Tech giants involved in AI and cryptocurrency spent $39 million last year to influence California lawmakers and policy. It’s the start of what could be a spending blitz in the upcoming election.
Tech
Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
A Los Angeles jury found both Meta and YouTube liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children using their services, awarding the plaintiff $3 million in damages.
Netflix swings into MLB with Yankees-Giants opening night
Netflix’s forays into live sports have already been successful with the NFL and WWE. The streamer is hoping for another home run as its partnership with Major League Baseball begins Wednesday with the opening night game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.
What feminists get wrong about clickbait
Chelsey Hauge-Zavaleta spends a lot of time with clickbait. She thinks about it often, and also uses it in her viral TikTok posts about parenting. A recent meeting of the Santa Cruz Feminist Society made her question the ethics of using clickbait hooks – even if the point is to promote feminist ideas online. Here, she questions whether adopting the attention tactics of social media platforms reinforces the very systems feminists hope to resist. Used thoughtfully, she believes attention-grabbing hooks can invite deeper reflection and conversations that help parents raise critically thinking, empowered children.
California colleges spend millions on faulty AI systems: ‘The chatbot is outdated’
California community colleges are spending millions on artificial intelligence-powered chatbots that students say often give inaccurate answers. Many might see upgrades this year.
Seymour Studios goes live with new community science podcast
The Seymour Marine Discovery Center launched a new podcast Tuesday to connect Santa Cruz County’s scientists, problem-solvers and community members. While the new show spotlights local environmental success stories, the studio itself offers an inclusive space for anyone in the community to record and share their message, conservation-focused or not.
This week in Santa Cruz County business: La Selva drone developer clears hurdle; funding for Scotts Valley energy company; Joby, Uber unveil new app
A key milestone for Parallel Flight Technologies, $140 million for Heron Power Electronics Company and another step forward for Joby Aviation are among the topics in this week’s look at local business from Jessica M. Pasko.
AI images scandalized a California elementary school. Now the state is pushing new safeguards
Adobe’s artificial intelligence generated sexualized images in response to prompts for a fourth grade book project. The incident coincided with the release of new state guidelines to prevent harmful AI in schools.
Modern parenting means apps for sports, school and more. Where is the data going?
California is a national leader in data privacy, yet state law has gaps that allow companies to collect and sell students’ data. A new bill from Assemblymember Dawn Addis aims to add protections.
Mapping 218,000 Santa Cruz parking citations: UCSC student tracked city’s parking tickets in real time
Third-year UC Santa Cruz student Ivan Kuria built a website that maps and tracks every parking ticket issued in the city of Santa Cruz, and also shows daily tickets going back years. Although the site no longer updates, viewers can still see daily maps of tickets issued between 2020 and Feb. 11.

