Jacob Ward

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Google is rewriting the rules of search, CBS News Radio just died after 99 years, and billionaires now own the newsrooms. This episode dives into what happens when technology giants tighten their grip on how we get information. Google's new Universal Cart wants to follow your entire shopping journey across the internet Hands-On With All of Google's New Upcoming Android XR Smart Glasses New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is launching a Twitch show U.S. Invests $2 Billion and Takes Stake in Quantum Firms Elon Musk lost his case against Sam Altman GM Driver Data Privacy Lawsuit: California Fines GM $12.75 Million A Bipartisan Amendment Would End Police License Plate Tracking Nationwide 'Creepy' Listening Tool for Targeted Ads Didn't Actually Work, FTC Says Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Larry Magid , Marshall Kirkpatrick , and Jacob Ward Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit superhuman.com meter.com/twit box.com/AI doppel.com mill.com/TWIT

Google is rewriting the rules of search, CBS News Radio just died after 99 years, and billionaires now own the newsrooms. This episode dives into what happens when technology giants tighten their grip on how we get information. Google's new Universal Cart wants to follow your entire shopping journey across the internet Hands-On With All of Google's New Upcoming Android XR Smart Glasses New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is launching a Twitch show U.S. Invests $2 Billion and Takes Stake in Quantum Firms Elon Musk lost his case against Sam Altman GM Driver Data Privacy Lawsuit: California Fines GM $12.75 Million A Bipartisan Amendment Would End Police License Plate Tracking Nationwide 'Creepy' Listening Tool for Targeted Ads Didn't Actually Work, FTC Says Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Larry Magid , Marshall Kirkpatrick , and Jacob Ward Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit superhuman.com meter.com/twit box.com/AI doppel.com mill.com/TWIT

Jacob Ward of The Rip Current joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly! Jacob shares firsthand impressions from the Elon Musk v. OpenAI trial. Razr unveiled the latest iterations of its foldable phones. And Microsoft released the earliest known DOS source code to the public! Jacob just returned from covering the Elon Musk v. OpenAI trial in person! He shared his experience getting inside the courthouse to cover the trial and shares firsthand observations from the courtroom. Patrick Holland of CNET stops by to talk about the new Razr foldable phones, his first impressions with the devices, and laments the price hikes with the phones. And Mikah shares how Microsoft has released the earliest known DOS source code on GitHub - a collection of 870+ pages of dot matrix-printed assembler listings from the early 1980's! Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jacob Ward Guest: Patrick Holland Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly . Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit rippling.com/twit framer.com/tnw scribe.how/tnw

Jacob Ward of The Rip Current joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly! Jacob shares firsthand impressions from the Elon Musk v. OpenAI trial. Razr unveiled the latest iterations of its foldable phones. And Microsoft released the earliest known DOS source code to the public! Jacob just returned from covering the Elon Musk v. OpenAI trial in person! He shared his experience getting inside the courthouse to cover the trial and shares firsthand observations from the courtroom. Patrick Holland of CNET stops by to talk about the new Razr foldable phones, his first impressions with the devices, and laments the price hikes with the phones. And Mikah shares how Microsoft has released the earliest known DOS source code on GitHub - a collection of 870+ pages of dot matrix-printed assembler listings from the early 1980's! Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jacob Ward Guest: Patrick Holland Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly . Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit rippling.com/twit framer.com/tnw scribe.how/tnw

This week on GAEA Talks, Graeme Scott sits down with Jacob Ward - former NBC News technology correspondent, former editor-in-chief of Popular Science, Stanford lecturer, and author of the bestselling book The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back.Jacob spent years reporting on the intersection of technology, human behaviour and social change for NBC Nightly News, The TODAY Show, and MSNBC. Before that, he led Popular Science as the youngest editor-in-chief in the magazine's history, and served as science and technology correspondent for Al Jazeera, CNN, and PBS. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and Wired, and his PBS documentary series Hacking Your Mind predicted the rise of populist politics years before it became front-page news.In this episode, Jacob unpacks the hidden psychological machinery behind how we make decisions - and how AI and technology are exploiting those same shortcuts at scale. From why we unconsciously conform to social influence, to how the attention economy is engineering a world of narrowing choices, to why the consequences of rushed enterprise AI adoption are only just beginning to unfold - this is a conversation that challenges everything you think you know about free will in the digital age.What you'll take away from this conversation:• Why our brains use shortcuts and biases that AI is now amplifying back at us for profit• How social influence and marketing shape our decisions far more than we realise• Why different generations have fundamentally different relationships with technology and decision-making• The critical gap between the speed of AI advancement and the education system's ability to keep up• Why trust and truth are the non-negotiable foundations for any AI implementation• How rushed enterprise AI adoption is creating hidden risks in security, intellectual property and legal compliance• Why the attention economy may ultimately destroy itself - and what replaces it• How empathy-driven, cross-generational collaboration could be AI's greatest positive use case• Why human connection and source of truth are about to become the most valuable currencies• The case for AI as a great equaliser - giving opportunities to people who never had them beforeAbout Jacob Ward: Jacob is a journalist, author and lecturer at the Stanford d.school. He served as technology correspondent for NBC News (2018-2024), reporting for NBC Nightly News, The TODAY Show, and MSNBC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Popular Science and previously served as science and technology correspondent for Al Jazeera, CNN and PBS. He was a 2018-2019 Berggruen Fellow at Stanford's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, where he wrote The Loop. He is the founding editor and host of The Rip Current, a weekly newsletter and podcast exploring the hidden forces shaping modern life, and a regular co-host on This Week in Tech. His PBS documentary series Hacking Your Mind explored how unconscious biases shape human behaviour.GAEA Talks is the enterprise AI podcast for leaders navigating the age of artificial intelligence. Subscribe for weekly conversations with the people shaping the future of business, technology and society.Official Website: https://www.jacobward.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCU9oIrDlQjzBCXnaWsnXGHA The Rip Current: https://www.theripcurrent.com/X: https://x.com/byjacobwardAmazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Loop-Technology-Creating-Without-Choices/dp/0316487201

In this episode of Therapy Is Dope with Alicia & Laura , we’re joined by journalist Jacob Ward, author of The Loop: How AI Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back, for a timely and thought-provoking conversation about artificial intelligence—and what it’s doing to the human nervous system, attachment, and brain development. Rather than focusing on dystopian hype or tech worship, this episode explores AI through a relational and psychological lens. We unpack how constant interaction with responsive, emotionally validating technology can subtly shape attachment patterns. What happens when regulation, reassurance, curiosity, or even companionship are increasingly outsourced to machines? Jacob brings deep insight into how AI is designed to mirror human connection, why that’s so compelling to our brains, and where the ethical fault lines lie. Together, we discuss: How AI may influence attachment styles and relational expectations The impact of AI engagement on suffering and personal growth What nervous systems evolved for human connection do with always-available, non-human “relationships” How clinicians, parents, and communities can stay intentional without fear-mongering This episode isn’t about rejecting technology—it’s about becoming more conscious of how it intersects with our biology, psychology, and need for real connection. If you’re a therapist, parent, educator, or simply someone navigating life in an increasingly AI-mediated world, this conversation invites you to slow down, zoom out, and ask better questions about how we stay human in the process. If you like this content, like and subscribe! If you want to learn more about Jacob Ward: Website: jacobward.com Newsletter: Ripples on Substack – in-depth reporting on how technology shapes human systems Social Media: X / Twitter: @jacobward LinkedIn: Jacob Ward

In this episode Bill speaks with Jacob Ward, a longtime technology journalist. He’s worked for NBC News, CNN and PBS. They discuss the origins and development of artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on its capabilities and limitations. Jacob explains that AI's power lies in its pattern recognition but emphasizes that it does not truly understand the data it processes. He delves into the societal implications of AI, including job displacement, lack of regulation, and potential psychological impacts. Despite these risks, Ward highlights positive uses of AI in fields like healthcare and astronomy. Finally, he discusses the pressing need for regulatory measures to mitigate the adverse effects of AI and advocates for a balanced approach to AI utilization. You can follow Jacob Ward’s Podcast and Newsletter, The Rip Current, here TheRipCurrent.com and here TheRipCurrent.substack.com . And his book, The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back here . Today’s Bill Press Pod is supported by The Laborers’ International Union of North America. More information at LIUNA.org . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Journalist Jacob Ward joins us as we use Tony Stark and Ozymandias to explore the psychological dangers of when technology is created and distributed without limits. Bonus: stick around until the end to find out Jake’s perspective on how journalists are portrayed in comics! Jacob Ward has a background in technology journalism and behavioral science with experiences that include 6 years as technology correspondent for NBC News and hosting "Hacking Your Mind" (NSF-funded PBS documentary series). He wrote the book "The Loop: How A.I is Creating a World without Choices and How to Fight Back” and hosts his weekly podcast, The Rip Current, about the invisible forces driving tech, money, and politics. https://www.jacobward.com/ Psychology sources: Protecting Our Children Online and Examining the Harm of AI Chatbots

In this episode of Good News for Lefties Deep Dive we talk about the complex world of artificial intelligence with technology expert Jacob Ward, author of "The Loop: How AI Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back." As AI continues to permeate our daily lives, we explore both its potential benefits and the significant concerns it raises. Jacob explains the mechanics of generative AI, emphasizing its limitations and the dangers of anthropomorphizing these systems. We discuss the alarming trend of AI being positioned as emotional companions, and the implications this has for human relationships and decision-making. Jacob shares insights on how AI can revolutionize social services by matching individuals with the resources they need, potentially transforming the way we navigate bureaucracies. He also highlights exciting projects, like decoding animal language, that showcase the positive possibilities of AI when harnessed for good. However, we also confront the darker aspects of AI's rapid integration into society, including the risk of job displacement and the profit-driven motives of tech companies. Join us for this enlightening conversation that balances the promise of AI with the need for caution and critical thinking. If you enjoy the show, please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform! Reach out to us at 202-656-6271 or via email at beowulf@twosquaredmediaproductions.com. Get Jacob Ward's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Loop-Creating-World-Without-Choices/dp/031648718X Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/good-news-for-lefties-daily-news-for-democracy--6256627/support .