Ambient Photonics’ low-light solar cell technology showed great promise for helping reduce reliance on single-use batteries in electronic devices. The company chose Scotts Valley for its headquarters and manufacturing facility, even as many technology companies were moving their production facilities overseas. Despite promising deals with major consumer electronics producers, the company fell short on funding and had to fold.
Tech
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Can AI help make homeless Californians healthier?
A California company is using artificial intelligence to help diagnose homeless Californians. The technology promises better access to health care, but it also raises questions.
Posted inEducation
Pacific Collegiate School changes laptop policy after student privacy concerns
Weeks after issuing Chromebooks to all students, the charter school on Santa Cruz’s Westside revised its laptop policy after student feedback, adding limits on monitoring and an opt-out for older students.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California investigates Elon Musk’s AI company after ‘avalanche’ of complaints about sexual content
Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office is looking into whether a new artificial-intelligence image editing tool from Elon Musk’s company violates California law.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Mass surveillance is not public safety – Santa Cruz must cancel its Flock contract
Mass surveillance cameras operated by the private company Flock Safety are spreading across Santa Cruz County, putting residents’ privacy, safety and constitutional rights at risk, warns a group of activists working to get the cameras removed.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
How Californians can use a new state website to block hundreds of data brokers
A new tool called DROP lets California residents fill out a few forms to keep their personal data from being tracked or sold by data brokers.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Yes, artificial intelligence will probably end the human race. Just not in the way you think.
Time magazine didn’t declare artificial intelligence itself 2025’s “person of the year” (that honor went to its architects), but it sure could have, as this was the year AI officially passed the Turing test. The question now, writes retired firefighter Daniel DeLong, is how it will take us out.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Trump’s new order against AI regulation hits California especially hard
Since 2016, California has enacted more regulations on artificial intelligence than any other state. President Donald Trump’s new order against such laws worries California officials.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Local fintech company’s latest acquisition; startup pitches surf helmet on ‘Shark Tank’
In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on Paystand expanding payments to include some types of cryptocurrencies, previews a local startup’s appearance on “Shark Tank” and notes the debut of the Lookout List.
Posted inEducation
His students suddenly started getting A’s. Did a Google AI tool go too far?
Some teachers say that artificial intelligence tools, particularly Google Lens, have made it impossible to enforce academic integrity in the classroom — with potentially harmful long-term effects on students’ learning.