close Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 makes hearing tests as easy as a tap Checking your hearing just got much easier. When AirPods first hit the scene in 2016, they revolutionized the way we listen to music on the go. Not only did they seamlessly integrate with the Apple ecosystem, but some models also delivered sound quality and noise-canceling capabilities that gave traditional audio brands a run for their money. But what really sets AirPods apart is the array of innovative features that go way beyond what you'd expect from typical earbuds, features that might just surprise you.Join the FREE "CyberGuy Report": Get my expert tech tips, critical security alerts and exclusive deals, plus instant access to my  A woman wearing AirPods (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Top 10 hidden features of AirPodsBelow are features that you may or may not know about to take your AirPods experience to the next level. The features below are for original, second-generation and first-generation AirPods Pro. Apple Watch and AirPods (Apple)1. Go hands-free and pair your AirPods with your Apple WatchIf you want to use your AirPods but don’t want to lug around the extra weight of your iPhone, you can use your AirPods with your Apple Watch. In order to get your AirPods set up to use with your Apple Watch:Go to your Apple WatchPress the crown on the right side of your Apple WatchTap SettingsScroll down to Bluetooth and tap itThe watch is now searching for your AirPodsGrab your AirPods and lift the lid. Press and hold the button at the back of the case. This will put the AirPods in discoverable modeTap where it says AirPods are not paired on your Apple Watch. It should now say connected2. Use your AirPods as a microphoneWhen recording audio (e.g., Voice Memos, calls) or using voice-enabled apps, you can prioritize specific AirPods as the microphone. To turn on this feature:Go to settings on your iPhoneClick BluetoothUnder My Devices, tap the (i) info icon next to your AirPodsSelect MicrophoneSelect Automatically Switch AirPods (default), Always Left AirPod or Always Right AirPodWHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? Control panel on iPhone (Apple)3. Share Audio with someone elseWith iOS 13.1 or later (required for full functionality), you can temporarily share audio from your iPhone to two sets of AirPods or Beats headphones with H1, H2 or W1 chips (e.g., AirPods Pro). Both devices must be iPhone 8 or later, iPad Pro 2nd Gen or newer, iPad Air 3rd Gen or later or iPad mini 5th Gen or later.Wear your AirPods (connected to your iPhone) and start playing audio (optional but recommended for visibility)Open Control CenterTap the AirPlay icon (triangle with circles)Select Share AudioBring the other person’s headphones near your iPhone and place AirPods in their caseOpen the lidHold the pairing button until the prompt appearsIf undetected, ensure their headphones are in pairing mode (Hold case button)Select their headphones from the Share Audio menuThe friend may need to tap Join on their device if sharing via iPhone proximityAdjust volumes separately via Control Center’s volume slider4. Find your lost AirPodsThe challenge of wireless earbuds is how easy it is to misplace or lose them or the case they are housed in. Apple has provided an easy way to help you keep track of both your case and AirPods with the "Find My" feature. To use this feature to find your AirPods or case:Open the Find My app on your iPhoneSelect the Devices tabChoose your AirPods. Under each device, you see a location or "No location found"If you think your AirPods are near you, click Play Sound5. Announce callersInstead of fumbling to find your phone to find out who is calling you, you can have your AirPods announce who is calling you. To turn on this feature:Go to Settings on your iPhoneTap on AppsTap PhoneTap Announce CallsSelect Headphones Only6. Customize controls on your AirPodsMost users know that double-pressing the AirPods stems once or twice plays or pauses whatever audio you’re listening to or answers a call. You can, however, customize AirPods settings to provide a different function. If you want to customize each stem to do something else:Go to Settings on your iPhoneTap your AirPodsUnder Press and Hold AirPods, select Left or Right and choose what happens when you double-press that AirPod: Noise Control, Siri, Answer Call, Mute & Unmute or End Call Steps to customize controls on AirPods (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)7. Find out what the different colored lights meanThe status light on your AirPods case uses colors and flashing patterns to indicate battery levels, charging status and pairing states. Location varies by model (front for AirPods Pro/3/4/Wireless cases; inside for Lightning cases on AirPods 1/2).Steady lightsGreen (AirPods in case, lid open): Both AirPods and case are fully chargedGreen (AirPods out of case, lid open): The case alone is fully chargedAmber/Orange (AirPods in case, lid open): AirPods are currently charging (not yet full)Amber/Orange (AirPods out of case, lid open): Case has less than one full charge (not necessarily "one charge left")Flashing lightsFlashing White: AirPods are in pairing mode (ready for setup)Flashing Amber/Orange: Indicates a pairing error requiring a reset, not just re-setupNo Light: Case or AirPods are completely drainedGET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERECharging behaviorPlugged in/Wireless charging: Amber = actively charging; Green = fully chargedOptimized Charging (Pro/3/4): Pauses charging at 80% if enabled (Settings > Bluetooth > AirPods)8. Use AirPods as a hearing aidOne of the most impressive features of AirPods is the ability to turn your iPhone into a remote listening device and AirPods into hearing aids. If you’re in a loud environment and can’t hear the person standing next to you, you can place the iPhone near the person you want to hear and the iPhone microphone will transmit whatever they say to the AirPods connected to the iPhone, making it easier for you to hear them. To enable this feature:Open the Control Center on your iPhone (usually accessed by swiping down on your phone’s screen)Tap the Hearing iconTap Live ListenPlace the iPhone near the sound source (works up to 50 feet) Step to use AirPods as a hearing aid (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)9. Reach Siri without pulling out your phoneMost AirPods let you access Siri hands-free when connected to an Apple device with Siri enabled. If your hands are full, or you don’t want to use your iPhone, just say, "Hey, Siri," to send texts, check battery life, skip songs, set timers and more. Note: On AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4, you can also just say "Siri" without needing to say "Hey, Siri." To use Siri with AirPods:Make sure Siri is enabled on your device (Settings > Siri)With AirPods in your ears, say "Hey Siri" (or just "Siri" on supported models)You can also activate Siri by pressing or tapping your AirPods (double-tap, press-and-hold or Digital Crown (depending on model)10. Answer or decline calls without making a sound or pressing a buttonYou can answer or decline calls without saying a word or pressing any buttons by using the Head Gestures feature with your AirPods. When this feature is on, you can nod your head up and down or shake it side to side to accept or decline calls while wearing your AirPods. To enable Head Gestures once your AirPods are connected to your iPhone:Go to SettingsTap your AirPods name at the topTap Head GesturesToggle Head Gestures onChoose your preferred motion for Accept/Reply (Up and Down or Side to Side)Choose your preferred motion for Decline/Dismiss (Up and Down or Side to Side)Now, when you get a call, Siri will announce the caller, and you can nod to answer or shake your head to decline without touching your phone or AirPods.Kurt’s key takeawaysApple has truly revolutionized the wireless listening experience with AirPods. Not only does it elevate your experience seamlessly within the Apple ecosystem, but it also makes your life better with plenty of hidden features. Whether you want to hear others more clearly or simply make your life easier, AirPods include an incredible number of features that pack a punch.Have you explored all these hidden features of AirPods? Which hidden features are your favorites? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFor more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to cover.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Apple's M4 MacBook Air (2025) brings a little more power to the thin and light form factor, while optimizing what made it great in the first place.

In a world where consumers are bombarded with choices and marketing messages, the only way for businesses to truly stand out is by making every interaction feel personal.

The world's biggest video sharing platform, YouTube, just turned 20. What started inauspiciously in February 2005 as a modest experiment by three former PayPal employees – Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim – has since reshaped media, culture, and entertainment on a global scale. The first-ever upload on YouTube was a grainy, 19-second clip of Karim at the San Diego Zoo – hardly a sign of the media giant it would become. At the time, YouTube's impact on the media landscape was so minimal that it wasn't even mentioned in The Guardian's coverage of TV's digital revolution at the Edinburgh TV Festival. Editor's Note: Guest author Alex Connock is a Fellow at the Said Business School, University of Oxford and Lecturer at St Hugh's College Oxford. He also is Professor of Practice at Exeter University, and Head of the Department of Creative Business at the National Film and Television School. He is Vice Chair of UNICEF UK and a trustee at the Halle Orchestra. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.Twenty years on, it's a different story. YouTube is a massive competitor to TV, an engagement beast, uploading as much new video every five minutes as the 2,400 hours BBC Studios produces in a whole year. The 26-year-old YouTube star MrBeast earned US$85 million in 2024 from videos – ranging from live Call of Duty play-alongs to handing out 1,000 free cataract operations. As a business, YouTube is now worth some $455 billion. That is a spectacular 275 times return on the $1.65 billion Google paid for it in 2006. For the current YouTube value, Google could today buy British broadcaster ITV about 127 times. YouTube has similar gross revenue to streaming giant Netflix – but without the financial inconvenience of making shows, since most of the content is uploaded for free. YouTube's first video: a 19-second look at the elephants of San Diego Zoo. YouTube has 2.7 billion monthly active users, or 40% of the entire global population outside China, where it is blocked. It is also now one of the biggest music streaming sites, and the second biggest social network (to Facebook), plus a paid broadcast channel for 100 million subscribers. YouTube has built a video Library of Babel, its expansive shelves lined eclectically with Baby Shark Dance, how to fix septic tanks, who would win a shooting war between Britain and France … and quantum physics. The site has taken over global children's programming to the point where Wired magazine pointed out that the future of this genre actually "isn't television." But there are flaws, too: it has been described as a conduit for disinformation by fact checkers. So how did all that happen? Eight key innovations have helped YouTube achieve its success. 1. How new creativity is paid for Traditional broadcast and print uses either the risk-on, fixed cost of hiring an office full of staff producers and writers, or the variable but risky approach of one-off commissioning from freelancers. Either way, the channel goes out of pocket, and if the content fails to score with viewers, it loses money. YouTube did away with all that, flipping the risk profile entirely to the creator, and not paying upfront at all. It doesn't have to deal with the key talent going out clubbing all night and being late to the set, not to mention other boring aspects of production like insurance, cash flow or contracts. 2. The revenue model of media YouTube innovated by dividing any earnings with the creator, via an advertising income split of roughly 50% (the exact amount varies in practice). This incentivises creators to study the science of engagement, since it makes them more money. MrBeast has a team employed just to optimise the thumbnails for his videos. MrBeast has a whole team dedicated to optimizing his thumbnails. 3. Advertising Alongside parent company Google/Alphabet, and especially with the introduction of YouTube Analytics and other technologies, the site adrenalised programmatic video advertising, where ad space around a particular viewer is digitally auctioned off to the highest buyer, in real time. That means when you land on a high-rating Beyoncé video and see a pre-roll ad for Grammarly, the advertiser algorithmically liked the look of your profile, so bid money to show you the ad. When that system works, it is ultra efficient, the key reason why the broad, demographics-based broadcast TV advertising market is so challenged. Also see: YouTube by the numbers: uncovering YouTube's ghost town of billions of unwatched, ignored videos 4. Who makes content About 50 million people now think they are professional creators, many of them on YouTube. Influencers have used the site to build businesses without mediation from (usually white and male) executives in legacy media. This has driven, at its best, a major move towards the democratization and globalization of content production. Brazil and Kenya both have huge, eponymous YouTube creator economies, giving global distribution to diverse voices that realistically would been disintermediated in the 20th century media ecology. 5. The way we tell stories Traditional TV ads and films start slow and build to a climax. Not so YouTube videos – and even more, YouTube Shorts – which prioritize a big emotive hit in the first few seconds for engagement, and regular further hits to keep people there. MrBeast's leaked internal notes describe how to do sequential escalation, meaning moving to more elaborate or extreme details as a video goes on: "An example of a one thru three minute tactic we would use is crazy progression," he says, reflecting his deep homework. "I spent basically five years of my life studying virality on YouTube." 6. Copyright Back in 2015, if someone stole your intellectual property – say, old episodes of Mr Bean - and re-broadcast it on their own channel, you would call a media lawyer and sue. Now there is a better option – Content ID – to take the money instead. Through digital rights monetization, owners can algorithmically discover their own content and claim the ad revenue, a material new income stream for producers. 7. Video technicalities Most technical innovations in video production have found their way to the mainstream via YouTube, such as 360-degree, 4K, VR and other tech acronyms. And now YouTube has started to integrate generative AI into its programme-producing suite for creators, with tight integration of Google's Veo tools. These will offer, according to CEO Neal Mohan, "billions of people around the world access to AI". This is another competitive threat to traditional producers, because bedroom creators can now make their own visual effects-heavy fan-fiction episodes of Star Wars. 8. News YouTube became a rabbit hole of disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy, via a reinforcement-learning algorithm that prioritizes view time but not editorial accuracy. Covid conspiracy fans got to see "5G health risk" or "chemtrail" videos, because the algorithm knew they might like them, too. How can the big, legacy media brands respond? Simple. By meeting the audience where the viewers are, and putting their content on YouTube. The BBC has 14.7 million YouTube subscribers. ITV is exploiting its catalogue to put old episodes of Thunderbirds on there. Meanwhile, as of February 2025, Channel 4 also announced success in reaching young viewers via YouTube. Full episode views were "up 169% year-on-year, surpassing 110 million organic views in the UK".

Table of Contents Table of Contents OnePlus 13T: global launch date and price OnePlus 13T: design and display OnePlus 13T: specs OnePlus 13T: battery OnePlus 13T: cameras After a long wait filled with leaks and rumors, the OnePlus 13T has officially made its debut in China. It’s a smaller, more compact alternative to the main OnePlus 13 lineup, and despite initial guesses, it’s called the 13T — not the OnePlus 13 Mini. It’s a smaller phone for those that prefer subtle devices over pocket-busters, but that doesn’t mean it lacks power. Unlike devices like the now-defunct iPhone Mini, the OnePlus 13T doesn’t sacrifice power for size. It’s currently only available in China, but there is hope for a global launch. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest handheld from OnePlus. Recommended Videos OnePlus The OnePlus 13T launched in China today, and although a global launch is largely expected, it hasn’t been confirmed. There is no official word on when or if the smaller handheld will make its way to the United States or other markets. That said, OnePlus tends to release its devices globally within a few months of the Chinese launch. Related Without knowing whether the phone will release in other areas, all we can do is guess at the price. That said, its price in China is enticing: just CNY 3,399, which is roughly $470 for the base model. That’s not bad at all, although western pricing could be more due to the ongoing tariffs. OnePlus In terms of overall design, the OnePlus 13T isn’t a drastic departure from the rest of the OnePlus 13 lineup, but there are a few notable changes. The biggest and most surprising is loss of the alert slider. The slider has been a part of the OnePlus brand since the first device launched in 2014, so it’s a big change. Taking its place is a shortcut button that can be programmed to perform specific tasks, suggesting this might be a permanent change for all OnePlus phones going forward. It has a screen size of 6.32 inches versus the 6.82 inches of the OnePlus 13. That’s still large in comparison to other devices (even an iPhone 16 is only 6.1 inches), but it is notably smaller for OnePlus. The phone is also an ounce lighter than the OnePlus 13 at 185 grams. The AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate, 1,600 nits peak brightness, and has Crystal Shield Glass to give it an edge against drops and scratches. There’s also an in-display fingerprint scanner and Face Unlock available, so no need to worry about it lacking modern conveniences. OnePlus The OnePlus 13T is literally just a smaller version of the OnePlus 13, at least as far as internal specs are concerned. It has the same 4.32GHz processor, the same 12GB/16GB of RAM, and the same 256GB/512GB internal storage. On this front, the two phones are identical. Battery size is where the compact phone stands out. You might think it would have a smaller battery because of its tinier frame, but the opposite is actually true. It’s powered by a 6,260mAh silicon-carbide battery — bigger than the OnePlus 13’s 6,000mAh battery — and charges at speeds up to 80W through the SuperVOOC charging system. And despite its thin size, OnePlus has somehow managed to cram a 4,400mm square vapor chamber into the phone to help manage temperature, especially if you’re pushing the phone to its limits. The OnePlus 13T doesn’t slouch in terms of cameras, either. It has two 50MP rear lenses, one for the main camera and another for the telephoto camera. It also has a 16MP selfie cam on the front. However, OnePlus hasn’t made mention of Hasselblad tuning, so it isn’t clear whether the cameras are quite on-par with the OnePlus 13. Editors’ Recommendations

“Big Blue” has clawed its way back into investor favor, but the company needs to show staying power in AI to cement its comeback.

"Hard to reconcile" Trump orders Ed Dept to make AI a national priority while plotting agency’s death States could mess with Trump’s AI education plan if the Education Department dies. Ashley Belanger – Apr 24, 2025 4:56 pm | 31 Credit: breakermaximus | iStock / Getty Images Plus Credit: breakermaximus | iStock / Getty Images Plus Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Donald Trump's executive order requiring artificial intelligence training in education as a national priority has been met with enthusiasm and confusion. On the one hand, his plans to promote early AI training in K–12 schools appear to be "critical," as Trump says, to "maintain America’s global dominance in this technological revolution for future generations." To that end, the order established an AI Presidential Challenge to highlight significant student and educator achievements and encourage innovative thinking. "It is the policy of the United States to promote AI literacy and proficiency among Americans by promoting the appropriate integration of AI into education, providing comprehensive AI training for educators, and fostering early exposure to AI concepts and technology to develop an AI-ready workforce and the next generation of American AI innovators," Trump's order said. But on the other hand, Trump's plan depends on staffing and funding after several rounds of severe cuts in agencies he hopes will somehow find existing funding for his initiative. His plan also hinges on the existence of the Department of Education, which Trump is simultaneously seeking to eliminate. Only about half the staff are left at the DOE, EdWeek reported. John Bailey, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former director of the Office of Educational Technology under George W. Bush, told EdWeek that "it’s hard to kind of understand at a time when they’re deprioritizing federal education policy and priorities, how to reconcile that with establishing a national priority in this area." But possibly, he suggested, a sleeker department could streamline adoption of AI initiatives. However, perhaps critically, EdWeek pointed out, Trump recently cut "the team at the Education Department that was tasked with framing a national educational technology plan under multiple administrations and assisting states and districts in implementing technology in schools." Trump pushes for industry involvement It seems clear that Trump's executive order was a reaction to China's announcement about AI education reforms last week, as Reuters reported. Elsewhere, Singapore and Estonia have laid out their AI education initiatives, Forbes reported, indicating that AI education is increasingly considered critical to any nation's success. Trump's vision for the US requires training teachers and students about what AI is and what it can do. He offers no new appropriations to fund the initiative; instead, he directs a new AI Education Task Force to find existing funding to cover both research into how to implement AI in education and the resources needed to deliver on the executive order's promises. Although AI advocates applauded Trump's initiative, the executive order's vagueness makes it uncertain how AI education tools will be assessed as Trump pushes for AI to be integrated into "all subject areas." Possibly using AI in certain educational contexts could disrupt learning by confabulating misinformation, a concern that the Biden administration had in its more cautious approach to AI education initiatives. Trump also seems to push for much more private sector involvement than Biden did. The order recommended that education institutions collaborate with industry partners and other organizations to "collaboratively develop online resources focused on teaching K–12 students foundational AI literacy and critical thinking skills." These partnerships will be announced on a "rolling basis," the order said. It also pushed students and teachers to partner with industry for the Presidential AI Challenge to foster collaboration. For Trump's AI education plan to work, he will seemingly need the DOE to stay intact. However, so far, Trump has not acknowledged this tension. In March, he ordered the DOE to dissolve, with power returned to states to ensure "the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely." Were that to happen, at least 27 states and Puerto Rico—which EdWeek reported have already laid out their own AI education guidelines—might push back, using their power to control federal education funding to pursue their own AI education priorities and potentially messing with Trump's plan. Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley Belanger Senior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 31 Comments

Reindeer fur would have helped ancient humans endure the climate of the last glacial maximumEsteban De Armas/Shutterstock An open-air site in Austria occupied by humans during the coldest part of the last glacial period may have been dedicated to hunting reindeer for pelts, showing how people adapted to extreme temperatures in Europe. The site, called Kammern-Grubgraben, was heavily occupied from around 24,000 to 20,000 years ago and contains the largest abundance of tools, ornaments, artefacts and stone structures in Europe during the cold and unforgiving most recent glacial maximum. At this time, the mean annual temperature…

Despite the geopolitical chaos and market collapses triggered by President Trump’s announcement of broad tariffs on international goods, some supporters still hope the strategy will produce a “golden age” of American industry. Trump himself insists, “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” While it’s possible that very targeted tariffs could help protect some nascent sectors of domestic manufacturing, the belief in the power of blunt tariffs flies in the face of manufacturing reality. And it’s not just the idea of a speedy return to economic prowess thanks to smoke-belching factories and the sudden ability to cheaply assembled armies of iPhones that strains credulity. The sweeping tariffs ignore the complexities of today’s supply chains and the way technology advances are shifting how and where goods are made. In fact, the high and crudely designed tariffs set out by the administration could damage a recent rebound in US manufacturing. Building factories and the supply chains they run on takes years—even decades—of steady investment. Meanwhile, tariffs have the immediate impact of boosting costs for critical supplies, many of which come from overseas—helping to raise prices and, in turn, slowing demand. None of that is good for those planning to invest in US manufacturing. “Tariffs, in general, as a tool for encouraging the type of manufacturing we want in the US are a terrible instrument,” says Elisabeth Reynolds, a professor of the practice at MIT. Reynolds, who was an advisor to President Biden on manufacturing and economic development, says the Trump tariffs will raise the costs of US manufacturing without providing incentives for “strategic investments in the technologies we care about for national and economic security.” Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School, says the tariffs feel like “random acts of violence” in how they hurt manufacturing and supply chains. Because the tariffs proposed so far “are so scattershot and change so often,” he says, “it’s basically freezing up investments. Who is going to make any kind of investment commitment when things are changing so fast?” There are already indications that the prospect of widespread tariffs could be harming the US manufacturing boom. One closely scrutinized survey called the Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, showed troublingearly signs of rising costs for manufacturers due to the tariffs. Other indicators watched carefully by policy wonks, including surveys of manufacturers by theNew York Federal Reserve Bank, the Richmond Fed, and thePhiladelphia Fed, also show a loss of confidence among US producers and drops in new orders and hiring. The longer-terms effects of the tariffs are, of course, unknown. For one thing, the specifics—how large, how long, and on what countries—seem to be constantly shifting. And that’s a big part of the problem: For manufacturers and investors, uncertainty is the killer of plans for expansion, new factories, and even the R&D that feeds into new products. It’s that uncertainty, above all else, that could derail a reindustrialization still in the early stages for much of the country. In fact, US manufacturing in the years following the covid pandemic has been booming—or at least the groundwork for such a boom is getting built. Until the most recent few months, spending on the construction of factorieshad been soaring. New facilities to build batteries, solar cells, semiconductors, electric motors, and other new technologies are springing up all around the country—or wereuntil very recently. “We never had more construction starts in the United States than we’ve had in the past four years,” says Milo Werner, a partner at the venture capital firm DCVC. “We’re at this amazing moment where we could actually rebuild Main Street America and bring back the industrial base.” The move to bolster US manufacturing was fueled by a sense during the beginning of the pandemic that the country must regain the ability to make critical products and technologies. Thedecline of US manufacturing had become obvious. Federal support torebuild the industrial base came in a series of bills passed during the Biden administration, including the CHIPS and Science Act and the climate bill. At the same time, opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and automation breakthroughs have spurred an appetite for new investments among many manufacturers. Many of those technologies are just starting to be deployed, but they promise a way for US producers to finally become more competitive with those in low-wage economies. If the Trump tariffs slow or even reverse such progress, the impact on the country’s economic and technological future could be devastating. There are a lot of reasons to want a stronger US industrial base. But it’s not mainly about whether we have countless well-paying jobs for those with only a high school diploma and little technical training, despite what you will hear from many politicians. Those days are mostly long gone. Manufacturing jobs account fora little under 10% of total jobs in the US. That percentage hasn’t changed much over the last few decades—nor is it likely to grow much in coming years even if manufacturing output increases, because automation and other advanced digital tools will likely cut into the demand for human workers. Still, manufacturing is critical to the future of the US economy in other ways. The invention of new stuff and production processes greatly benefits from an intimate connection to manufacturing capabilities and expertise. In short, your chances of successfully creating a new type of battery or AI chip are much greater if you’re familiar with the intricacies of manufacturing such products. It’s a lesson that was often forgotten in the 2000s as companies, led by such Silicon Valley giants as Apple, focused on design and marketing, leaving the production work to China and other countries. The strategy created huge profits but severely crimped the United States’ ability to move ahead with a next generation of technology. In 2010, Intel cofounder Andy Grove famouslywarned, “Abandoning today’s ‘commodity’ manufacturing can lock you out of tomorrow’s emerging industry.” Prompted by such concerns, in 2011 I visited manufacturers across the country, from industrial giants like GE and Dow Chemical to startups with exciting new technologies, and wrote “Can We Build Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs?” Over the next few years, the answer to the headline’s question proved to be no. GE and Dow gave up on their most innovative manufacturing ventures in batteries and solar, while nearly none of the startups survived. The US was great at inventing new stuff, it turns out, but lousy at making it. The hope is that this situation is changing as the country builds up its manufacturing muscles. The stakes are particularly high. The value of producing strategic goods and their supply chains domestically—biomedicine, critical minerals, advanced semiconductors—is becoming obvious to both politicians and economists. If we want to turn today’s scientific breakthroughs in energy, chips, drugs, and key military technologies such as drones into actual products, the US will need to once again be a manufacturing powerhouse. Limited tariffs could help. That’s especially true, says DCVC’s Werner, in some strategically important areas marked by a history of unfair trade practices. Rare-earth magnets, which are found in everything from electric motors to drones to robots, are one example. “Decades ago, China flooded the US economy with low-cost magnets,” she says. “All our domestic magnet manufacturers went out of business.” Now, she suggests, tariffs could provide short-term protection to US companies developing advanced manufacturing techniques to make those products, helping them compete with low-cost versions made in China. “You’re not going to be able to rely on tariffs forever, but it’s an example of the important role that tariffs could play,” she says. Even Harvard’s Shih, who considers the sweeping Trump tariffs “crazy,” says that far more limited versions could be a useful tool in some circumstance to give temporary market protection to domestic manufacturers developing critical early-stage technologies. But, he adds, such tariffs need to be “very targeted” and quickly phased out. For the successful use of tariffs, “you really have to understand how global trade and supply chains work,” Shih says. “And trust me, there is no evidence that these guys actually understand how it works.” What’s really at stake when we talk about the country’s reindustrialization is our future pipeline of new technologies. The portfolio of technologies emerging from universities and startups in energy production and storage, materials, computing, and biomedicine has arguably never been richer. Meanwhile, AI and advanced robotics could soon transform our ability to manufacture these technologies and products. The danger is that backward-looking policy choices geared toward a bygone era of manufacturing could destroy that promising progress.

The author enjoys spending time with her family outside. Courtesy of Melissa Noble 2025-04-25T10:07:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? My husband and I have three kids, and in recent years, things have gotten more expensive. We've figured out ways to make our money stretch further for our family of five. I buy generic brands at the grocery store and we spend time outdoors for entertainment. As a family of five, we have definitely felt the pinch in recent years. It feels like so many things are getting more expensive, including the cost of groceries, daycare, utility bills, insurance premiums, and more.In order to make ends meet, we've had to make a few adjustments to our spending habits. Our lifestyle has definitely changed, but I wouldn't say that it's necessarily a bad thing. In fact, reining in our spending has meant that when we splurge on nice-to-haves, we appreciate them more.Here are the tweaks we've made that have worked for us.I meal plan and buy generic brand groceriesI try to meal plan as much as possible in such a way where we're using up all the ingredients we buy. For example, if I buy sour cream for a Mexican dish, I use the rest up up in a dessert as well, rather than letting it go bad.I don't let anything go to waste at home. If vegetables are starting to wilt or go soft, I throw them in a soup or stew. If meat is about to turn bad, I freeze it and use it later in the month.I've always been a thrifty shopper, but I am even more budget-conscious nowadays. I buy the generic brands and check what's cheapest according to the unit price at the grocery store. Sometimes, I'll buy in bulk if it means saving money per unit and it's something we'll use up eventually.We also eat what's in season or on special. If blueberries are $8 a basket and apples are $2 a pound, apples it is.We rarely eat out at restaurantsWhen we only had one child, my husband and I used to love eating out. We ate out once or twice a week, but now that we're a family of five, it's just too expensive.We probably only eat out at a restaurant once every few months now. Often, we'll make it a date night and leave the kids at home, so that my husband and I can enjoy the outing in peace (and it's also cheaper that way).Funnily enough, I don't miss going out to restaurants at all. Not only are we saving money, but we're also eating more wholesome, home-cooked food. When we do eat out, it feels like a real treat, too.We cut back on subscriptions and spend our free time outside or with friendsThree years ago, we moved to Bright in regional Victoria, Australia. Living in the country, we had to get better at making our own fun and discovered that free entertainment is actually a joy.Nowadays, most of our weekends are jam-packed with picnics and nature walks, bike rides and dinners at friends' houses, or friends coming over to ours. We also invest in quality "toys" that will last the distance and provide entertainment in years to come. For example, all of us have mountain bikes that we ride most weeks.One of my favorite hobbies is reading, and to save money, I've started using the library rather than buying books. Libraries are such a great resource, even in a small town like ours.We've also cut back on subscriptions we don't need, like streaming services. The author and her family invest in items that will provide entertainment for a long time, like mountain bikes. Courtesy of Melissa Noble I swap clothes with friends or buy secondhandI used to love buying nice clothes, but my priorities have shifted. When I do buy something, I love buying secondhand. It's a great way to find quality clothing (sometimes even designer brands) for a fraction of the usual cost.My friends and I lend each other clothes for special occasions in order to save money, and I also hosted a swap party with a bunch of my friends recently. Everyone brought clothes, jewellery, perfumes, and books they no longer wanted, and went home with a bag of goodies at the end of the night. It was a great way to reduce, reuse, and recycle.Budgeting has been key, and every little bit adds upOverall, adjusting our spending habits has helped us stay afloat during what has been a challenging time financially for many families. Having a clear understanding of where our money is going has been crucial, and has allowed us to identify areas to save. It's easy to forget that every little bit adds up, but it definitely does! Recommended video