Primary Elections Results So Far, Big Tech Is Hiding AI Debt, and Chief Barnes’ Legacy Reviewed

Today on the podcast, host Jane C. Hu is joined by independent journalist Erica C. Barnett and tech reporter for the Seattle Times Alex Halverson to break down the three big topics on everyone’s mind: the primary election results, what the heck is going on with AI and big tech, and what is former Police Chief Shon Barnes’ legacy in Seattle? Erica and Jane take a look at the results so far for key races and issues including, the library levy, Sabio-Howell trailing Pederson, Kshama Sawant trailing Adam Smith, and Jenks versus Kang. Alex explains why out-of-state AI companies are contributing to Dreher’s campaign and what it signals about Anthropic and Waymo’s investment in the city. Then, we get into the Q2 earnings for Amazon and Microsoft. Jane asks what the volatility of the tech industry means for Seattle in light of Bloomberg’s reporting that big tech companies are using the same strategy Enron used to hide its debts from investors and lenders to hide debt taken on in building out AI. And finally, Erica walks us through the legacy Shon Barnes leaves behind at the SPD including gender discrimination in hiring, anti-LGBTQ bias, sidelining the CARE department, and more. And she shares what she expects this next hiring process to look like. 

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