Santa Cruz Works News — Updates on Events, Community Stories & Local Innovation

INNOVATION NEWS

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NOTE: Our blogs are typically “assisted by AI”. We use AI to assist us in research and style the way a human editor would.

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Doug Erickson 9/19/26 Doug Erickson 9/19/26

Don't Blame the Bomb.

AI isn't the villain — the people building it and the government refusing to govern it are. A lesson from WebEx's churn crisis, a Santa Cruz historian, and why accountability after the fact is no accountability at all.

Doug Erickson 9/29/24 Doug Erickson 9/29/24

Second Mouse AI: Apple's AI Strategy

Galloway explores how Apple’s approach to artificial intelligence, rebranded as "Apple Intelligence," emphasizes consumer-friendly design and seamless integration, contrasting the hype-driven AI narrative dominating tech giants.

Neil Erickson 9/2/20 Neil Erickson 9/2/20

Scott Galloway on "Remarkable People" Podcast

In yet another remarkable podcast, Guy Kawasaki brings on his “most outspoken” guest to date: Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at NYU Stern and founder of section4.

October 28, 2026

The Sphere Is Spectacular. Now Make It Fit in a Parking Lot.

Elevation XR's Sean Ahearn brings Sphere-style immersion to modular geodesic domes that can land almost anywhere. He will present at Santa Cruz Works New Tech on November 5. Bring questions.

Why Santa Cruz County Is Winning the Road-Trip Economy

Santa Cruz County hotels just posted their strongest gains in years. High fuel costs are steering travelers toward drivable destinations, and bets on AI trip planning and autism-forward hospitality are helping the county win them

NSF Funding Brings Super Intelligence to K-12 Classrooms

NSF released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) titled "Supplemental Funding Requests to Support Super Intelligence (SI) Innovation in the Presidential SI Challenge." The goal is to spark student interest in SI and build foundational expertise through hands-on, experiential learning.

No Screens, No Streams: Santa Cruz Scene Is A Calendar Built for Showing Up

A free, locals-run calendar is out to prove that Santa Cruz County has never been short on things to do.

Your Body Is Live-Streaming. Fullpower-AI Built Something That Actually Watches.

Santa Cruz's Fullpower-AI has introduced KOA Orchestration, an architecture designed to turn your body's nonstop stream of biological data into context, insights, and action—without depending on any single AI model to do the thinking.

October 25, 2026

Joby Aviation Named One of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026

Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation has been named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2026, earning national recognition for its all-electric air taxi and its potential to transform urban transportation.

October 21, 2026

Santa Cruz County Brings Claude Aboard. What If It Helped Everything?

Supervisors approved the County's 2026 AI work plan, including a discounted Claude contract. We look at what changed, and imagine one AI interface that could search every County site and database.

Did Ukraine’s Strikes on Russian Data Centers Really Take Down Millions of Bots?

Ukraine attacked Russian data centers and shortly after a graph that illustrated a massive drop off of bot activity went viral. Unfortunately, the graph was quite misleading.

Reservoir Farms Expands to Washington State, Bringing Agricultural Robotics to Yakima Valley

The Salinas-based agricultural technology incubator will open its first Pacific Northwest location in spring 2027, focusing on robotics for tree fruit, blueberries and other high-value crops.