OneZero
analyse
Proposition 22 : What Has Changed, What Has Not - 5 novembre 2020
A cheat sheet for your doomscrolling
Proposition 22 passed in California on Tuesday. Uber, Lyft, and other gig economy companies spent more than $200 million on the ballot measure, which will allow them to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
Here’s what has changed :
Gig economy (...)
analyse
The Future of Decent Work Depends on the Failure of Prop 22 - 31 octobre 2020
If the Uber-backed ballot initiative passes, it may lay the groundwork for unrest not seen since the onset of the Industrial Revolution
In a moment absolutely overstuffed with events that all bear the weight of historic significance — the hard-right lurch of the Supreme Court, an election the president appears (...)
analyse
Running Political Ads on Google That Spread Disinformation Is Still Really Easy - Patrick Berlinquette - 28 octobre 2020
Why won’t Google change the algorithm ?
In July, I performed an experiment to see how easy it was to run ads on Google that made false claims about Joe Biden.
First, in the Google Ads system, I bought the keyword “should I vote for Biden ?” Then I told Google I wanted to run this ad :
Within an hour, Google (...)
analyse
Facebook’s Contracted Moderators Say They’re Paid to Follow Orders, Not Think - Will Oremus - 28 octobre 2020
Workers say they were discouraged from speaking up when they found flaws in the company’s policies
We know by now that moderating Facebook is a nightmare. We know that developing and enforcing a consistent set of rules across 2 billion users across nearly 200 countries is nigh impossible. We know that Facebook (...)
analyse
Shipt’s Algorithmically Calculated Wages Are Bad News for Workers - 27 octobre 2020
Dynamic pricing allows gig platforms much greater control over their workers
Gig workers who deliver groceries and other essentials for Shipt, a delivery gig platform owned by Target, went on strike this weekend, protesting the company’s new algorithm that determines how much they are paid.
Before this year, (...)
plainte
The Battle That Will Define Big Tech for Decades - Will Oremus - 25 octobre 2020
Google’s antitrust case won’t reshape the industry. But it’s the start of something that might.
The Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Google got a lot of attention this week, and understandably so. It mirrors the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft two decades ago, which stands as the (...)
analyse
How Amazon Lures ‘Artisanal’ Sellers and Hangs Them Out to Dry - 16 octobre 2020
This is Handmade’s tale
How Amazon Lures ‘Artisanal’ Sellers and Hangs Them Out to Dry
This is Handmade’s tale
Dave Stencil was puzzled when he noticed his Amazon sales spiking in mid-May.
The San Diego-based carpenter had been selling his handmade cutting boards and coasters on Amazon since 2015. That’s when (...)
analyse
‘Social Dilemma’ Star Tristan Harris Responds to Criticisms of the Film, Netflix’s Algorithm, and More - 8 octobre 2020
In a new interview, the former Google design ethicist weighs in on the backlash to the popular Netflix doc
OneZero is partnering with the Big Technology Podcast from Alex Kantrowitz to bring readers exclusive access to interview transcripts with notable figures in and around the tech industry.
This week, (...)
analyse
Google and Palantir Are Two Sides of the Same Coin - 5 octobre 2020
Both companies leverage vast amounts of data for unprecedented surveillance
If you know the name Palantir, you probably know that it’s associated with Peter Thiel, that it contracts with defense and law enforcement agencies, and that it works with data somehow, including data from surveillance systems. You might (...)
analyse
The Real Cost of the Ring Always Home Cam - 30 septembre 2020
A new drone from Amazon subsidiary Ring raises familiar questions
The phrase “surveillance capitalism” was coined by Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff to describe the system in which internet platforms such as Google and Facebook profit through free services that track users’ online behavior. Another company in (...)
analyse
How to Hack a Voting Machine. Hacker Rachel Tobac talks to OneZero… - 29 septembre 2020
Hacker Rachel Tobac talks to OneZero about DEF CON 2019 and fighting back against election hacking
Rachel Tobac doesn’t seem like those hooded hackers you see in standard stock art. She’s friendly and welcoming and the first to offer that she didn’t come from a technical background. In short, she has all the skills (...)
analyse
‘Aggression Detection’ Is Coming to Facial Recognition Cameras Around the World - 25 septembre 2020
Russian firm NTech Lab plans to roll emotional detection features worldwide as soon as 2021
NTech Lab, makers of Russia’s expansive real-time facial recognition surveillance system, is set to roll out “aggression detection” as well as “violence detection” features, which will flag law enforcement when the algorithm (...)
analyse
Inside the World’s ‘Most Sophisticated’ Surveillance System, With BuzzFeed News’ Megha Rajagopalan - 20 septembre 2020
A leading China reporter talks to Alex Kantrowitz about surveillance, internet censorship, and the internment of Muslims in Xinjiang
China’s mass internment of Muslims in its Xinjiang region is one of the world’s most under-covered stories. The country has detained 1 million people there, putting them through a (...)
analyse
Facebook’s Project Aria Is Google Maps — For Your Entire Life - 19 septembre 2020
A new augmented reality headset will create a map of everything you see
Google Street View emerged from a seemingly insane vision : Put cameras on cars, and drive them around the entire world to capture every street on the planet.
Over time, that data became more and more valuable. The footage from those cars (...)
analyse
Uber and Lyft’s California Proposal Is a Mishmash of Old Ideas - 17 septembre 2020
The past is our best guide for understanding the future of ride-hailing apps
Uber and Lyft are at war with the state of California after a judge ruled last month that ride-hailing companies, like other businesses, should be subject to a new law that classifies their workers as employees rather than independent (...)
analyse
This Is How the U.S. Military’s Massive Facial Recognition System Works - 15 septembre 2020
Documents obtained by OneZero show how the military captures biometric data around the world
Over the last 15 years, the United States military has developed a new addition to its arsenal. The weapon is deployed around the world, largely invisible, and grows more powerful by the day.
That weapon is a vast (...)
analyse
‘Zoom and Enhance’ Is Finally Here - 15 septembre 2020
And its surveillance implications are scary
We all know the scene. Two detectives on a cop show stand in a dimly lit room filled with monitors, reviewing surveillance images. A tech guy (yes, it’s almost always a guy) queues up image after image as the detectives look on, squinting at the screen in concentration. (...)
analyse
Apple’s New Privacy Settings Could Protect Us From Trackers. But Do We Care ? - 15 septembre 2020
Protecting our personal info is a lifestyle choice many of us aren’t making
“I am currently reading an article titled ‘10 Ways to Keep Sweaty Hands From Holding You Back,’” a man shouts from a toilet cubicle in Apple’s latest iPhone video. The ad is about a new feature in iOS 14 that blocks tracking cookies : bits of (...)
analyse
The Privatized Internet Is Failing Our Kids - 14 septembre 2020
The failure of online schooling highlights a basic flaw in our digital infrastructure : It wasn’t built to supply public goods.
Across much of the United States this week, schools “opened” via the internet, following others that had started remote learning last week or the week before. The results have been, at (...)
analyse
How Facebook Can Prevent Its Next Deadly “Operational Mistake” - 5 septembre 2020
If Zuckerberg cares at all about the platform’s impact, he should stop outsourcing content moderation now
On the morning of August 25, a self-proclaimed militia group on Facebook called Kenosha Guard put out a public call for people to “take up arms” and defend the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, from “evil thugs” — (...)
