Marketplace Tech

Gerrit Schneemann, a Counterpoint Research analyst focused on smartphone markets and supply chains, explains how AI data centers are competing for scarce memory chips. They discuss rising phone prices, why budget models are hit hardest, shrinking refurbished-phone supplies, and consumers keeping smartphones for more than 42 months. The squeeze could threaten affordable connectivity in India and Southeast Asia.

Kip Pauly, technical director at 13th Floor Entertainment, designs haunted-attraction engineering, animatronics and special effects. He reveals how motion sensors, lighting, audio, video, wind and tactile effects build immersive scares, including a ghost show set in 1985. Pauly also shares his journey from manufacturing engineering to launching a haunted-effects business and creating unforgettable real-world experiences.

At a San Francisco picnic between Anthropic and OpenAI, AI safety advocates debate whether advanced systems can be controlled. Conversations span hacking, cyber espionage, weapons development, international coordination, regulation and the prospect of halting development altogether. The gathering also explores how fears of catastrophic AI are reshaping careers, education and personal choices.

Michelle Huang, a technologist and artist exploring AI, creativity and self-reflection, joins a conversation sparked by an 80th birthday and a chatbot-written obituary. They explore AI as a mirror for personal experience, revisiting childhood through diary-trained conversations, and the uneasy line between digital companionship and real human relationships. A thoughtful look at legacy, memory and uncanny machine intimacy.

Joanna Stern, a technology journalist and founder of New Things, puts Apple’s nearly $2,000 folding iPhone Duo through more than 32,000 folds. She discusses its crease, early-adopter appeal, and why it cannot yet replace an iPad. The conversation also explores a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger, Elon Musk’s growing influence, Starlink’s role in Ukraine, and TikTok’s ignored child-safety warnings.

Nathaniel Herz, executive editor of Alaska’s Anchorage Press, talks with Walter, an AI agent producing thousands of local news stories. He describes the strange experience of interviewing a machine, its flood of obscure reports and lack of editorial judgment, and concerns about political independence. They also explore how AI might support understaffed newsrooms without replacing human accountability or trust.

Sarah Kunst, managing director at Cleo Capital and former Bumble adviser, examines the dating app’s sharp fall from its $14 billion public debut to a private-equity buyout. She discusses whether private ownership can restore agility, the risks of financial takeovers, Gen Z’s dating-app fatigue, and how AI or premium matchmaking could reshape online dating. She also makes the case for diverse founders and broader exit paths beyond IPOs.

Xiyang Hu, an Arizona State University professor leading the Generative Learning and Augmented Decision Lab, studies generative AI and information retrieval. He discusses how fake promotions, images and even hidden pixel changes can manipulate chatbot rankings across GPT, Claude and Gemini. The conversation also explores suppressing information, echo chambers and the challenge of verifying AI-generated recommendations.

David Brancaccio, Marketplace’s senior correspondent for Future Effects, tests three AI chatbots as tools for researching California’s ballot propositions. He explores how easily chatbots confuse election measures, why voters need to verify sources, and how AI conversations can influence political preferences. He also discusses practical ways to use chatbots more carefully during the 2026 midterms.

Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital and an investor supporting Black founders, examines growing caution around AI borrowing. They discuss debt risks tied to data centers, CoreWeave’s shaky bonds, and the wider economy. Netflix’s layoffs reveal streaming’s tougher, more mature market, while AI skills increasingly shape raises and promotions.