Future of Engineering: Employment, Preparation, & More

More smart traffic cameras, better coordinated Emergency response, and smoother bus rides are all on the way within the year, as Summit County's $50 million dollar, high speed broadband fiber ring network project nears completion. That's the word today from Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro's Chief of Staff, Brian Nelsen, who is our featured guest on this week's edition of This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro. Listen now for more information on how getting all of the county's governmental agencies and municipalities hooked up to high speed fiber is going to improve their operations, and what that means for you.

This week, we're featuring an in-depth discussion about the harm social media is doing to kids and teens; addiction, depression, anxiety, and in some cases—even suicide. It is in sharp focus now, because two separate lawsuits went to trial this week, alleging that the big companies running social media platforms, including Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads), and Alphabet (YouTube), know that they are causing harm, and aren't doing enough to stop it. While the two suits are similar, they are not exactly the same, so we asked CBS News Tech Contributor, and former CNET Editor, Ian Sherr, to help us sort it all out. Listen now:

It was quite a week for news related to the world's richest man; Elon Musk, who announced he was merging X-AI with SpaceX, caused quite a stir on Wall Street, and simultaneously faced serious legal issues when French Prosecutors raided the X office in France. They are investigating allegations including complicity in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, and sexually explicit deepfakes, as well as denial of crimes against humanity such as the Holocaust.  But they are not alone. An investigation into Musk's AI tool, Grok, also launched in the UK where authorities are also concerned about the production of harmful sexualized videos and images. In addition , there are growing questions about what's next for Tesla, as Musk recently announced they're  discontinuing some Tesla models, so they focus more attention on building robots. To find out more about that; I had a conversation with CBS News Automotive industry expert, Jeff Gilbert.

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.