Marketplace Tech

Advanced computer programs influence, and can even dictate, meaningful parts of our lives. Think of credit scores or facial recognition software. And as this technology becomes more sophisticated and more pervasive, it’s important to understand the basic terminology. People often use “algorithms,” “machine learning” and “artificial intelligence” interchangeably, and there is some overlap, but they’re not the same things. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams has discussions with several experts to get some basic definitions.

Before this past weekend, if you wanted to call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, you had to dial a 1-800 number. But that phone number just got way shorter. Now it’s 988 — though the old one still works. Calls to the lifeline are routed to local counseling centers, generally in the caller’s community. Marketplace’s Marielle Segarra spoke with Tim Jansen, chief executive officer at Community Crisis Services in Maryland, one of the centers that answer 988 calls. He said Vibrant Emotional Health — the company that administers the lifeline — and the federal Department of Health and Human Services worked together to secure the number. But it took a few years.

At some point or another, we all experience physical pain. We push through it or turn to medicine, from aspirin to opioids. New research published in the journal Science highlights a more mechanical alternative: a biodegradable implant that cools down a nerve to block pain signals. It looks like a small, clear rubber band with tiny channels snaking through it. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with John Rogers, a biomedical engineer at Northwestern University who led the research and design of the device. He explained how the technology works and the challenges involved in managing chronic as well as acute pain.

This week, a consortium of news organizations published a series of articles on what they’re calling the Uber Files: more than 120,000 documents, texts and emails initially leaked to The Guardian newspaper. The files show how, between 2013 and 2017, Uber lobbied aggressively to enter and dominate otherwise tightly regulated taxi markets. It’s the subject of “Quality Assurance,” where we take a second look at a big tech story. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Ben King, a senior journalist for BBC News covering economics, who has been following the rollout of these documents.

Finland installed the world’s first functional sand battery this month. It heats up the sand, which can retain that heat for months at a time, according to the developers. This stored heat is energy that can be tapped later. All over the world, electric grid operators are looking to store more renewable energy from wind and solar and turning to big batteries, sometimes acres of them. Here in the U.S., more than 90% of this storage relies on lithium-ion batteries, according to the government, thanks to their efficiency and relatively low cost. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Jason Burwen, vice president of energy storage for the American Clean Power Association, an industry group. She asked him what other kinds of battery innovations are getting him excited.

Scientists and space enthusiasts the world over rekindled their sense of wonder this week as NASA unveiled the first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope. The pictures give us exceptional new details of stars, galaxies and nebulas across space and across time. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke to Nobel laureate Adam Riess, a professor of astronomy and physics at Johns Hopkins University. She asked him exactly what it is we’re seeing in the first image NASA put out.

It’s crunch time on Capitol Hill. Congress’ August recess starts in just a few weeks, so lawmakers are hoping to finish up some work before they skip town. One item of business with increased urgency for many is codifying privacy rights. Last week, President Biden signed an executive order on the issue, and some lawmakers in Congress hope they can do more to protect privacy in the coming months with the American Data Privacy and Protection Act. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Cristiano Lima, a reporter at The Washington Post.

In this final segment in our series “The Score:” Credit scores are vital to modern personal finances, and some people try all sorts of strategies to try to beat the algorithm.

All this week, we’ve been looking at the data and algorithms behind credit scores. While many lenders will use FICO scores, the company does have one major competitor, VantageScore. It was founded by the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) in 2006. The company, which is independently managed, says its scoring model is more inclusive and predictive of credit risk than traditional models. “Marketplace Tech” host Kimberly Adams recently spoke with Silvio Tavares, president and CEO of VantageScore, about what he and his team consider when they’re designing their algorithms. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

In our latest episode in our series “The Score” we look at how alternate data (like timely utility payments) could factor in to the credit scoring system.