Click Here

We used to venture into the wild to observe nature. Now we’re installing cameras, launching drones, and attaching sensors to animals themselves. All to protect wildlife. But the problem is: the more closely we watch nature, the more we may be changing what it means to be wild.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For a birdwatcher, spotting a rare bird is like winning the lottery. But what if that bird isn’t supposed to be there? What if its arrival is a warning? From seabirds appearing hundreds of miles from home to elephant seals collecting data beneath Antarctic ice, scientists are using technology to discover what animals can tell us about climate change — sometimes long before we see the signs ourselves. The trick is learning how to listen.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A missing daughter. An unidentified body. A single photograph. Facial recognition technology is helping police solve cases that once seemed impossible. But the same technology can identify just about anyone. In this CyberMonday crossover with WAMU and NPR’s 1A, we revisit a story about the surprising power of facial recognition, then talk with Clare Garvie of the NYU Policing Project about what happens when your face no longer belongs just to you.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Voting machines have long been at the center of conspiracy theories about U.S. elections. Now, Ben Adida and his nonprofit VotingWorks have built an open-source voting machine anyone can inspect, right down to its computer code. The idea is simple: make vote counting transparent. But making elections more transparent and making voters trust the results may be two very different things.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You used to need a government-backed operation to spread election disinformation. Now a chatbot might do. Larry Norden of the Brennan Center put the major AI chatbots to the test: Could they create election fakes? Debunk them? Even recognize their own handiwork? The answers were not all reassuring.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices