Marketplace Tech

Consumer electronics and AI data centers need memory chips. But there are only a handful of companies in the world that make them. The surge in demand has caused memory shortages and price spikes for everything, including our all-important smartphones.

Gerrit Schneemann is principal analyst at Counterpoint Research, which recently reported global phone prices have jumped by an average of 15%, and even more in markets where consumers can least afford it.

More on this:

“The AI boom is making the world’s cheapest smartphones disappear” from Rest of World

“Global Existing Smartphone Prices Climb About 15% in 2026, New Launches 25% Costlier YoY as OEMs Maneuver Memory Price Hikes” from Counterpoint Research

Halloween haunts have long relied on a little technical wizardry to bring their terrors to life —from lighting and animatronics to digital decorations.

But these days, the technology behind those scares is getting increasingly sophisticated, and the spectacles more elaborate.

We got a glimpse behind the scenes at the Hollywood Haunted Hayride, put on by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment in Los Angeles.

Listen for more … if you dare.

Urgent concerns about losing control of AI have burst into the national conversation recently after the OpenAI hack of the open-source AI platform Hugging Face, the high-profile resignation of an Anthropic researcher, and other AI insiders sharing alarmingly high p(doom) figures — that is, the probability that AI kills us all.

An event listing for a picnic beckoned people in the AI scene to spend a Sunday afternoon talking about recent calls to slow down the technology.

Dony Christie, a community organizer in the AI safety scene, chose this spot not for the scenery but because it’s between the offices of Anthropic and OpenAI.

“The hope is, why can't people at the labs just meet at a park in between them and work out a deal?” he said. “I have been concerned about existential risks for a long time. Just like, what do I do to save the world?”

Donna Guthrie had obituaries on her mind after her brother passed away in May. She recently celebrated her 80th birthday and started wondering how she might be remembered. So, she asked ChatGPT to write her obituary. It's the topic of today's “Uncanny AI,” our regular segment about our sometimes unsettling experiences with this tech.

Plus, we asked Michelle Huang, a technologist and artist who explores the use of AI for wonder, if this is creepy or healthy.

More on this:

“How AI can connect you with your inner child” from Marketplace Tech

Apple's long-awaited iPhone Duo launched this week, and everyone has the same question: can you see a crease? Joanna Stern, founder of media company New Things, has been putting it to the test for her newsletter. She's tried apps, phone calls, cameras. But, she really wanted to know if the much-hyped folding phone would stand the test of time. She hired a hardware designer to build a machine that opened and closed the iPhone Duo over and over while she slept — more than 32,000 times. Stern joins joins Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino on this week’s “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

Plus, Elon Musk says there could be a merger between SpaceX and Tesla. And, recent court documents reveal internal warnings about child safety issues were ignored by TikTok executives.

More on this:

“iPhone Duo Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Buggy” from New Things

“Apple announces product launch event for Oct. 28. Analysts expect touchscreen laptop” from CNBC

“SpaceX and Tesla Are Already Joined at the Hip. What a Formal Merger Would Mean.” from The Wall Street Journal

“Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown That Blindsided Ukraine” from The Wall Street Journal

“TikTok staff raised child safety concerns, but executives reportedly failed to act” from TechCrunch