Digital Life

"The Internet wasn't broken in 2015," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says, referring to the year when net neutrality rules were adopted. Pai is seen here speaking to the House Appropriations Committee earlier this year.

Politics & Government

FCC Plans Net Neutrality Rollback For June 11; Senate Democrats Plan A Key Challenge

5:01pm May 10, 2018

by Bill Chappell

In the Senate, a resolution of disapproval of the FCC rule has the support of every member of the Democratic caucus, along with Maine Republican Susan Collins.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated new AI technology that can use human-like speech to carry on phone conversations at the Google I/O 2018 Conference on Tuesday in Mountain View, Calif.

Google's New Voice Bot Sounds, Um, Maybe Too Real

4:34pm May 09, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

The company touts AI that peppers its conversation with "uh" and "hmm" to imitate the tics of human speech. Many observers took issue with how the bot apparently tricked a human on the phone.

World News

European Data Privacy Rules To Go Into Effect

8:28am May 06, 2018

New data privacy rules will soon go into effect in Europe. Matt Hancock, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport in the U.K. tells NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro about the implications.

Some Users Wary Of Facebook's Newest Venture In Online Dating

7:15am May 06, 2018

by Aarti Shahani

For years, people have used Facebook informally to look for dates. Now Mark Zuckerberg says the platform is starting a dating service. Some experts say the move could invite unwanted solicitation.

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Dylan Marron reaches out to people who leave angry messages on his videos and talks with them about what made them so mad. "Empathy is the crucial tool to getting these conversations off the ground," he says.

Arts

In 'Conversations With People Who Hate Me' An Activist Calls Up His Worst Critics

5:44pm May 04, 2018

by Audie Cornish

Dylan Marron decided to reach out to commenters who left nasty messages on his online videos. He asks a simple question: "Do you want to move this online conversation offline?"

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The Right To Browse: A Library Puts Books Into Storage And Readers Cry Foul

5:14pm May 02, 2018

by Claire McInerny

Can you "discover" a great book if you can only find it via a search engine?

Facebook To Join The Dating Game As Privacy Concerns Abound

4:36pm May 02, 2018

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Casey Newton of The Verge about Facebook joining the dating game. Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement Tuesday at F8 and some say the timing of the announcement seems a little more than ironic.

As some Facebook users talk about leaving the platform, ideas for a different type of social network are beginning to emerge.

As Facebook Shows Its Flaws, What Might A Better Social Network Look Like?

2:34pm May 01, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

Facebook has become ubiquitous in the past 14 years, but it may not dominate forever. Some experts are already designing the next social networks — and they look a lot different.

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The new Amazon Echo Dot For Kids is that little green thing on the bedside table.

National

Kids, Meet Alexa, Your AI Mary Poppins

11:20pm April 30, 2018

by Anya Kamenetz

Amazon has announced new kid-friendly features and parental controls for the Echo home assistant. What do AI experts think about encouraging kids to spend more time with Alexa?

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Books
Arts

In 'Emergency Contact,' Finding A Safe Space In Texts

3:42pm April 29, 2018

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Mary H.K. Choi's new novel follows Sam and Penny, both awkward and deeply damaged people, who forge a connection first through text messages and then in real life.

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