Welcome back to Lately, The Globe’s weekly tech newsletter. If you have feedback or just want to say hello to a real-life human, send me an e-mail.
In this week’s issue:
🙅🏻♂️ How tariffs got in the middle of the TikTok deal
🤖 The jobs AI experts think will be most affected by AI
🕵🏻♀️ Yes, U.S. border agents can check your smartphone
📺 Why everyone’s talking about Adolescence
SOCIAL MEDIA
How tariffs got in the middle of the TikTok deal
Last week, I predicted that, after months of will-they-won’t-they, we were finally going to learn the fate of TikTok in the United States. My apologies, reader. I was wrong. Instead, on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced he was extending the deadline for a possible TikTok deal to mid-June, once again pausing the enforcement of a federal law that says the app must find a new owner or be banned in the U.S. And now, as the dust settles, it looks like Trump’s tariffs on China may have derailed a deal.
Last week, the Trump administration believed that a new ownership structure for TikTok would be in place by the April 5 deadline, according to reporting by the New York Times. A draft of Trump’s executive order outlining the deal was already circulating. But then the arrangement crumbled. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, told the White House that Trump’s barrage of tariffs on Chinese imports had caused Beijing to intercede. So once again, TikTok is stuck in a holding pattern as the world’s largest superpowers battle it out.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI is coming for these jobs, according to the general public and AI experts
Although the extent to which AI will fundamentally change the job market is unclear, both AI experts and the general public have a lot of opinions. The Pew Research Center recently surveyed American adults and AI experts about their views and found that 64 per cent of the public thinks AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years, compared to 39 per cent of experts.
But there was more common ground when people were asked about which jobs specifically would be most affected. Both groups said jobs for cashiers were most at risk, followed by jobs for journalists (yikes), software engineers and mental health therapists. Sixty-two per cent of experts believed that there would be fewer jobs for truck drivers, compared to only 33 per cent of the public. In comparison to the AI experts, the public was more likely to predict job losses among factory workers, musicians, teachers and medical doctors. The biggest split between the two groups was on overall optimism for AI. Fifty-six per cent of experts said they were optimistic AI would have a positive effect, while only 17 per cent of non-experts felt that way.
SECURITY
Yes, U.S. border agents can search your phone
Last Friday, Canada updated its advice to those headed to the United States, warning travellers that their electronic devices could be searched by U.S. border guards. Trump has signed a series of executive orders that aim to secure the U.S. border, which some immigration lawyers say has emboldened border agents to become more heavy-handed with travellers leaving and entering the country, even those who hold valid work and study visas. Lawyers have advised their clients to prepare for increased scrutiny of their personal histories, including possible reviews of their text messages and social media accounts for evidence of their political leanings.
MISINFORMATION
Doctors turn to YouTube to tackle health misinformation
Dr. Siobhan Deshauer has more than 1.18 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, ViolinMD.Siobhan Deshauer/Supplied
The joke used to be that falling down a WebMD rabbit hole would leave you convinced you had cancer, chlamydia or some other illness. Now, after scrolling TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube, you might be certain you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or falsely believe that lemon balm tea is as effective as Ozempic for weight loss. Health misinformation has always existed on the internet, but social media has allowed it to run rampant.
To combat misinformation, some Canadian doctors are using YouTube to debunk health myths, explain trending health issues such as the recent measles outbreak in Texas, or provide basic health advice. One of these doctors is Siobhan Deshauer, a Toronto-based internal medicine and rheumatology specialist. She has more than 1.18 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, ViolinMD, and has been posting health videos for eight years. Read my full story now.
What else we’re reading this week:
Generative AI is learning to spy for the US military (MIT Technology Review)
Why the ultrarich are unplugging from “Smart Homes” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Bluesky’s quest to build nontoxic social media (The New Yorker)
Adult Money
OUTERWEAR
The Fairechild rain coatFairechild/Supplied/Supplied
Fairechild’s Daily Rain Coat, $499
You know what feels like adulthood to me? Buying an expensive everyday raincoat. It feels a bit luxurious to spend a lot of money on something utilitarian that you only wear in very specific weather conditions. Lucky for me, last week The Globe rounded up a bunch of women’s raincoats. This one by the brand Fairechild caught my eye. It’s made-to-order in Dartmouth, and its waterproof and breathable fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles.
Culture radar
STREAMING
A scene from Adolescence.The Associated Press
It feels like everybody is talking about Netflix’s Adolescence, the four-part series about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a schoolmate. I finished watching it this week and was fully enraptured by how the show explored a crisis in masculinity among young men – one linked to manosphere influencers such as Andrew Tate, who glorifies misogyny, the hidden lives of teens on social media and digital loneliness. Recently The Globe put together an online panel to discuss the show and answer readers’ questions. Many of the readers were parents who wanted to know how to talk to their kids about social media. Read the full conversation here.