Stanford Digital Economy Lab

‘The Wizard of Oz’ blown up by AI for giant Sphere screen | TechCrunch The massive Las Vegas venue known as Sphere will be screening its first classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” starting on August 28. And as detailed in a segment on CBS Sunday Morning, this isn’t just a ...

And finally, from @techcrunch.com: AI has helped adapt The Wizard of Oz for @spherevegasus.bsky.social
11/11
techcrunch.com/2025/07/27/w...

India’s first private AI university launched in UP, 1.5 lakh to be trained monthly Under the AI Pragya scheme, the state government is planning to train 10 lakh people in AI, data analytics, machine learning and cybersecurity.

India has launched their first private AI university.
10/11
www.indiatoday.in/education-to...

Can we ever trust an AI lawyer? Robin CEO Richard Robinson on AI’s hallucination problem and how lawyers should and shouldn’t be using AI today.

…but here’s a company that says it can help with that sort of thing?
9/11
www.theverge.com/decoder-podc...

Errors found in US judge’s withdrawn decision stink of AI It’s not just lawyers using it.

A judge was accused of using AI in his decision…
8/11
www.theverge.com/news/713653/...

AI helps traditional Japanese fish-killing method get a robotic upgrade Shinkei Systems’ Poseidon robot intends to promote fish quality and humane harvesting by utilizing the Japanese ike jime method of killing fish for US customers.

From the Food Desk: an AI to help with humane fish harvesting based on a traditional Japanese method.
7/11
www.semafor.com/article/07/2...

Seriously, Why Do Some AI Chatbot Subscriptions Cost More Than $200? The price of expensive chatbot subscriptions is driven by vibes—not immediate profitability for AI companies.

From @wired.com, what’s with the cost of chatbot subscriptions?
6/11
www.wired.com/story/seriou...

Using AI to monitor air quality for safer schools in Laos Artificial intelligence is helping to warn schoolchildren in Laos when air pollution levels are a hazard as part of a drive to address the issue in a region where the deaths of more than a hundred children a day are linked to air pollution. Olivia Zollino reports.

Schools in Laos are using AI to monitor air quality.
5/11
www.reuters.com/video/watch/...

Doge reportedly using AI tool to create ‘delete list’ of federal regulations ‘Department of government efficiency’ is proposing to use tool to cut 50% of federal regulations by January

Doge is reportedly using an AI tool to create a ‘delete list’ to cut 50% of federal regulations.
4/11
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Chinese universities want students to use more AI, not less Unlike the West, where universities are still agonizing over how students use AI in their work, top universities in China are going all in.

Chinese universities are encouraging students to embrace AI.
3/11
www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/28/1...

What if AI made the world’s economic growth explode? Markets for goods, services and financial assets, as well as labour, would be upended

‘What if AI made the world’s economic growth explode?’
2/11
www.economist.com/briefing/202...

Happy Monday! Some recent news to start the week…
🧵 1/11

What Would a Real Friendship With A.I. Look Like? Maybe Like Hers.

And from the Personals (do newspapers still have personals?): what does a friendship with AI look like?
11/11
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/m...

Crypto-linked stocks advance after Trump signs stablecoin law Shares of crypto-linked companies jumped on Monday, as ether prices scaled their highest this year after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill regulating stablecoins in the U.S.

Crypto-linked stocks jumped with the signing of a new bill regulating stablecoin.
10/11
www.reuters.com/business/med...

Human-level AI is not inevitable. We have the power to change course | Garrison Lovely Technology happens because people make it happen. We can choose otherwise

A writer for The Guardian questions the inevitability of human-level AI.
9/11
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan AI chatbots are becoming stand-ins for pets and partners — offering comfort, connection and raising new concerns.

Staying in Japan, folks are turning to chatbots for mental health support.
8/11
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07...

Yahoo Japan wants its employees to use AI to double their productivity by 2028.
7/11
www.techradar.com/pro/yahoo-ja...

Netflix admits it used generative AI in a big sci-fi hit to cut costs Netflix says AI will make content “better.”

@netflix.com used generative AI in its sci-fi show The Eternaut to cut costs.
6/11
www.theverge.com/news/709863/...

A.I. vs. A.I.

And from @nytimes.com, AI takes on AI.
5/11
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/b...

X slams French criminal probe over alleged algorithm ‘manipulation’ Lawmaker reported allegations over moderation and rightwing content on social media platform

The French government has launched a criminal investigation into X over alleged algorithm manipulation.
4/11
www.ft.com/content/2181...

A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data Personally identifiable information has been found in DataComp CommonPool, one of the largest open-source data sets used to train image generation models.

Passports, credit cards, and more personal documents were found in the data of a major AI training set.
3/11
www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/18/1...

AI Can Make You Laugh. But Can It Ever Be Truly Humorous? As people turn to AI for therapy and companionship, some say the models still need to learn the nuances of human humor.

Can AI be funny?
2/11
undark.org/2025/07/21/a...

New week, new news! Some recent stories to kickstart the week…
🧵1/11

#G20SouthAfrica Side event — The implications of Al on the organisation of industry and work YouTube video by SAReserveBank

How can everyone experience the "magic" of the AI revolution?

Watch Lab affiliate @susanathey.bsky.social’s talk on the implications of AI on the organisation of industry and work at #G20SouthAfrica: www.youtube.com/live/okDGsZa...

“Governments will play a key role…in whether we actually develop the technology that will help lower-skilled workers become more productive by using AI to augment them with expertise that previously was difficult to acquire.”

Elmo’s X account posts antisemitic slurs after getting hacked The hack occurred after Elon Musk’s chatbot, Grok, spewed antisemitic messages on X on July 8.

Can you tell me how to get, how to get some better password protection: Elmo got hacked and it wasn’t pretty.
11/11
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Study warns of ‘significant risks’ in using AI therapy chatbots | TechCrunch Therapy chatbots powered by large language models may stigmatize users with mental health conditions and otherwise respond inappropriately or even dangerously, according to researchers at Stanford Uni...

AI chatbot therapy may carry “significant risks,” study warns.
10/11
techcrunch.com/2025/07/13/s...

Why the Business World Can’t Let Go of Landline Phones Smartphones have come to dominate our consumer life, but in many businesses across the country, there’s still a strong case for that hard plastic handset.

Businesses can’t quit landlines.
9/11
www.wsj.com/articles/why...

Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ unit battles councils for access to sensitive data Senior lawyers and data handlers at some councils have so far blocked access to restricted information

The UK’s version of DOGE (DOUGE?) is meeting resistance.
8/11
www.ft.com/content/2019...

Defense Department to begin using Grok, Musk’s controversial AI Model Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up said its models are now available to federal agencies.

The Defense Department is going to start using Grok (so I guess the burritos will have to wait)
7/11
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Exclusive | SpaceX to Invest $2 Billion Into Elon Musk’s xAI The startup is leaning on Musk’s business empire to play catch-up in the AI race.

SpaceX investing $2 billion in xAI (that much would also buy 154 million Chipotle burritos)
6/11
www.wsj.com/tech/spacex-...