WSJ Tech News Briefing

There’s a growing number of job postings for the role of prompt engineer, someone who writes prompts that go into generative AI chatbots to elicit the best responses. WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern applied for a prompt engineer position and joins host Julie Chang to discuss the interview process. Plus, the Telsa Cybertruck is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People are looking beyond dating apps to find love online. WSJ personal tech reporter Ann-Marie Alcántara joins host Julie Chang to discuss how singles are making connections in some unusual places. Plus, Heard on the Street tech reporter Dan Gallagher explains why device-makers are banking on generative AI in smartphones and laptops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holiday shopping is in full force, and one place you could turn to for gift ideas is generative AI chatbots. Cordilia James from the WSJ’s personal tech team joins host Julie Chang to discuss how to use AI to make your shopping list and why you should check it twice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists are looking at animal data to improve the speed of some medical test results. They’re taking that data, building artificial intelligence tools and then using those tools to train diagnostic algorithms for humans. WSJ pharmaceuticals reporter Jared S. Hopkins joins host Julie Chang to explain how this tech works and which companies are involved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is disrupting the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. And the company’s Starbase and rocket launches are dividing residents. WSJ space reporter Micah Maidenberg joins host Julie Chang to discuss his recent visit to the area and how residents are reacting to the changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wearable devices that can read your brain activity and then use that data to help improve your focus and productivity are on the horizon. Daniela Hernandez wrote about this for the Wall Street Journal and joins host Julie Chang to explain how these devices work. Plus, what using Instagram’s ad-free version in Europe is like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of OpenAI remains up in the air, and investors continue to push for the return of former CEO Sam Altman. Plus, Cordilia James from our personal tech team joins host Julie Chang with some AI tools you can use to spruce up your old or damaged photographs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The majority of OpenAI’s staff has threatened to quit after the board’s ousting of former CEO and co-founder Sam Altman. Plus, Amazon is offering free AI classes. WSJ reporter Sebastian Herrera joins host Julie Chang with more on why the e-commerce giant launched the new program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A sextortion scam aimed at boys is causing emotional trauma. WSJ family and tech columnist Julie Jargon joins host Julie Chang to discuss what to do if your teen is targeted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel’s military has a technological nerve center near Gaza set up to receive thousands of data points directly from the battlefield. WSJ correspondent Dov Lieber joins host Julie Chang to discuss how that data is giving Israel a fuller, real-time picture of the war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Out-of-order signs, payment errors and connection issues — these are some of the problems electric vehicle drivers encounter when trying to charge their EVs. WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern joins host Julie Chang to talk about her experience and why so many EV chargers were broken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wall Street Journal’s personal tech team has put together a list of the best tech gifts of 2023. Reporter Cordilia James joins host Alex Ossola to discuss the gadgets with AI features. Plus, WSJ’s Dalvin Brown tells us why your iPhone’s Find My app might be nagging you about items you didn’t leave behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China has invested tens of billions of dollars in building its solar panel manufacturing industry. But too many cheap parts could spell trouble for growing markets elsewhere in the world. Wall Street Journal reporter Phred Dvorak joins to explain why. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Firefighters are finding out that fires caused by electric vehicles last longer and are more difficult to put out. WSJ reporter John Keilman joins host Julie Chang to explain why EV fires are trickier than those caused by their gas-powered counterparts and what’s being done in response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A growing number of celebrities like Tom Hanks and Gayle King say scammers are using AI deepfakes of their likeness to hawk sketchy items on social media. Wall Street Journal reporter Patrick Coffee joins Julie Chang to discuss how some politicians are taking on the issue. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Engineers are experimenting with some surprising materials to cool down microchips. WSJ tech columnist Christopher Mims joins host Julie Chang to explain why diamonds could be the key to beating the heat in chips and thereby making them faster. Plus, Cordilia James from the personal tech team tells us about folks who never update the software on their devices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A former Meta employee says executives at the company are failing to protect minors on its platforms. WSJ reporter Jeff Horwitz joins host Julie Chang to discuss what led him to testify on Capitol Hill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest form of online harassment is powered by artificial intelligence. WSJ family and tech columnist Julie Jargon joins host Julie Chang to discuss how girls at one New Jersey high school found out that some classmates were sharing fake nude images of them in group chats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When cryptocurrencies TerraUSD and Luna collapsed, it wiped out $40 billion from the crypto market and set off investigations into the tokens’ founder that sparked an international manhunt. WSJ reporter Alexander Osipovich joins host Zoe Thomas to explain how he was eventually found. Plus, another former crypto boss Sam Bankman-Fried has been convicted of fraud, but that’s not the end of the saga. WSJ reporter Caitlin Ostroff explains and you can hear more on the trial on The Journal podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

World leaders and the executives from artificial intelligence companies met in the U.K. this week to discuss how to defend against the risks created by AI. WSJ reporter Sam Schechner joins host Zoe Thomas to explain what they discussed and what’s next. Plus, Sam Bankman-Fried has been convicted of fraud in the FTX collapse. For the latest on the trial, listen to The Journal podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices