Technology

When it comes to prediction markets, if it “walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,” Gov. Spencer Cox said. “It's a duck” — meaning the apps are gambling, and should be banned in Utah.

Utah is at the forefront of a states' rights battle with prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. It's over the definition of gambling and whether states can keep these smartphone apps out.

Modern drones map farmland, inspect power lines and help fight wildfires. Nationwide, the drone industry now employs more than 100,000 people — and demand for trained pilots continues to grow.

After her Brigham Young University anti-ICE protests post blew up, author Joanna Brooks offered a Swig gift card to any disagreeing Latter-day Saint who would spend an hour with her on Zoom.

We’re talking tech (hello, AI!), we’re talking state sovereignty and we’re talking about child safety (two big Utah tentpoles).

A memo from the White House said a child safety AI bill from state Republican Rep. Doug Fiefia was “an unfixable bill that goes against the Administration’s AI agenda.”

Elleshia Seymour, 35, was charged in December in Salt Lake County with four counts of custodial interference by removing the kids from the state despite not being entitled to custody. Croatia’s foreign ministry confirmed her arrest earlier in January.

Painting a picture based on the classical ideals of the United States, Gov. Spencer Cox took time in his annual speech to address the national mood and highlight work that will “improve the welfare of the citizens of Utah.”

A December report from the conservative Sutherland Institute found a deepening disconnect between men and boys and important issues like mental health and feeling connected to their communities.

The online tradwife movement highlights traditional women’s roles, including homemaking and childrearing. It has also garnered feminist critique. But a Mormon studies researcher believes that tradwives and feminists are actually finding very different solutions to the same problems.

Last year, Utah lawmakers banned cellphones during class time. But Gov. Spencer Cox thinks phones also need to be off-limits in between classes. That’s called a bell-to-bell ban.

Forecasting snow conditions in Utah’s mountains can be tricky, but accurate predictions are vital for everything from ski trips to avalanche safety. An AI forecast tool developed at the University of Utah might help.