2021
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Pandemic pain is fueling robo-realism
Financial Times columnist Sarah O’Connor recently wrote the type of humility-driven reflection I wish pervaded tech coverage. She begins “Why I was wrong to be optimistic about robots” with an about-face confession that won’t surprise anyone steeped in political economy, but nevertheless is a refreshingly honest dose of fourth estate realism.
By
Evan Selinger
, written on From the Culture desk
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This has been the year of digital grieving
When we die, most of us alive today will be survived by the echo of our online platforms. For those we leave behind, it will be a semi-indelible comfort, an aching reminder, and at times an ever-unfolding chore. Often, it will be all of these things at once.
By
Lindsay Wallace
, written on From the Culture desk
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Hypto will now let you own viral moments in internet history
Hypto is an online marketplace for viral social content including videos, memes, and tweets. It will allow collectors to buy, trade, and resell viral content.
By
Aimee Pearcy
, written on From the Culture desk
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Will robot playmates become our children's only friends?
Picture this: your perennially shy seven-year-old asks you to invite a friend over on a random afternoon. Or, perhaps, you might find yourself pleasantly amazed by a series of loving notes left around your home, addressed to all the members of your family by your usually despondent and inattentive child.
By
Anna Rahmanan
, written on From the Culture desk
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ChitterChat: the 'socially acceptable' way to expand your network
At the beginning of February, Isaac Joy sat down and asked himself: “how would I like to use the internet?” A month later, he had created ChitterChat, a networking platform that encourages users to meet others online by connecting them with one new person each week.
By
Aimee Pearcy
, written on From the Culture desk
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Amazon’s union campaign is succeeding where other unions failed
Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, are currently voting by mail on whether or not to form a union. Their campaign against one of the world's most powerful -- and most anti-union -- corporations has captured public imagination, and inspired young activists, in a way that hasn't happened in almost a century.
By
John Logan
, written on From the Amazon desk
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It's the beginning of the end of the 'Uberisation' of work
Founded as an upmarket limousine service in California just over a decade ago, Uber today provides cheap taxi rides in thousands of cities across the world. The company has consistently maintained that it is merely a ridesharing platform – which, crucially, means that it does not employ its drivers.
By
Jeremias Adams-Prassl & Abi Adams-Prassl
, written on From the Gig Economy desk
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The world's first driverless water taxi has been built in Tennessee
Α month ago Don Βutler hopped on board a modular pontoon boat with four other guys for a ride along the Knoxville side of the Tennessee river. It was a sweet day; cloudy, but balmy. The boat speed went up to four knots, and its passengers traveled for a total of ten minutes up the river, and then for another ten minutes back down to the marina.
By
Stav Dimitropoulos
, written on From the Culture desk
