Digital Life

Digital lenders are pulling in all kinds of data, like purchases, SAT scores and public records.

Economy

Will Using Artificial Intelligence To Make Loans Trade One Kind Of Bias For Another?

5:10am March 31, 2017

by Charles Lane

The next loan you get may depend less on your credit score and more on what a program thinks of your habits. Digital lenders say the process will be more fair, but others worry about unintended bias.

Queue Listen Now

Congress on Tuesday rolled back Internet privacy regulations established under the Obama administration.

Congress Overturns Internet Privacy Regulation

8:32pm March 28, 2017

by Brian Naylor

The rule, which had not yet taken effect, would have required Internet providers to ask permission before selling consumers' personal data. President Trump is expected to sign the rollback.

Tenor Scott Joiner and mezzo-soprano Viktoria Falcone try to find love via Tinder in a still from Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera.

Music & Culture

'The Tinder Opera' Creators Hope You Swipe Right On Online Opera

5:55pm March 28, 2017

by Naomi Lewin

"Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera" is an 11-minute video dramatizing a young man's quest for love via the popular dating app. It marks an effort to adapt a 400-year-old art form to modern media.

Elon Musk has started a new company called Neuralink, in what's widely seen as a bid to add a symbiotic computer layer to the human brain.

Elon Musk Seen Targeting Human-Computer Link In New Venture

8:44am March 28, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Speculation about Musk's new company, Neuralink, centers on the name and how it might correspond to his previous statements about incorporating artificial intelligence into human brains.

National

If Congress Kills FCC Privacy Rules, 'Little' Would Protect Consumers From Providers

6:27pm March 26, 2017

by Michel Martin

The Senate overturned Obama-era internet privacy rules. Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jeremy Gillula says the measure would make it easier for companies to share online activity without permission.

Queue Listen Now

National

The Call-In: Answering Your Questions About Digital Privacy

8:14am March 26, 2017

Seamus Tuohy, a consultant with the digital security firm Prudent Innovation, answers your questions about how to keep your data secure and your personal information private.

Starship Technologies' delivery robot exits the elevator in the company's office.

Hungry? Call Your Neighborhood Delivery Robot

10:01am March 23, 2017

by Kat Lonsdorf

Self-driving delivery robots have popped up on the sidewalks of Washington, D.C. — and other locations have expressed interest. The bots learn about traffic patterns with every trip they take.

Scientists have developed a smartphone app to measure sperm count at home.

A Smartphone Can Accurately Test Sperm Count

2:03pm March 22, 2017

by Madeline K. Sofia

Measuring the quality of those little swimmers usually requires a trip to the doctor. Researchers have come up with a smartphone accessory that would let men do that at home in less than five seconds.

Google says it will improve its internal systems and give advertisers more control of where their spots appear, responding to complaints about the pairing of paid ads with offensive content.

Google Promises To Keep Ads Off 'Hateful, Offensive' YouTube Content

2:52pm March 21, 2017

by Bill Chappell

On Friday, a division of a global marketing group with a digital budget of more than $200 million put its dealings with Google on "pause," citing recent controversies.

Over the past few months, Black Twitter has noticed an increase in the number of white trolls creating fake Twitter accounts.

National

The Emergence Of The White Troll Behind A Black Face

12:00pm March 21, 2017

by Neha Rashid

Over the past few months, Black Twitter has noticed an increase in the number of white trolls creating fake Twitter accounts.