Month: December 2016

This will be the last newsletter of the year. Wishing all my readers a Happy Holiday, a wonderful (if resisting!) New Year, and warm cookies.

Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability

Airbnb’s “social impact tourism” pairs travelers with local NGOs who need help (and more importantly, dollars).

Reputation, reputation, reputation

We might be backing our way into gender-biased AI.

Organizing Theory

Over 100 leaders in tech have signed a pledge to stand up for civil liberties, and to resist the use of their platforms for civil rights erosion by government agencies.

From Partners

The Century Foundation just put out some ideas on how to deal systematically with income volatility.

Theorizing the Web has released a call for papers for their April conference.

What’s Going on in the Workforce

You thought parental consent was just for teenaged girls’ private medical decisions? Nope, if this bill in Texas passes, unions will also need to secure parental consent before a 17 year old can join.

My only question about this otherwise-excellent piece on what life is like for restaurant cooks is: why is the writer committed to using statistics from the National Restaurant Association?

Google wants to take the idea of drone delivery, and replace it with dog delivery. Robot dog, that is. Can you say “fetch, Google Assistant?” (and can they come up with a catchier name for their AI?)

What’s Going on in the Workforce

The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission wants data, to make sure drivers aren’t driving unsafe amounts of hours. Unsurprisingly, Uber doesn’t want to share data.

“What if I want to retire at some point before I die?” The ‘joys’ of freelancing, explained by veteran freelance journalist Jake Blumgart.

Uber has told the IDG that there won’t be more cuts to drivers’ rates (at least in NYC).

Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability

Self-employment (including as an independent contractor) is costing the British government millions in lost tax revenue. Here’s a new report that looks at the conditions for agency workers in the UK.

Volkswagon is the most recent company to jump into the ride-sharing space.

It sometimes feels like every place outside the US is further along in pushing back against capitalism in the digital age. Here’s a good report from Mexico on efforts to unite the cooperatives working through online platforms.

In the interest of reducing consumer culture, Sweden is giving people tax breaks to fix their broken stuff.

Organizing Theory

To fight hate, we must document it.

From Partners

Want to make yourself cry over the election results all over again? Check out this report on the Department of Labor’s work during the Obama Administration.

I’m pleased to be one of the 100+ leaders who signed on to a new call for economic security through universal basic income last week.

Geeking Out

State of the country got you down? Watch this robotic pen for a while. Maybe the robots will do a better job running the earth.

From Partners

Pew finds that nearly 25% of Americans earned some kind of income from the platform economy last year, in this new report.

Interested in writing about precarious work? Check out this call for papers.

Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability

A new, black-owned ride-sharing app wants to serve the communities Uber & Lyft are leaving behind, in the US & Africa. And Sweden is looking to ban for-profit ride-sharing, but is pro-carpooling.

The CEO of Honor talks about why he founded a company to combine tech with home care, why they chose to make everyone a W-2 employee, and what they see in the future of human-centered business.

Geeking Out

We’re missing out on the opportunity to start regulating the Internet of Things, because the federal government can’t decide which agency should lead.

What’s Going on in the Workforce

Yet another gig economy company changes its service fee/tipping policy, resulting in a cut in workers’ pay.

I mean, I guess if you’re eating at a restaurant that serves Pizza Hut instead of actual pizza, you won’t mind if you’re served by a robot instead of a human?

And while we’re on the subject of job-destroying automation, check out Amazon’s take on the cashier-less store.

Events

Data scientists in Washington State want to talk about how to use their skills to help answer questions for social service & policy-based organizations.