, but somehow you landed in jail anyway? Would it matter to you that the technology used to make the case might be as filled with holes as Swiss cheese? Would it matter to you that police might have broken the law to get it? Would you be willing to plead guilty in hopes of getting a lighter sentence for something you didn't do, just to avoid the possibility of decades in prison?  On the other hand; what if the technology could be improved, what if police were better trained to use it, and what if policymakers came up with "best practice" rules that made this powerful, and potentially really useful technology available for use in a way that both protects the public interest, and the civil rights of the accused? Find out more, listen now.

Because Ohio has the nation’s #2 largest workforce in motor vehicle manufacturing (OEM assembly) and motor vehicle parts manufacturing (auto parts suppliers); President Trump's on again-off again tariff policies that have been rocking the stock market this week, also have the potential for affecting the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in our state. While Automotive Industry Union leaders have cheered the possibility tariffs helping to bring more automotive jobs back to the US; there is also quite a bit of concern on the part of auto makers and consumers, about how tariffs could affect the price of both parts and vehicles. In addition, while there is the possibility that tariffs could eventually persuade more auto makers to build plants here; The Detroit Free Press reports this week that auto workers could see their profit sharing income drop, if their employers see falling profits in the more immediate future. Listen now as I discuss the issue with CBS News Automotive Industry Contributor, Jeff Gilbert, who is also with WWJ Radio News, in Detroit. Please note this interview was recorded on Monday, April 7.

Because the innovative and advanced technology that powers manufacturing in Ohio relies heavily on imported parts and components; the latest increase in tariffs on imported goods imposed this week by President Trump will likely make products  produced here, more expensive. But will they last, or are they just one more trick up Trump's sleeve aimed at making bigger, better, and more favorable trade deals that will eventually pay off for US businesses and consumers? That's the multi-billion dollar question we're asking today, as the Stock market continues to fall, and trade tensions continue to rise worldwide. Listen now as we discuss it with Ethan Karp, who is the President & CEO of MAGNET, which is a nonprofit Manufacturing consulting firm headquartered in Cleveland. Listen now.

The State Fire Marshal's Office recently figured out the root cause for most fatal fires in Ohio, and they did so by using a new data analytics tool. Listen now, to find out how that allowed them to start distributing lifesaving devices that can stop what could become deadly fires, before tragedy strikes.

Something very special is about to happen out in the California's Mojave Desert, on March 29th. That's when the University of Akron's "Akronauts" rocket design team will launch their latest, entirely student made "Emergence 5" rocket, which they're hoping hoping will go faster, and fly higher than any other they've launched in the past; powered by a custom-blended liquid fuel they call "Wayside White". To find out more about it, I talked with Akronauts Project Manager, Corbin Lauvray. Listen now:

Doctor visits are going high tech at the Cleveland Clinic, where they are now using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool for help with notes and record keeping related to patient visits at medical offices outside the hospital. I talked about it this week, with Cleveland Clinic Internal Medicine Physician, and Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, Dr. Eric Boose. Find out more, listen now:

The vast economic potential of outer space is not just for the few rich and famous entrepreneurs who are flourishing in today's commercial space race, such as Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos. There is in fact, room for many other visionary and adventuresome entrepreneurs, and their success can help power our economy–and society at large– to new heights. That's the message from the new book "Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier", and we talked about it with co-author, Brendan Rosseau. Listen now.