Article Archive - The Markup

Illustration of a woman wearing an prison uniform on a laptop labeled "C.D.C.R."; she's surrounded by a pile of textbooks, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation seal, a search input, a browser window with a lock on it, a crossed-out Wifi symbol and a silhouette of a person in a graduation uniform holding up a diploma

Machine Learning

Prison inmates can take college classes, but often with no internet and limited tech

Students regularly face dead ends, even with access to technology and research resources

August 7, 2025 8:00 a.m. UTC

A person uses a smartphone to browse an online clothing store. The screen displays a product page for a denim jacket with a shearling collar priced at $219. The individual is about to tap the "Buy it now" button, with one hand holding the phone and the other poised to make the selection. The background is softly blurred, suggesting a home setting with natural light filtering in through windows.

Artificial Intelligence

Should Lyft and Uber charge more if your battery is low? California may soon ban that

California lawmakers want to ban companies from using data about consumers’ devices like battery life, model and geolocation to set fluctuating prices. Proponents say such “surveillance pricing” is discriminatory.

August 4, 2025 8:30 a.m. UTC

A person in a white medical coat with a stethoscope uses a tablet, while another individual in a light blue shirt sits nearby. The interaction suggests a consultation or discussion, with the focus on the hands and device rather than faces.

Hello World

During my kid’s surgery, I was denied a copy of my consent form — then sent to a ghost office

Help us understand the challenges patients face opting out of voluntary uses of their data, or getting access to their records.

July 19, 2025 8:00 a.m. UTC

Two individuals sit at a table in a classroom, writing on paper with pens. One person with dark, wavy hair and a black shirt focuses on their work, while the other, wearing a gray hoodie, holds a notebook with a bright orange sheet. A can of energy drink and a blue bottle sit on the table. A whiteboard with faint writing is visible in the background.

Artificial Intelligence

AI is helping students be more independent, but the isolation could be career poison

Chatbots may give students quick answers when they have questions, but they won’t help students form relationships that matter for college and life success.

July 16, 2025 1:00 p.m. UTC

A close-up of a yellow Cal Fire uniform with a detailed embroidered patch on the shoulder. The patch features the shape of California, a stylized flame, and text reading “CAL FIRE” and “Since 1885.” The words “California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection” are visible along the top of the patch. The fabric is lit with strong contrast, emphasizing its texture and stitching.

Artificial Intelligence

California's fire protection agency made an AI chatbot. It can’t answer one crucial question

The bot fails at some basic questions about fires. Cal Fire says it is working on fixes.

July 9, 2025 8:30 a.m. UTC

A stylized, glitch-effect image of a person with curly hair standing in a dark room, wearing a spaghetti strap top and high-waisted jeans. The person appears multiple times in overlapping positions, creating a blurred, distorted visual echo. The image is heavily tinted in purples and pinks, with digital noise and scan lines suggesting a corrupted or manipulated video frame.

Artificial Intelligence

Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up

Schools and lawmakers are grappling with how to address a new form of peer-on-peer image-based sexual abuse that disproportionately targets girls.

July 2, 2025 6:00 a.m. UTC

A view of the dome-structure of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. taken and next to its blurry reflection on a glass wall in the foreground.

Artificial Intelligence

State AI regulations safe after Senate strips moratorium from ‘big, beautiful bill’

In the end, both Republicans and Democrats helped doom a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation after it cleared the House

July 1, 2025 1:15 p.m. UTC

An illustration in pink and dark purple tones that shows the silhouette of a student holding a piece of paper as they stand in the middle of a cyberspace grid. A white paper with highlighted text can be seen in the background behind the student as pink boxes with exclamation points float around.

Artificial Intelligence

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it?

Colleges and universities renew Turnitin subscriptions year after year even though its flawed detectors are expensive and require students to let the company keep their papers forever.

June 26, 2025 8:30 a.m. UTC

An instructor wearing a mask stands at the front of a classroom, gesturing while speaking to students seated at round tables. A projected slide behind the instructor displays a chart titled “Creating Your Synthesis Chart,” outlining how to organize sources and main ideas. The image is framed by two blurred vertical objects in the foreground, giving the perspective of someone observing through a narrow space.

Artificial Intelligence

Turnitin charged colleges vastly different amounts to detect plagiarism

Purchasing records show some colleges are paying three times more than others.

June 26, 2025 8:30 a.m. UTC

A person, with short white hair and wearing a blue suit, sits in front of a dais alongside other lawmakers during a hearing. A portion of an American flag can be seen in the background.

Pixel Hunt

House lawmakers demand answers from California health exchange on sending data to LinkedIn

The lawmakers cite a Markup and CalMatters investigation that first revealed Covered California’s data practices in April.

June 23, 2025 2:30 p.m. UTC

All Articles

Prison inmates can take college classes, but often with no internet and limited tech

Should Lyft and Uber charge more if your battery is low? California may soon ban that

During my kid’s surgery, I was denied a copy of my consent form — then sent to a ghost office

AI is helping students be more independent, but the isolation could be career poison

California's fire protection agency made an AI chatbot. It can’t answer one crucial question

Kids are making deepfakes of each other, and laws aren’t keeping up

State AI regulations safe after Senate strips moratorium from ‘big, beautiful bill’

California colleges spend millions to catch plagiarism and AI. Is the faulty tech worth it?

Turnitin charged colleges vastly different amounts to detect plagiarism

House lawmakers demand answers from California health exchange on sending data to LinkedIn