10 stories this week (w/e 18 Jan)
2-min read
Hello from 20 Minutes into the Future. Welcome to our weekend complement to the normal weekly commentary. Below you’ll find 10 links to stories that also take a critical look at how technology is shaping our lives today.
As we’ve mentioned before it’s not just activist workers standing up to big tech but students as well. Refusing these bastards our labour is one way we can fight back against dystopia. Keep the pressure up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/style/college-tech-recruiting.html“Technology becomes not a form of knowledge but a means for organizing submission and worship.” Another great long read from Real Life Mag. This one on smart cities and the misguided faith behind so many proposals.
https://reallifemag.com/the-personified-city/Programmatic advertising is the original sin of social media.
https://slate.com/technology/2019/12/decade-in-advertising-data-terrifying.htmlLawmakers and activists in New York want to do something to help the unbanked. This could be big.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pked9v/new-york-is-proposing-the-creation-of-a-public-venmoIt’s not just Uber waging a war on the poor but companies like Doordash too. The gig economy is quickly overturning every single worker protection people sacrificed their lives for last century. Your convenience isn’t worth someone else’s economic dignity.
https://payup.wtf/doordash/no-free-lunch-reportNot a subscriber yet? 20 Minutes into the Future is 100% ad free and always will be. Sign up for weekly commentary & related links to help you dig deeper into big tech behaving badly.
Your algorithmic literacy training for the week: don’t share stuff you don’t want to trend. Especially on a platform that’s home to journalists on a desk beat.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90452362/people-disagreeing-with-the-never-warren-hashtag-helped-it-trend-on-twitterWith the help of activists, journalists, academics, and technologists, Slate has assembled a list of the worst of the worst tech companies.
https://slate.com/technology/2020/01/evil-list-tech-companies-dangerous-amazon-facebook-google-palantir.htmlEarlier this week we looked at how many of the 2020 Democratic candidates for President want to rein in big tech. Conspicuously absent from that summary was Biden. Know we’re starting to see his tech-busting policies emerge
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/17/21070403/joe-biden-president-election-section-230-communications-decency-act-revokeSome handy tips on how to fuck with Facebook tracking you.
https://www.wired.com/story/ways-facebook-tracks-you-limit-it/Fascists love an on-the-nose acronym. “Pinellas County’s Face Analysis Comparison & Examination System, or FACES, was started with a $3.5 million federal grant arranged in 2000 by Representative Bill Young, a Florida Republican who led the House Appropriations Committee.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/12/technology/facial-recognition-police.html
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Good night and good future,
Daniel
20 Minutes into the Future is a critical look at how technology is shaping our lives today. And what actions we can take for a better tomorrow. If you're not already a subscriber and found this newsletter worth your while then please sign up.
My name is Daniel Harvey and I write 20 Minutes into the Future. I’m a product designer and have written for Fast Company, Huffington Post, The Drum, & more. If you're pissed about the current state of tech and want to see us do better then you’ve found a kindred spirit.
You can email me at daniel.harvey@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @dancharvey.