Good Monday Morning
It’s September 8. Just about everyone is back to school now, and today is all about the tech they’ll use and have used on them.
Today’s Spotlight is 1,064 words, about 4 minutes to read.
3 Headlines to Know Now
Anthropic Pays $1.5B to Authors
The AI firm that makes the Claude chatbot settled a landmark copyright suit with book publishers by paying about $3,000 per copied title while avoiding a trial that could have cost far more. (Washington Post gift link)
EU Hist Google With 3.2B Fine (Again)
Brussels accuses Google of rigging the online job market, adding a fourth multibillion-dollar penalty to the company’s long string of EU antitrust battles.
“We’ve Hacked Your Webcam” Spam is Real Now
Researchers warn that new spyware actually snaps porn screenshots and webcam pics. They’ve turned the old scam email into a working blackmail tool, which seems bad.
Bell-to-Bell Bans Gather Steam
By The Numbers
George’s Data Take
School leaders know that parents and the community at large back them on banning cell phones in K-12 schools. What’s new is how quickly support jumped from classroom bans to all-day bans.
Most Americans now say those all-day bans would boost kids’ social skills, grades, and behavior.
4,000 Layoffs is Good For Investors
Running Your Business
Salesforce posted 10% year-over-year growth by leaning on AI to replace 4,000 service people.
Silver Beacon Behind the Scenes
Wall Street loves this math.
More Sales minus Employees = More Profit
But bots miss nuance and frustration, the very things humans excel at. Bots are terrible at gauging sentiment, and your service employees are the place where much of your great product development is born.
Back-To-School Tech Briefing For Parents
Back to School Orientation for Parents and Tech
Phones gone at school, surveillance at school and home, and the AI bogeyman creeping into homework.
Phones Go Dark in the Morning
- Bell-to-bell bans now cover millions of students
- Yondr pouches lock phones until a teacher or staff member releases them; other schools use baskets at the front of class.
- Punishments escalate if kids sneak them back or use burner phones, smartwatches, or other devices.
Parents worry about emergencies. Some schools allow exceptions, but policies vary. Lower-income kids also lose their primary device for connecting online.
Surveillance Never Sleeps, Even Afterschool
- Districts buy Gaggle and Lightspeed to scan everything tied to school accounts or devices.
- Software can flag deleted texts, “private” chats, even homework while looking for signs of illegal or dangerous behavior.
- False positives happen: jokes read as threats, essays misread as warning signs.
Escalation is sometimes harsh with students pulled from class, police called, even mandatory psych evaluations. Districts rarely share error rates.
Homework Gets an AI Twist in the Evening
- Platforms like Canvas now embed AI tutors for kids and grading aids for teachers.
- Some teachers welcome AI Bots as a helper; others call it cheating.
- Policies are inconsistent, even within the same school.
- Risks include wrong answers, reduced critical thinking, and student data stored in ways families don’t see. Schools, not vendors, technically own those interactions, but families rarely know how they’re handled.
Age rules for AI bots don’t protect much: Claude bars under-18s, but OpenAI and Google Gemini allow 13+, and none use robust age verification.
What Parents Can Do
- Ask: Which AI tools are live? How is data stored? What’s the phone policy?
- Clarify: emergency rules and how surveillance alerts trigger police.
- At home: set AI norms, require kids to show their work, talk openly about privacy, especially with younger kids.
Warner Bros. Sues Midjourney over Batman + Scooby-Doo
Practical AI
Fresh off Disney and Universal’s lawsuits, WB says Midjourney is cranking out AI knockoffs of its characters and wants damages that could wipe out Midjourney’s $300M revenue.
Here’s What Happens if you stop paying for Cloud storage
Protip
Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Dropbox won’t delete your stuff overnight but backup functionality freezes and your files can eventually vanish, so get those photos saved elsewhere before you cancel.
Fact Check: No, 100M noncitizens don’t live in the US
Debunking Junk
AP finds the real number is about 22 million, which is far below viral social media claims that nearly a third of the population aren’t citizens.
Naan Has Its Bagel Moment
Screening Room
Meet George Jetson…
Science Fiction World
Startup Alef will test its $300K electric flying car at Silicon Valley airports, blending road driving with vertical takeoff after a decade in the works.
…Jane, His Wife
Tech For Good
An MIT Suit that simulates being in your 80s shows non-seniors how simple tasks like shopping or boarding a train become harder, and why mindset and daily practice matter as much as muscle. (Wall St. Journal gift link)
5KM Church Move
Coffee Break
A 113-year-old wooden church in Kiruna, Sweden, was hauled 5km intact to escape mine-driven ground fissures, blending an engineering spectacle with deep cultural meaning.
See it in this gorgeous BBC Timelapse and drone video
Sign of the Times
