The Markup

Ok let’s do this! For The Markup’s first #Newstodon Friday, we’re reading this piece which summarizes recent research into “algorithmic wage discrimination.” https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2023-04-11/algorithmic-wage-discrimination

The finding is that gig companies are using algorithms to discover the lowest rate that people are willing to work for.

Tagging in our friends at @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom and more to share a piece! #journalism #fediverse

Column: Are you a victim of algorithmic wage discrimination? If not, just wait

With reams of data at their disposal, companies like Uber and Amazon are demolishing the notion that people who do the same work should receive the same pay for it.

Los Angeles Times
Apr 14, 2023 at 2:02pmWeb
Show threadNoah CallawayApr 14, 2023
@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom the information disparity between Uber and an Uber driver is so big. Dynamic pricing on the consumer end is also going to be a problem.
Show threadgbhnewsApr 14, 2023

@themarkup

It's another fabulous #Newstodon Friday! 🌞 📰

In our newsroom this week it's All Boston Marathon All The Time (well, not really, we cover everything relevant to our local audience too!)

It's the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. We interviewed survivors...who had tons of wisdom for us about life: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/04/13/at-the-intersection-of-running-and-trauma-these-marathoners-find-healing

We looked at the SCIENCE of marathoning. What would it take to break the 2-hour marathon record? 🔎 https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/04/13/what-would-it-take-to-crack-the-elusive-2-hour-marathon-time-on-bostons-course

At the intersection of running and trauma, these marathoners find healing

Robert Wheeler, who runs to help cope with trauma symptoms, says runners with trauma have “a little more fire” in them.

News
Show threadgbhnewsApr 14, 2023

@themarkup @gbhnews' @craiglemoult is here in the #Fediverse and you're not going to miss his coverage of a topic so fun and quirky: it's about the cyclists who do a midnight ride along the #Boston #Marathon course: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/04/13/for-crowds-of-cyclists-a-midnight-ride-before-the-boston-marathon-is-an-enduring-tradition

(also pls follow @craiglemoult and give him a warm welcome to the #fediverse !!)

For crowds of cyclists, a 'midnight ride' before the Boston Marathon is an enduring tradition

The informal nocturnal event has drawn thousands of bikers in past years.

News
Show threadThe MarkupApr 14, 2023
@gbhnews Welcome to Mastodon @craiglemoult! Lovely story
Show threadMattApr 14, 2023

@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom

Informative and alarming. Great reporting by Brian Merchant who is on Mastodon

Show threadDAME MagazineApr 14, 2023

@gbhnews @TexasObserver @STAT @mongabay @TheConversationUS @thexylom

Thanks for taking the lead, @themarkup

Happy #Newstodon Friday to our #Journalism friends and everyone here.

We're sharing @andreagrimes fantastic column this week on bias in AI

https://www.damemagazine.com/2023/04/11/the-unbearable-white-maleness-of-ai/

The Unbearable White Maleness of AI | Dame Magazine

Tech pundits presume artificial intelligence is something you either conquer or succumb to. But they're looking at it all wrong.

Dame Magazine
Show threadZeroTr0llApr 14, 2023
@damemagazine @gbhnews @TexasObserver @STAT @mongabay @thexylom @themarkup @andreagrimes @TheConversationUS
Paranoid, sexist and racist. Wow! What a great article!
FFS
Show threadThe Conversation U.S.Apr 14, 2023

@damemagazine @gbhnews @TexasObserver @STAT @mongabay @thexylom @themarkup

Happy #Newstodon Friday!

For our story of the week, a look at how a #TikTok ban would be very difficult to enforce technologically, according to a specialist in #Cybersecurity.

It might even create incentives for even riskier digital behavior, depending on exactly how a ban is implemented and how users try to get around it

https://theconversation.com/banning-tiktok-could-weaken-personal-cybersecurity-203398 #News #SocialMedia

Banning TikTok could weaken personal cybersecurity

Legislation meant to improve cybersecurity could be difficult to implement and might create incentives for riskier digital behavior.

The Conversation
Show threadMongabayApr 14, 2023

@TheConversationUS @damemagazine @gbhnews @TexasObserver @STAT @thexylom @themarkup

Happy #Newstodon Friday!

For our story, check out a Mongabay analysis of the largest-ever private philanthropic campaign for biodiversity conservation, which has found about a quarter of the pledged $5 billion has already been allocated, but a lack of detail over exactly how some of the funds are being spent has raised concerns over transparency and accountability.

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/bankrolling-biodiversity-how-are-private-philanthropists-investing-in-nature/

#Philanthropy

Bankrolling biodiversity: How are private philanthropists investing in nature?

The largest-ever private philanthropic campaign for biodiversity conservation is on track to reach its target by 2030, but a lack of detail over exactly how some of the funds are being spent has raised concerns over transparency and accountability. A Mongabay analysis has found that about a quarter of the $5 billion pledged through the […]

Mongabay Environmental News
Show threadTexas ObserverApr 14, 2023

Is it #Newstodon Friday again already? 🤠 This week we'll share two articles on threats to public ed:
'#School Choice' Is Just a Ploy to Defund Public #Education, by @drdrbrockman https://www.texasobserver.org/school-choice-is-just-a-ploy-to-defund-public-ed/

#Texas Public #Schools on the Edge by @josephinelee https://www.texasobserver.org/propery-tax-public-schools-teacher-pay-wages/

💡 Remember, if you like reading #news in the fediverse ... support the publications you read with subscriptions, donations & membership!

@themarkup @gbhnews @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @TheConversationUS @thexylom

'School Choice' Is Just a Ploy to Defund Public Ed

The latest front in Christian nationalists’ battle to undermine separation of church and state.

The Texas Observer
Show thread𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤Apr 14, 2023
@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom Drivers should form co-ops, and the co-ops should develop an app that works like Uber.
Show threadThe XylomApr 14, 2023

@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus

Hello y'all! Our good news to announce is that two of our writers got selected as AAAS Mass Media Fellows!

#science #writing #journalism

https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-announces-2023-mass-media-fellows

AAAS Announces 2023 Mass Media Fellows

Twenty-one scientists will bring their scientific expertise to newsrooms around the country as they spend their summers reporting, writing and producing the news as the 2023 class of AAAS Mass Media Fellows.

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Show threadAvi Rappoport (avirr)Apr 14, 2023
@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom Shame it’s behind a paywall
Show threadpeteoApr 14, 2023

@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom
This feels just like a modern approach to wage discrimination. For a business looking to minimize costs, reducing cost of labour has always been a thing. Why not do it more effectively if you have more data? Isn't this the gig economy?

(I don't agree with this stance personally, but i hear it from people quite often, even people who claim to support minimum wage / livable wage policies)

Show threadMikeasaServiceApr 21, 2023
@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @conversationus @thexylom
This isn’t new. Companies have been doing this for a long time; it’s not the algorithms that make it easier now as much as the availability of data.
Show threadBigouApr 21, 2023
@themarkup @gbhnews @TexasObserver @damemagazine @STAT @mongabay @thexylom I find it disgusting, but can’t say I’m surprised. I wouldn’t even be surprised to learn it’s also used in France, regardless of how illegal that would be there.
Show threadsymfonystationMay 31, 2023
@themarkup Cuntitalism at its finest.