Hi, I'm Monica Nicholsberg, co-host of KUOW's economy podcast, Booming.

Microsoft President Brad Smith's favorite catchphrase of the moment is,

AI is the electricity of our age.

The next great general purpose technology.

So what does that mean for all of us?

On the latest episode, I spoke with a tech historian to find out what lessons we can learn from the last time a truly revolutionary technology took over the world.

Listen to booming on the KUOW app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, good morning. I'm Patricia Murphy. It's Wednesday. This is Seattle now.

Seattle's best-known indie theater chain is in financial trouble. SIF laid off 21% of its administrative staff last week. Freeland's arts reporter and film critic Chase Hutchinson says our viewing habits have changed. And SIF is just the latest in a series of recent struggles for indie theaters.

We'll hear more from him in a minute, but first, let's get you caught up.

A year from now, the men's World Cup will kick off in North America.

City officials will celebrate this morning by unveiling a countdown clock at Seattle

Center at 1030. The city was selected as one of 16 to host World Cup matches next summer.

Seattle will host six matches, one of which will include Team USA. A rent-fixing technology could

soon be banned in Seattle.

The Seattle City Council will consider a bill today that would prohibit landlords and rental companies from using algorithmic rent-fixing software.

Critics say these software services enable collusion and can artificially inflate the price of housing. The legislation is being introduced by

outgoing council member Kathy Moore. She says the goal is to prevent renters from being displaced.

Meanwhile, Washington State has filed a lawsuit against the software company Real Page,

alleging that it violated the state's Consumer Protection Act. Today's city council meeting starts at 9.30.

And Washington is sending more than 200 firefighters north of the border to help fight wildfires in Canada. State officials

say the firefighters and equipment are headed to Alberta and Saskatchewan, where several large

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