WSJ Tech News Briefing

Plus: Tesla’s CFO is the highest paid in modern recordkeeping. Meanwhile, Honda plans to scale back its electric-vehicle investment. And Google unveils new “AI Mode” search to take on AI chatbots. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Students and teachers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to outsmart each other. WSJ family and tech columnist Julie Jargon explains how one group is using AI to expose cheating while the other is leveraging it to prove they didn’t. Then we head to two neighboring West Virginia towns where residents are pushing back on a plan to build one of the world’s biggest data centers. WSJ reporter Kris Maher explains why constructing a new AI hub is so controversial there. Victoria Craig hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: China’s Xiaomi plans $7 billion investment in chip design. And 23andMe will live on after $256 million Regeneron buyout. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long used to power implantable devices like pacemakers, electricity is now gaining traction as a possible treatment for diseases such as cancer. WSJ health reporter Brianna Abbott tells us how clinical trials are showing early promise. Plus: Meta is contending with an ‘epidemic of scams’ on its platforms as criminals flood Instagram and Facebook. WSJ tech reporter Jeff Horwitz explains how the company is responding. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus episode: Today we’re bringing you the latest episode of Bold Names, which presents conversations with the leaders of the bold-named companies featured in the pages of The Wall Street Journal. On this episode, hosts Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims speak to Michael Mager, co-founder and CEO of the brain-computer interface company Precision Neuroscience, whose technology aims to give patients with severe mobility issues new ways to interact with the digital world. How does Precision plan to offer brain implants to millions of people who could benefit from them? And how is the company competing with rivals like Synchron and Elon Musk’s Neuralink? Listen and subscribe to Bold Names. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: OpenAI launches new coding agent, Codex. Epic Games’ and Apple’s long-running feud continues with dispute over ‘Fortnite’ update. And Microsoft proposes Teams changes to avoid EU fines. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sore necks, dirty looks, and a lighter wallet. The early buyers of Apple’s Vision Pro headsets tell WSJ’s Joseph Pisani why they regret being a first adopter of a once-promising device. Then, WSJ tech and crypto-policy reporter Amrith Ramkumar has an exclusive look at a letter Democratic Senators wrote to ask for answers about the Trump administration’s interactions with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Victoria Craig hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: The Trump Administration says the EU’s digital services rules are a threat to basic rights and U.S. business. And, Coinbase says tens of thousands of users might have been affected by cybercriminal theft. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple wants to make iPhones more accessible to people with disabilities. Digital-health reporter Rolfe Winkler takes us into the world of brain computer interfaces. Plus, reporter Amrith Ramkumar talks about the revocation of the AI Diffusion Rule and how companies are reacting. Victoria Craig hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Temu resumes shipping direct-from-China products. And HBO Max is back. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airbnb has come a long way since it launched in 2008. Now, founder and chief executive Brian Chesky is tapping into a new ethos to shuttle the company into its next phase. WSJ’s Ben Cohen has that exclusive conversation. Plus, WSJ Africa correspondent Caroline Kimeu joins us with another exclusive on how Netflix and Meta are among the list of companies that could lose carbon credits after a court intervened in a dispute between conservationists and herders in Kenya. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Microsoft slashes jobs as it streamlines management ranks. And ESPN takes the wraps off a new streaming service. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The underlying architecture of AI models can simulate intelligence by memorizing endless lists of rules. But our tech columnist Christopher Mims says “thinking” is way more complicated than that. Plus, personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen answers your questions on chatbot privacy. Victoria Craig hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Apple weighs raising prices on new iPhones. And the valuation of AI startup Perplexity surges to $14 billion. Victoria Craig hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annapurna Labs is not a household name, but its chips play a major role in Amazon Web Services and the company’s broader AI strategy. WSJ Science of Success columnist Ben Cohen explains. Plus, Apple is facing an existential crisis: Should it keep focusing on hardware or pour its energy into improving its software, namely Siri? WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern describes what the two paths could look like for the iPhone-maker. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, Google faces a potential $3.3 billion antitrust lawsuit in Italy. And Panasonic plans to cut 10,000 jobs globally. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Generative AI chatbots have changed the way people search online, making SEO tactics less effective. WSJ’s CMO Today reporter Patrick Coffee explains how marketers are changing up their work. Plus, UnitedHealth Group says it has over 1,000 uses for AI. Enterprise tech reporter Isabelle Bousquette says that includes processing insurance claims, and the company is treading carefully. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: China’s largest chip maker, SMIC, reports jump in profit. And Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery see their financial results boosted by streaming. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mobile app Yuka tells users how healthy food products are, and it’s even led some manufacturers to swap out ingredients in their products. But how reliable is it really? WSJ reporter Jesse Newman discusses. Plus, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions a future in which our friends and therapists will be largely made up of AI agents. Reporter Meghan Bobrowsky talks about how realistic that may be. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Uber swings to a profit. And Cisco announces a new quantum chip and lab facility. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices