News & Analysis

White House Order Provides Guidance on AI Safety

What you should know about President Biden’s executive order on the development and use of Artificial Intelligence.

Is There a Relationship Between Tech Use and Gun Violence?

It was bullets, not bytes — that took the lives of 10 people in Buffalo and 21 people, including 19 elementary school students, in Uvalde, Texas. Still, some are blaming video games and social media, along with mental illness.

Pair of California Bills to Protect Kids Online Show Promise, but there are Concerns

California lawmakers are considering a pair of bills to regulate kids’ use of online services. The state’s tech laws can impact the entire country.

Beware of ‘Smishing’ Scams

The first few times I got a text message from a stranger that appeared to be directed at someone else, I politely informed them that they’d reached the wrong number.

How Americans Feel about AI

Talking to your family about artificial intelligence.

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Protect Against Identify Theft

There are things you can do to reduce the chances of being a victim of identity theft, and if you are a victim, there are things you can do to recover.

Safe Online Dating During and After the Pandemic

When it comes to online dating safety, there is good advice that’s been around for years and new advice based on the pandemic.

Good and Not-So-Good News about Digital Civility

While adults showed some improvement, teens did significantly better than previous years.

Safer Internet 2021 Day Goes Online

Safer Internet Day is a global awareness-raising campaign that started in Europe in 2004 and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries.

Battening Down your Facebook Hatches

Controlling who can see your friends list is only one of many optional privacy settings.

Managing Tech for Tots

Over the past several years we’ve seen an explosion in the use of tablets and other devices by children who are barely out of diapers.

How We Got Here

Because they’ve been written about extensively, there’s no need for me to repeat how the internet – Facebook, Twitter and lesser-known sites like Gab and the now-suspended Parler have contributed to the division, vitriol and violence that has shaken our country.

Misinformation Amplified by Social Media

As Daniel Patrick Moynihan once wrote, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

Getting Ready for ‘Virtual School’

Fortunately, most families already have a broadband connection and either a computer or tablet, but there is still a digital divide as was evidenced by that now-famous photo of two young girls sitting in a parking lot of a Salinas Taco Bell to access the restaurant’s WiFi because they didn’t have internet at home.