Business, Spoken

It was hard not to fear the worst when President Barack Obama appointed Tom Wheeler as chair of the Federal Communications Commission in 2013. Wheeler was the CEO of the wireless industry group CTIA from 1992 to 2004, and the CEO of the National Cable Television Association from 1979 to 1984. As the agency drafted its net neutrality rules, comedian John Oliver famously compared putting Wheeler in charge of the FCC to hiring a dingo to babysit your kids. But Wheeler wasn't a dingo. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Even before the online gig economy existed, a simple truth defined life in the American workforce: full-time employees get a safety net—the benefits, the labor protections, the security—and everyone else goes without. Tech companies have revolutionized how people work in countless ways, but this benefits gap persists, especially among low-income workers. The question now is whether these platforms can also be part of the solution. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Over the past few years, China's tech ascension has become one of the hottest topics du jour. Just as there are America's FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google), a trio of Chinese companies have become their own tech acronym: BAT's Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent. And China has clear aims to surpass the United States as the new techonomic superpower, from President Xi Jinping’s "Made in China 2025" initiative to his plans for China to lead AI globally by 2030. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ajit Pai says the Federal Communications Commission's annual broadband assessment will show that his deregulatory policies have substantially improved access in the United States. The annual report will also conclude that broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely basis. The FCC hasn't released the full Broadband Deployment Report yet and won't do so until the commission votes on whether to approve the draft version sometime in the next few weeks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

AT&T and Verizon are slowly trickling out the next generation of wireless networks, known as 5G, in parts of a few cities. But even as the major carriers prepare larger 5G launches, San Francisco based startup Common Networks is hoping that it can compete with bigger telecom companies by combining 5G with technology open sourced by Facebook. Common Networks is using 5G to offer home, as opposed to mobile, broadband, essentially competing with internet providers such as AT&T and Comcast. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Just before Valentine’s Day last week, Belgian security researcher Inti De Ceukelaire noticed something strange on Facebook. He found the social network’s search function treated pictures of men and women in dramatically different ways. Searching for “photos of my female friends” returned a hodgepodge of images, whereas a similar search for “photos of my male friends” yielded no results. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Are machines racist? Are algorithms and artificial intelligence inherently prejudiced? Do Facebook, Google, and Twitter have political biases? Those answers are complicated. But if the question is whether the tech industry doing enough to address these biases, the straightforward response is no. WIRED OPINION ABOUT Yaël Eisenstat is a former CIA officer, National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden, and CSR leader at ExxonMobil. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It's been a big week for 5G, the next generation of wireless networks. Samsung announced its first 5G capable phone, the S10, on Wednesday. Qualcomm announced a new 5G modem on Tuesday. But President Trump is aiming higher. "I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible," Trump wrote in a tweet urging carriers to pick up their pace. "It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard." https://twitter. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When it comes to cracking down on tech giants, India is on a roll. The country was the first to reject Facebook’s contentious plan to offer free internet access to parts of the developing world in 2016. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some AT&T customers noticed a strange phenomenon earlier this year. The upper left corner of their smartphones began displaying “5GE,” ostensibly indicating their phones were using 5G technology. And while Samsung announced Wednesday that it will soon release a 5G-compatible phone, actual 5G networks in the US are still in their nascent stages. AT&T is engaging in a marketing ploy—one it has used in the past. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices