Soundside

Episodes

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  How will ChatGPT change the future of information?

  It’s hard to describe exactly what just what ChatGPT is. In the tech world you might call it an advanced natural language model. But to those on the outside, it feels like a kind of magical black box. We’ve lived with different versions of this kind of programming for a while now, but something seems different about ChatGPT, with some comparing it to a new industrial revolution, and as big as the discovery of electricity.

  Dec 13, 2022 at 3:37 pm
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  The added challenges of getting mental health care as a farmworker

  Getting care can already be difficult when you live in a rural area — but there’s also a stigma surrounding discussions of mental health and self care in the agricultural industry. And getting proper care for your mental needs depends on what work you do, and who you are.

  Dec 13, 2022 at 1:00 pm
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  Onboarding progresses slowly for new Office of Independent Investigations

  In Washington state's legislature, the killing of Manuel Ellis in March 2020 by Tacoma Police helped propel a police reform package of more than a dozen bills. One of those bills created The Office of Independent Investigations, or OII, which was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee in 2021. This is the first office of its kind in the nation, with plans to train civilian investigators to watchdog the use of deadly force by police throughout the state.

  Dec 12, 2022 at 5:10 pm
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  Microsoft's $69 billion deal to acquire Activision-Blizzard faces FTC suit

  In a deal that may go down as the largest video-game merger of all time, Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox, is attempting to buy Activision Blizzard, which is responsible for the games, "World of Warcraft," "Diablo," and "Call of Duty," as well as the company that makes "Candy Crush."

  Dec 12, 2022 at 4:55 pm
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  Bracing for the economic fallout after the collapse of the Bering Sea crab season

  Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen joins Soundside to talk about the potential economic disaster of their canceled crab seasons.

  Dec 12, 2022 at 4:33 pm
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  Could now be the time to consider a post-social media future?

  Lots of people are working at this very moment to create the next social media platform to consume our time and attention, but there’s at least one person who believes that the age of social media as we know it is over. And he’s OK with that.

  Dec 09, 2022 at 12:59 pm
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  Are Seattle rents being artificially inflated via algorithm?

  If you live in an apartment, there's a good chance and algorithm is setting your rent. Many of the largest property managers in the United States use the same service where data for 13 million rental units is collected and used to recommend prices. Some tenants say that amounts to illegal collusion, and in a few places they're suing. That includes Seattle, where three lawsuits were filed in federal court last month.

  Dec 08, 2022 at 2:15 pm
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  WA voters approved strict gun laws in 2018. Why haven't they been implemented?

  In 2018, Washington voters approved I-1639 and tthrew support behind some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Four years later, one of those laws has been difficult to implement.

  Dec 07, 2022 at 4:54 pm
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  'We've got some breathing room': Sen. Patty Murray on the Georgia runoff election

  One more Democrat in the Senate might not sound like a big deal. But the result in Tuesday’s Georgia runoff election does a bit more than give the party an extra buffer vote. The 51-49 split empowers Democratic committee chairs. Like the soon-to-be head of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee: Washington Sen. Patty Murray.

  Dec 07, 2022 at 3:43 pm
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  A musician's love for Olympia inspires a 40-song album

  There are many things that inspire people to write songs, and for local musician Tom Dyer it was his hometown of Olympia. He was so inspired that he wrote not just one song about the state capitol, but 40. They make up his latest album, Olympia - A True Story. He shared an account of the album’s genesis and creation with KUOW’s “Soundside.”

  Dec 07, 2022 at 3:12 pm
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  As avian influenza outbreak worsens, local farms remain cautious

  Washington lies along a major flyway for birds. Each winter, millions of migrating birds stop in in the state on their way somewhere else. That's a cause for concern as the United States experiences the worst avian influenza outbreak in its history, with more than 50 million birds dying from the virus.

  Dec 06, 2022 at 5:18 pm
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  Brain technology is moving forward, but are ethical standards up to speed?

  When you’re experimenting with human brains, or even monkey brains, you’re experimenting with the organ that keeps a creature alive. It’s our brains, with all their synapses and neurons, that makes us who we are. So how do you experiment with brain technology ethically?

  Dec 06, 2022 at 4:19 pm