(00:00):

Brian Reeves: Welcome to Information Changes Everything. Join us as we take a snappy look at the latest news about information and technology changing our world. This podcast is produced by the University of Michigan School of Information – UMSI. 

I’m Brian Reeves.

Alicia Myers: and I’m Alicia Myers.

Brian Reeves: As always, we'd love your feedback at [email protected]. And remember, we link to every story in our show notes. Let’s jump in...

(00:38)

Alicia Myers: Billionaire philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones, fresh from a high-level tech conference, was rattled by some disturbing views on AI’s “imminent threat to humanity.” CNBC’s Squawk Box shows why some leading tech experts think there’s a 10% chance that AI will wipe out 50% of humanity in the next 20 years. Elon Musk has said there’s a 20% chance AI can annihilate us, which may be why he’s so keen to go to Mars. 

(01:04)

Brian Reeves: There’s been lots of finger pointing and mea culpas after the Chicago Sun-Times published a summer reading list of books that didn’t actually exist. Turns out only five of the 15 books on the list were real, according to NPR. The Sun-Times purchased the AI-generated content from a freelance writer who apparently isn’t much of a reader–or proofreader. The AI assistant, however, applied poetic license to invent new titles and summaries of works by Isabelle Allende, Percival Everett and other best-selling authors.

(01:38)

Alicia Myers: We’ve found three practical tips for your smartphone. Pocket has advice on how to extend your phone’s battery life — but read it soon, because Pocket’s own life is ending on July 8th. Lifehacker shows how to get rid of some of the iPhone’s pre-installed apps, while Engadget suggests turning an old phone into an alarm clock. Check our show notes for links.

(01:59)

Brian Reeves: When is Healthy Choice not such a healthy choice? When the food-rating mobile app Yuka says so. Thousands of consumers are scanning barcodes in grocery stores to see which products earn Yuka’s seal of approval. And according to the Wall Street Journal, food manufacturers are taking heed and modifying some products to improve their ratings. Excess sugar, additives and artificial coloring are among the red-flagged ingredients. Remind you of anyone?

(02:28)

Alicia Myers: The Queen of Crime Fiction has been resurrected to teach an online writing class for BBC Maestro. Aspiring authors will get writing advice from Agatha Christie, presented by an AI-enhanced version of the great Dame herself. The New York Times says the project had the blessing of Christie’s estate, which wanted to present her craft in a, quote, “digestible and shareable format.” A video on the course site shows how it all came together. Rather impressive, actually. 

(02:55)

Brian Reeves: YouTube is the Number 1 TV streaming service in the U.S. according to Nielsen, and it’s held first place for two years. Advertisers are paying attention, shifting their ad spending away from mobile to TV ads. TubeFilter says YouTube is catering to those advertisers with new ad formats like pause-vertising and longer unskippable ads. If you hadn’t noticed before, you probably will now. 

(03:23)

Alicia Myers: The hugely popular language learning app, Duolingo, has a robust social media presence, where it posts amusing things like its mascot being hit by a Cybertruck. So funny. But the announcement that Duolingo was laying off all human contractors in favor of AI drew a vehement backlash, according to FastCompany. Sulking, Duolingo deleted its TikTok and Instagram presence for a few days, then returned with a bizarre video that has left followers scratching their heads as they try to translate its meaning. 

(03:54)

Brian Reeves: Woo hoo! DigitalTrends has found us a brainy new online game to add to your morning routine. Merriam-Webster has hopped on the daily puzzle train with Revealed, a game that presents brief encyclopedia entries with most key words redacted. The goal is to identify the subject with the fewest hints. Our prediction? You’ll play this now, just to check it out, and you’ll then do a few more when you should be working. 

(04:21)

Alicia Myers: Things we didn’t use to have to think about: what will happen to our digital legacies when we die? Bjorn Nansen, writing for The Conversation, points out the dozens of places we may have digital assets or a digital presence, from Spotify lists to social media accounts to virtual currencies. In addition to offering tips on how to protect and pass on this information, Nansen makes an appeal for better policies and standards regarding our digital assets on the part of service providers and governments.

(04:50)

Brian Reeves: The Internet Archive, based in San Francisco, is a digital archive of billions of web pages created to preserve the history of this dynamically changing medium. BBC Tech Now reporter Lily Jamali paid a behind-the-scenes visit to chat with Mark Graham, director of The Wayback Machine, and tagged along on a tour led by IA founder Brewster Kahle. In addition to archiving the web, the non-profit digitizes millions of books, audio, newscasts, images and vintage software. Just in case you ever need to re-install AOL 7.0, or find a web page that has suddenly disappeared. 

Brian Reeves: For links to all these stories, make sure to check out our show notes.

(05:30)

Now, some news from UMSI.

Alicia Myers: Master of Science in Information student Hamza Naveed was one of 50 students from across the nation selected to attend Google’s 2025 Building for Everyone Summit, held April 10th through 11th in Sunnyvale, California. The summit brings together students and professionals who are focused on inclusive design and building equitable products. 

Naveed began his career designing technology for communities in Pakistan with low literacy and limited access to resources. Now, he’s the co-founder of an AI psychotherapy startup that aims to improve the way mental health professionals are trained. 

Naveed said, quote, “the highlight [of the Summit] for me was the design challenge we worked on as a team… I was able to translate a lot of the concepts I’ve learned at UMSI into the work we did, making it an even more meaningful experience.”

Alicia Myers: Click the link in our show notes to learn more about all the great things going on at UMSI.

Brian Reeves: If you love being the first person to know about new information science research, be sure to request a free subscription to UMSI’s Research Roundup. It’s a summary of the latest findings from researchers at the University of Michigan School of Information. We’ll be happy to add you to the email list at umsi.info/research-email. Or just click the link in our show notes.

The University of Michigan School of Information creates and shares knowledge that empowers people to use information and technology to build a better world. If you liked this episode of Information Changes Everything, subscribe and leave us a review—it helps listeners like you find our show and continue the conversation.

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Thanks again for tuning in, and remember: Information changes everything. See you next time!