This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro

One of the biggest personalities in streaming media recently put the University of Akron on the map in a new way for a new audience. That's what we're talking about today, with University of Akron Conference and Events Center Director, Brandon Alexander, and E-Sports Director, Nate Meeker, who helped organize and facilitate a unique event hosted by popular online streamer, YouTuber, and internet p...

While the new federal "Take It Down Act" that aims to protect people from the unauthorized sharing of intimate, sexually explicit images, is a really welcome and much needed weapon against revenge porn and deepfake cyberbullying; it could also be misused to supress legitimate political speech. That's what we're talking about today, with Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Jess Miers, who has expe...

Summit County is moving full steam ahead with its ambitious "Summit Connects" , 130 mile fiber ring, which will connect law enforcement, public agencies, smart traffic cameras, and even roadway infrastructure, through an ultra high speed broadband internet connection. However, work is running behind schedule by about six to eight weeks because of the long and snowy winter, as well as unexpected de...

Summit County is moving full steam ahead with its ambitious "Summit Connects" , 130 mile fiber ring, which will connect law enforcement, public agencies, smart traffic cameras, and even roadway infrastructure, through an ultra high speed broadband internet connection. However, work is running behind schedule by about six to eight weeks because of the long and snowy winter, as well as unexpected de...

From a new law to protect people from unauthorized intimate images posted online, to why some people think robots would make better bosses; we've got a great collection of some of the biggest stories in tech this week. Listen now.

Imagine a state-sponsored surveillance app secretly monitoring everything on your phone; recording it all for some shady intelligence agency so they can direct assassins to come cut you to ribbons and carry you away in a suitcase. Now, imagine that's not fiction. It is in fact, exactly what happened to Saudi-born Washington Post Journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, when he was brutally murdered in...

Despite some corporate leaders' insistence that "return to work" initiatives are a great idea; it turns out, that flexibility about employee location is actually the key to success. That is what Harvard Business Professor and author, Prithwiraj “Raj” Choudhury, concludes in his new book, "The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity, and Innovation". Listen now, to...

The national debate over security issues raised in early March when top-level US officials engaged in a Signal messaging app group text chat using their personal mobile phones instead of on secure government-issued devices, or in a secure government facility, continues to rage this week. In fact, the official who started that text chat, US National Security Advisor, Mike Walz, was replaced just ye...

While Instagram's parent company, Meta, battles the government in court over antitrust claims; they're also battling to keep your kids safe online.  Or so they say. But, can we believe them? That's the question I asked former CNET Editor and current CBS News Tech contributor, Ian Sherr, about Instagram's announcement this week that they're rolling out a new AI tool that can protect young teens fro...

If the foundation of your house is made of sand, it will eventually fall, and if the foundation of a legal case is built on questionable evidence; it may do so as well. That is what is playing out right now in Cleveland, where where a murder case is in the process of potentially falling to pieces, because it was based, in part, on  AI-driven facial recognition technology. At a time when we are all...

Because Ohio has the nation’s #2 largest workforce in motor vehicle manufacturing (OEM assembly) and motor vehicle parts manufacturing (auto parts suppliers); President Trump's on again-off again tariff policies that have been rocking the stock market this week, also have the potential for affecting the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in our state. While Automotive Industr...

Because the innovative and advanced technology that powers manufacturing in Ohio relies heavily on imported parts and components; the latest increase in tariffs on imported goods imposed this week by President Trump will likely make products  produced here, more expensive. But will they last, or are they just one more trick up Trump's sleeve aimed at making bigger, better, and more favorable trade...

The State Fire Marshal's Office recently figured out the root cause for most fatal fires in Ohio, and they did so by using a new data analytics tool. Listen now, to find out how that allowed them to start distributing lifesaving devices that can stop what could become deadly fires, before tragedy strikes.

Something very special is about to happen out in the California's Mojave Desert, on March 29th. That's when the University of Akron's "Akronauts" rocket design team will launch their latest, entirely student made "Emergence 5" rocket, which they're hoping hoping will go faster, and fly higher than any other they've launched in the past; powered by a custom-blended liquid fuel they call "Wayside Wh...

Doctor visits are going high tech at the Cleveland Clinic, where they are now using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool for help with notes and record keeping related to patient visits at medical offices outside the hospital. I talked about it this week, with Cleveland Clinic Internal Medicine Physician, and Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, Dr. Eric Boose. Find out more, listen now:

The vast economic potential of outer space is not just for the few rich and famous entrepreneurs who are flourishing in today's commercial space race, such as Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos. There is in fact, room for many other visionary and adventuresome entrepreneurs, and their success can help power our economy–and society at large– to new heights. That's the message from the new book "Space to Gro...

The demand for nurses is so great, that the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there will be more than 193,000 more job openings than nurses to fill them each year, through 2030. This national shortage, which started during the pandemic, has inspired hospitals and other care facilities to find new, and creative ways to treat their patients. At Akron Children's Hospital, they're using somet...

American consumers have been more than a little skittish when it comes to whole heartedly adopting Electric Vehicles. From their comparatively high cost that is only partially offset by tax incentives, to a lack of adequate charging stations; Americans have been more likely to choose old, familiar gas guzzlers, or to hedge their bets with hybrids. But, as you'll hear in my interview with Wall Stre...

This week, we're having a conversation with Deborah Perry Psicionne, who co-authored the new book "Employment is Dead: How Disruptive Technologies Are Revolutionizing The Way We Work",  and as you'll hear; the future does not look good for anyone expecting to just go to work everyday as usual and get a regular paycheck. Find out how and why employers will increasingly use AI (artificial intelligen...

It has been a big week at Walsh University in North Canton, as they wrap up up their annual Science and Business Innovation Summit, today. The three-day event, which features keynote speakers including Michael White, former Director at the U.S. Department of Defense, and Dr. Victor McCrary, Vice Chairman of the National Science Board, is open to the public, and continues today with their Science a...

Creatives of all types are waking up to the fact that much of what they have spent their entire lives learning to do, and be, is endangered by Artificial Intelligence applications that can replace them at a fraction of the price. Their concern was evident during the Hollywood actors' strike of 2023, which was in part over getting assurances that they could be protected from being replaced by digit...

Despite the US Surgeon General's call earlier this year for Congress to approve a law that would require mental health warnings on social media for younger users, and heart-breaking stories about children suffering terrible trauma, up to and including death, as a result of negative online interactions; we are living in a world where children are just not safe online. They're not safe either from t...

When I first started writing this story a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea that there would be a horrific school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, the very week it was to be published. But, I suppose I should have. After all, according to data compiled by CNN; there have been 83 school shootings so far this year, and 56 of them have taken place in K-12 Schools. What makes this story which is alrea...

If you've ever had to wait to get your car, or anything else repaired because parts are on backorder; you know how frustrating it can be. Now, multiply that by about a zillion, and add a bunch of zeros to the end of the price tag, and you've got a recipe for both economic disaster, and political mayhem. The problem is; that's exactly the kind of situation we're facing right now, as our country's o...

A new medical device that allows surgeons to more easily see while they maneuver around even the tiniest of spaces in the human body, has made TIME Magazine's list of the 200 best inventions of 2024. Amplio is the world’s first wearable 3D full-color surgical microscope. It is a platform technology with capabilities that include surgical magnification, fluorescence imaging, night vision, surgical...