Social Media Addiction, AI Music, and Data Privacy

We're covering some of the biggest stories in tech this week, including a big civil trial out in Los Angeles involving a teen who is suing big tech companies, alleging that social media addiction has severely damaged her mental health, AI technology that is helping consumers build even better custom playlists on Spotify, and big-name musical artists create new songs. It is also National Data Privacy Week, and we're getting some expert advice on how to better stay safe from scams and hackers, from the Superintendent of Financial Institutions for the Ohio Department of Commerce, Robert Rutkowski. Listen now:

Everybody, everywhere, it seems, wants you to "like" their product, podcast, delivery service, social media post, or whatever. But, did you ever stop to wonder, who actually invented the "Like" button? Well, business strategy expert and author, Martin Reeves did, and he turned what was supposed to be a short coffee conversation with Like button inventor, Bob Goodson, into a new book called  "Like: The Button that Changed The World". Listen now, as Reeves explains how that seemingly innocuous little "Like" button, has supercharged commerce, and changed society worldwide.

This was quite a week both for big tech developments, and big tech hassles. Listen now, to find out more about Verizon’s big outage , which affected more than a million customers on Wednesday. We'll also hear about  how the US Government is planning to integrate Elon Musk’s controversial Grok AI into Pentagon networks, rising concerns about the potentially damaging environmental effects of data center expansion throughout Ohio, and new federal EPA air pollution rules that no longer take the economic cost of harm to human health into consideration. I also had a really interesting conversation this week with Telle Whitney, who is a Computer Scientist, Entrepreneur, and Author. Her new book “Rebooting Tech Culture: How to Ignite Innovation and Build Organizations Where Everyone Can Thrive”,  explores why she believes creating an inclusive and welcoming work environment for women and other employees who don’t fit the typical “Tech Bro” mold, is not only better for employee morale and productivity; but also, for the company bottom line. About the Author Telle Whitney is a senior executive leader, an entrepreneur, and a recognized advocate and expert on women and technology. She has over 30 years of leadership experience and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of Women and Technology. She is an accomplished technologist who spent twenty years in the semiconductor industry in Silicon Valley. Telle has been called “a pioneer for the promotion of women technologists” and “one of the most inspirational leaders I have ever known.” Telle co-founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference in 1994 and was CEO of the non-profit Anita Borg Institute from 2002 to September 2017. She transformed the Institute into a recognized world leader for women and technology. Prior to that she served in leadership positions at several semiconductor startups. She has won numerous awards, including the ACM Distinguished Service Award, an honorary degree from CMU, and an honorary member of IEEE. In 2024, the REC Foundation recognized her as a STEM Hero. She co-founded the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). In 2022, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and serves on the National Medal of Technology nomination committee. Telle serves on the board of AI4All, CMD-IT, and Power and Systems and consults for numerous technology organizations. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the California Institute of Technology and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Utah.

This week, all the reasons why the currently popular “bring your whole self to work” trend is most definitely not a great idea when it comes to being successful and effective at work.  At least, that’s what organizational psychologist, author, and entrepreneur, Dr. Tomas-Chamorro-Premuzik, tells us his new book; “Don’t be yourself: Why authenticity is overrated, and what to do instead”. Listen now:

This week, I interviewed Dr. Dane Quinn who is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Akron, while I was hosting the Ray Horner Morning show. I wanted to hear what he thinks about future employment prospects for students interested in pursuing that type of degree, in the face of so much change and disruption expected from AI.

This week, I interviewed Dr. Dane Quinn who is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Akron, while I was hosting the Ray Horner Morning show. I wanted to hear what he thinks about future employment prospects for students interested in pursuing that type of degree, in the face of so much change and disruption expected from AI.

Dr. Dane Quinn, University of Akron's Professor of Mechanical Engineering, joined Jeanne Destro to discuss the future of engineering, employment, and more.

As tech giants ramp up their investments in AI, and artificial intelligence-driven applications continue to be deployed throughout society; both the costs and benefits of this rapidly developing technology were on display in dramatic ways this week. Listen now, as we find out more about how the Stock Market reacted to concerns about returns on investments in AI, how teen reliance on AI chatbots to alleviate loneliness is becoming a mental health issue, Disney licensing some of its most iconic characters to OpenAI, and the Akron Police Department using an AI-powered virtual assistant to help answer non-emergency calls.

There is a new legal battle brewing now between the Trump administration and states, including Ohio, over who gets to regulate AI. Congress recently punted on the question, when they refused to pass a measure embedded in the recent continuing resolution that reopened the federal government, that would have denied states the right to regulate AI.  But that did not make President Trump happy, and just yesterday; he signed an executive order to stop "excessive" state regulation of Artificial intelligence. Exactly how his administration is going to define "excessive" is still up in the air though, and may not sit well with states like California, Colorado, Tennessee, and Utah, which have already passed some form of AI regulation, or, like Ohio, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia; are working on it now. That's because there is a lot of genuine concern at the state level, about the kind of harm that unregulated AI could do, or perhaps already has done to citizens. In addition, because it is not exempt under federal law from civil liability claims like other technologies including social media platforms; the states actually do have very solid legal standing to write their own laws. At least; that's what they'll likely be arguing in court, sometime in the not too distant future, as we'll hear today from our special guest, Legal Analyst, and University of Akron Law Professor, Emeritus; Dean Carro. Listen now.

Imagine you are a hit-making musician.   Then, imagine that you are excited about sharing your work, and making a living, when– poof–it all evaporates because somebody, somewhere on the internet, just ripped you off.  Well, that’s exactly what’s been happening to creative artists of all types, especially musicians, at an ever-accelerating speed since the dawn of the internet. And, because federal law shields digital platforms from getting sued for copyright infringement on the part of people who use their services; digital piracy continues to flourish. But copyright owners are just plain sick of it. They’re tired of letting other people steal their work, distribute it worldwide, and getting nothing in return. So, they fought back in a big way, suing Cox Communications for copyright infringement.  But, you may be wondering; why Cox Communications? After all, they are not a big online platform like YouTube, or Facebook, for example. They are an internet service provider. They don't actually host the copyrighted material. All they do, is pipe it into your home, office, hospital, or wherever. They are in fact, like a telephone line, transmitting information across the wire. They are simply the conduit, the pass-through, the man in the middle. At least; that’s their argument. But Sony Entertainment wasn’t having any of that. They argued that because they notified Cox about the copyrighted material flowing through their network, and Cox chose to transmit it anyway; they are liable, and a jury back in 2019 agreed to the tune of a billion dollars. The song isn’t over though, as part of that jury verdict was overturned on appeal, what is at stake is perhaps internet service providers having to cut off customer access, and at the whole complicated legal ball of wax wound up before the US Supreme Court this week.  So, who will win?   I asked CBS News Radio Legal Analyst, and Correspondent, Thane Rosenbaum: