Booming

Data centers were on the ballot this midterm, and they lost big. Dozens of initiatives and candidates promising to slow the artificial intelligence buildout prevailed.  That could spell trouble for Seattle's tech giants. Microsoft and Amazon are among the biggest data center developers in the country. And increasingly, they've been building them in states that just elected governors promising to close that open door to data centers.  That could push these companies to start looking outside the country... or beyond.  On this week's episode, will the blue wave dump cold water on the tech industry's AI ambitions? Or will they raise them... all the way to the stratosphere?  Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at [email protected]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. spends over a hundred million dollars a year importing seaweed from faraway places like Korea. Entrepreneurs have long hoped to build a local industry in the hospitable waters of the Salish Sea and use seaweed to make everything from food to fabric.  But getting kelp farming off the ground requires a lot of trial and error -- and some farmers are running out of time and money.   On today's episode, what will it take to get commercial seaweed off the ground (or the seafloor) in the Puget Sound region? And how much could it boost our local economy? Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at [email protected]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Millions of people have enlisted AI agents to do everything from ordering dinner to booking a family vacation. Open AI has Dots. Anthropic has Claude Duet. And Meta has Muse. Together, agents like these are transforming the way people automate their daily lives.  But trusting these personal AI task rabbits to make decisions on our behalf can come with real risks... especially when businesses use them.  On today's episode, what are the risks if we let AI agents make decisions for us? And as agents run more and more of the economy, where do humans fit in?  GUEST:Chirag Shah, professor at the University of Washington's Information School. He’s the author of Agent Nation: How Autonomous AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Society—and What We Can Do About It.   Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at [email protected]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone who’s been to a bar or wedding lately has probably noticed that people just aren’t drinking like they used to. A Gallup poll from last year found alcohol consumption in the U.S. is at an all-time low.  And that's sobering news for some of Washington’s most important business sectors. On today's episode, how can Washington’s iconic wine and beer industries adapt to our rapidly changing relationship with alcohol? Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at [email protected]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attendance at the big movie theater chains has been slowly creeping back up since it dropped off a cliff during the pandemic. But a lot of smaller, neighborhood movie theaters are still struggling to survive -- the kind with just a few screens and show a lot of independent or low-budget films.  On today's episode, what could save small cinemas? Spoiler: It’ll take more than just movies.   Do you have a story idea for us? Give us a call at (206) 221-7158 and leave a voicemail. You can also email us at [email protected]. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes.Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.