For decades, big tech has been pushing for more technology in schools. By the end of the pandemic, the takeover was complete: 96 percent of public schools in America reported giving laptops or tablets to students.

But new research suggests bringing devices into the classroom may not have been the best idea -- and artificial intelligence is raising the stakes.

Microsoft acknowledges its first campaign to get tech into schools left many teachers and parents feeling like an afterthought. As it offers new AI lesson planners and chatbot tutors, the company says this time around will be different.

On today's episode, can Microsoft win back the trust of educators as AI moves into the classroom?

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

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People getting other people to buy stuff is one of the oldest businesses in the world. It's called advertising... or these days, influencing.

But more and more, the people selling everything from makeup to testosterone supplements aren't even real. They're AI-generated, virtual influencers -- fake human-like characters who post about their lives, just like real people do.

The global business of virtual humans is currently worth around 15 billion dollars. That’s the combined value of what companies are projected to spend on them this year.

On today's episode, why are fake humans so much better than actual ones at selling us stuff? And what could that mean in the future?

GUEST:
Joseph Turow, professor at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communication and author of The Problem with Personalization: How Advertisers Learned to Make and Break Us from Ancient Times to the AI Age.

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millions of people have enlisted AI agents to do everything from ordering dinner to booking a family vacation.

Open AI has Dots. Anthropic has Claude Duet. And Meta has Muse. Together, agents like these are transforming the way people automate their daily lives.

But trusting these personal AI task rabbits to make decisions on our behalf can come with real risks... especially when businesses use them.

On today's episode, what are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us? And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in?

GUEST:
Chirag Shah, professor at the University of Washington's Information School. He’s the author of Agent Nation: How Autonomous AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Society—and What We Can Do About It.

Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at booming@kuow.org.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.