This week, with just days to go before the Nov. 5 election, we take a fresh look at AI, social media, and some surprising trends in the spread of fake content and misinformation, with Danielle Lee Tomson, research manager for election rumors at the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public.

Guest host Ross Reynolds speaks with Tomson about AI, social media, and some surprising trends in the spread of rumors online. 

Related links and stories: 
Substack: Election Rumor Research @ Center for an Informed Public
New York Times: As Election Looms, Disinformation ‘Has Never Been Worse’
Washington Post:Don’t say ‘vote’: How Instagram hides your political posts

Edited by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

This week, with just days to go before the Nov. 5 election, we take a fresh look at AI, social media, and some surprising trends in the spread of fake content and misinformation, with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-tomson/">Danielle Lee Tomson</a>, research manager for election rumors at the University of Washington <a href="https://www.cip.uw.edu/">Center for an Informed Public</a>.
Guest host <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossrey/">Ross Reynolds</a> speaks with Tomson about AI, social media, and some surprising trends in the spread of rumors online. 
Related links and stories: 
<ul>
<li>Substack: <a href="https://uwcip.substack.com/">Election Rumor Research @ Center for an Informed Public</a></li>
<li>New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/business/media/election-disinformation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk4.smjA.jfk0TZmzho28&amp;smid=url-share">As Election Looms, Disinformation ‘Has Never Been Worse’</a></li>
<li>Washington Post: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/10/16/instagram-limits-political-content-shadowban-election-posts/">Don’t say ‘vote’: How Instagram hides your political posts</a></li>
</ul>
Edited by Curt Milton. Music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.

GeekWire

Rumors, AI, and the 2024 election

Our guest on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast is Panos Panay, Amazon's senior vice president of Devices & Services, a longtime leader in the world of consumer technology. It has been one year since he started at Amazon, after his surprise departure from Microsoft, where he oversaw products including Surface and Windows.

Panay's division at Amazon includes the Alexa voice assistant and Echo devices, but that's just the start. His purview also spans Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Zoox self-driving taxis, Eero wireless networking devices, Ring and Blink cameras, Fire TV devices, and Kuiper, the company's nascent satellite internet business.

The focus this week is Kindle, with the Oct. 30 release of the Kindle Colorsoft, the first color device in Amazon's line of market-leading e-readers, selling for a premium price of $279.99. It's part of a new era for the Kindle business, driven in part by book-loving social media influencers and consumers looking for simplicity and focus in a world of non-stop smartphone alerts.

We also talked about AI, including the generative AI summaries coming with the next-generation Kindle Scribe tablet, due out in December. Panay wasn't ready to dish on what's next for Alexa in conversational AI, but he made it clear that he's bullish on AI in general, and doesn't believe it's a passing fad.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop

Our guest on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/panos-panay-22b60ba9">Panos Panay</a>, Amazon's senior vice president of Devices &amp; Services, a longtime leader in the world of consumer technology. It has been <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2023/confirmed-ex-microsoft-exec-panos-panay-to-join-amazon-next-month-to-lead-devices-services/">one year since he started at Amazon</a>, after his <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2023/longtime-microsoft-hardware-leader-panos-panay-is-leaving-the-company-after-19-years/">surprise departure from Microsoft</a>, where he oversaw products including Surface and Windows.
Panay's division at Amazon includes the Alexa voice assistant and Echo devices, but that's just the start. His purview also spans Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Zoox self-driving taxis, Eero wireless networking devices, Ring and Blink cameras, Fire TV devices, and Kuiper, the company's nascent satellite internet business.
The focus this week is Kindle, with the Oct. 30 release of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN3XR57P">Kindle Colorsoft</a>, the first color device in Amazon's line of market-leading e-readers, selling for a premium price of $279.99. It's part of a new era for the Kindle business, driven in part by book-loving social media influencers and consumers looking for simplicity and focus in a world of non-stop smartphone alerts.
We also talked about AI, including <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/kindle-scribe-gen-ai-notebook">the generative AI summaries</a> coming with the next-generation Kindle Scribe tablet, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZ9VFQ2P">due out in December</a>. Panay wasn't ready to dish on what's next for Alexa in conversational AI, but he made it clear that he's bullish on AI in general, and doesn't believe it's a passing fad.
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop

Amazon devices chief Panos Panay on the new color Kindle, AI, and his first year on the job

Our guest this week is Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who says he has never been as excited about anything in his career as he is about the latest developments in artificial intelligence — AI agents that can autonomously reason, plan, and take action on behalf of businesses.

Benioff is almost as strong in his negative sentiments toward Microsoft's Copilot. He calls Copilot the second coming of Microsoft's much-maligned "Clippy" Office assistant, and asserts that the Redmond company is giving AI a bad name by disappointing customers with underwhelming results and lax security.

We spoke with Benioff in advance of the general availability of the San Francisco company's Agentforce AI technology for sales and service. We also talked about Benioff's ownership of Time magazine, and what that means for his political involvement; and the status of his past pledge to turn Seattle into Salesforce's HQ2.

Related Links
Is the world ready for autonomous AI? Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff makes the case for agents
Microsoft 365 Copilot rollouts slowed by data security, ROI concerns
Salesforce founder Marc Benioff swears off politics after buying Time magazine
Seattle will become Salesforce HQ2 via $15.7B Tableau deal, as Benioff gushes about talent pool

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

Our guest this week is Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who says he has never been as excited about anything in his career as he is about the latest developments in artificial intelligence — AI agents that can autonomously reason, plan, and take action on behalf of businesses.
Benioff is almost as strong in his negative sentiments toward Microsoft's Copilot. He calls Copilot the second coming of Microsoft's much-maligned "Clippy" Office assistant, and asserts that the Redmond company is giving AI a bad name by disappointing customers with underwhelming results and lax security.
We spoke with Benioff in advance of the general availability of the San Francisco company's Agentforce AI technology for sales and service. We also talked about Benioff's ownership of Time magazine, and what that means for his political involvement; and the status of his past pledge to turn Seattle into Salesforce's HQ2.
Related Links
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/is-the-world-ready-for-autonomous-ai-salesforce-ceo-marc-benioff-makes-the-case-for-agents/">Is the world ready for autonomous AI? Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff makes the case for agents</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3542000/microsoft-365-copilot-rollouts-slowed-by-data-security-roi-concerns.html">Microsoft 365 Copilot rollouts slowed by data security, ROI concerns</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/3/21162629/marc-benioff-political-donations-endorsements-democrats-california-primary">Salesforce founder Marc Benioff swears off politics after buying Time magazine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2019/seattle-will-become-salesforce-hq2-via-15-7b-tableau-deal-benioff-gushes-talent-pool/">Seattle will become Salesforce HQ2 via $15.7B Tableau deal, as Benioff gushes about talent pool</a></li>
</ul>
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on AI agents, Microsoft, Seattle tech, and the future of humanity 

This week, we imagine the possibility of Uber buying Expedia Group, based on a report by the Financial Times this week that the ride-hailing company has considered a bid for the online travel giant. It would be notable in part because Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was Expedia Group’s CEO from 2005 to 2017 and remains on the company’s board. 

In the second segment, we enjoy highlights from the "60 Minutes" profile of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and a separate appearance by University of Washington historian and author Margaret O'Mara on an episode of the podcast "60 Minutes: A Second Look" about the rise of Silicon Valley in the early 1980s.  

And finally, we talk about our new Geekwire project, Microsoft @ 50, and get a window into what's next in AI from Peter Lee, the Microsoft Research president. He shares the top three technical challenges and opportunities on his mind when it comes to the future of artificial intelligence. This is bonus content from an interview for the first story in the series, published this week, tracing the evolution of AI inside Microsoft. 

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

This week, we imagine <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/report-uber-considered-potential-acquisition-of-seattle-travel-giant-expedia/">the possibility of Uber buying Expedia Group</a>, based on a report <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/94a25bf7-e62b-462a-a4f0-e4feb6e244f7">by the Financial Times</a> this week that the ride-hailing company has considered a bid for the online travel giant. It would be notable in part because Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was Expedia Group’s CEO from 2005 to 2017 and remains on the company’s board. 
In the second segment, we enjoy highlights from <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/steve-ballmer-on-60-minutes-microsoft-clippers-and-sorry-but-no-seattle-seahawks/">the "60 Minutes" profile of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer</a>, and a separate appearance by University of Washington historian and author Margaret O'Mara on <a href="https://youtu.be/tkN872C_MhE?si=PVs83t0FzcDIOwxE">an episode of the podcast "60 Minutes: A Second Look"</a> about the rise of Silicon Valley in the early 1980s.  
And finally, we talk about our new Geekwire project, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/special-coverage/microsoft-at-50/">Microsoft @ 50</a>, and get a window into what's next in AI from <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/petelee/">Peter Lee</a>, the Microsoft Research president. He shares the top three technical challenges and opportunities on his mind when it comes to the future of artificial intelligence. This is bonus content from an interview for the first story in the series, <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/ai-dreams-microsoft-50-chapter-1/">published this week</a>, tracing the evolution of AI inside Microsoft. 
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

Rumors, AI, and the 2024 election

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