Aug 21, 2023

A barometer for the AI economy

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Investors are zooming in on Nvidia, the chipmaker many artificial intelligence tools depend on. Plus, what if AI could help animators save time and money?

Segments From this episode

Chipmaker Nvidia steps into the spotlight as a barometer of the AI economy

by Meghan McCarty Carino

Aug 21, 2023

It makes the chips at the heart of ChatGPT and other tools.

The valuation of Nvidia, whose products are crucial to artificial intelligence technology, has surpassed $1 trillion.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Chinese animation house puts AI capabilities to the test

by Jennifer Pak

Aug 21, 2023

Base Media and iQiyi see potential for a creative edge in a competitive market. But U.S. clients worry about copyright infringement.

A screenshot of an animation after AI tools were applied. The brick wall and background are generated by AI.

Courtesy Base Media/iQiyi Wonderworks

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Car prices are still stubbornly high

by Kristin Schwab

Aug 21, 2023

$20,000 used to be the starting point for a new car. Now there’s only one remaining model on the market that sells for around that figure … the Mitsubishi Mirage.

More consumers and carmakers are focused on bigger, more expensive cars. And with the pandemic chip shortage, the average price of a vehicle has ballooned to $50,000.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Adventures in Housing

For this fire lookout, home is a cabin 20 feet off the ground

by Sean McHenry

Aug 21, 2023

Brig Malessa spends fire season living in the tower and travels the rest of the year. "I can get by on very little money."

"It's the closest you can get to living outside without living outside," Brig Malessa says of living in a fire lookout tower. Above, the Oregon tower that she currently calls home.

Courtesy Brig Malessa

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A nanoengineer teamed up with Rihanna’s tattoo artist to make smarter ink

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Aug 21, 2023

Tattoos are more popular than ever. About a third of Americans have at least one. The creators of this new vanishing ink hope it's a first step toward smart tattoos that provide intel about our bodies.

Scientist Carson Bruns’ laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder makes tattoo inks by mixing, stirring, evaporating and spinning a series of liquids until they end up with particles of dye encased in beads of plexiglass.

Rae Ellen Bichell/KFF Health News

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Music from the episode

Pink + White Frank Ocean

Cut It Upwards Kelpa

Sin Rumbo Panoptica Orchestra

Summer Nights Raaginder, Wisechild

Occasional Magic Yppayh

Stella Here We Go Magic

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sarah Leeson Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I

Dylan Miettinen Associate Digital Producer

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