Amazon is using algorithms with little human intervention to fire Flex workers

Amazon has made it possible for volunteers to become occasional delivery people using their own vehicles via the Amazon Flex program, which is almost fully automated on the company's end: hiring, performance assessments and firing are all handled by software. Amazon employees hardly intervene at all in the process. The system does have its faults, though. Flex delivery people are sometimes fired by the software for silly reasons just a few minutes after receiving a new mission.

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A Facebook engineer abused access to user data to track down a woman who had left their hotel room after they fought on vacation, new book says

A book reveals that Facebook fired over 50 employees between January 2014 and August 2015 for misusing their access to the users' personal data. One of them used it to stalk a woman who had recently broken up with him. Another stalked a woman who had decided not to pursue a relationship with him after one date.

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Black teen barred from skating rink by inaccurate facial recognition

A young Black woman with glasses was refused access to roller skating rink in Detroit because the site's facial recognition system "recognized" her as an individual who had caused a fight during a previous visit. But as it turned out, the teenhad never been there before. The system was unable to distinguish her from another young Black woman with glasses. The article highlights the fact that facial recognition tools are much less precise when it comes to people of color, women and children, which can sometimes result in wrongful arrest and prosecution.

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Watch Robots Make Pizzas From Start to Finish at an Automated Pizzeria

Pazzi is a fully automated pizzeria in Paris where the pizzaiolo has been replaced by articulated robot arms. The pizzas are ready in a flash and are only available for takeout, since the company aims to save on rent in addition to salaries. They do have a few employees, though, to ensure the robot and order terminals are in good working order.

Note from the archivist: I had to try it. I'll stick with my traditional pizzeria.

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Experimental Brain Implant Lets Man With Paralysis Turn His Thoughts Into Words

Scientists placed a sensor on the surface (more specificially on the area tied to language) of the brain of a man who has been completely paralyzed for 15 years and unaple to speak. Using new equipment, they have been able to decode 50 words and have conversations with him via a screen that displays his decoded sentences. The vocabulary is still limited and the pace (15 words per minute) is slow, but the team is proud of the success of BRAVO (Brain-Computer Interface Restoration of Arm and Voice).

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French startup promises cruelty-free foie gras, grown in a lab

French start-up Gourmey aims to deliver "the foie gras of the future"--grown in a laboratory. At the time the article was written, man-made meat was mostly used for burgers, but Gourmey wants to prove that it can also be used in gastronomical cuisine. One major advantage of this method is that tit circumvents the forced feeding of geese and ducks required for the production of traditional foie gras, which means it could be produced in countries where foie gras has traditionally been outlawed for animal curelty. In France, however, foie gras bears a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label, and synthetic meat does not qualify.

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The UAE is Using Drones to Control Dubai's Weather

To modify Dubai's arid climate, the UAE has financed several projects to enhance rainfall. One of them is cloud seeding: specially designed drones shock rain clouds with electrical charges to create larger drops of water, which are more likely to resist evaporation and reach the ground in liquid state.

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Amazon will pay you $10 in credit for your palm print biometrics

As part of its plan to automate work, Amazon has rolled out stores with no checkout, no cash and no cards--only Amazon accounts. Since 2021, Amazon has used customers' handprints to connect them to their account via a biometric scanner in some stores. The company will pay you $10 in credit to scan your palm and add the data to your Amazon account. Data protection organizations have highlighted the fact that fingerprints and handprints are among the only identifying characteristics humans cannot change, and that normalizing their use is dangerous.

Note from the archivist: A success for Amazon: as Flat Eye near the end of development, Amazon has announced that palm recognition payment will be expanded to 65 of its Whole Foods stores in the United States.

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Molecular Farming Means the Next Vaccine Could Be Edible and Grown in a Plant

North American researchers believe that molecular agriculture is the next step in producing pharmaceuticals. A Canadian lab used the technique to produce a Covid-19 vaccine, but the article outlines broader potential uses with medicines grown inside plants, which could be stored as seeds or dried leaves and treatments that could be taken by simply eating a vegetable. It also suggests production would be easier to roll out than setting up a lab.

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Can artificially altered clouds save the Great Barrier Reef?

Australian scientists are developing technological solutions to save the Great Barrier Reef located just off the country's coast. One such solution involves using "cloud-brightening" machines, which release seawater mist into the air, to enhance cloud cover and cool the area by blocking sunlight. Forty-two other ideas are also being tested. A few other notable ideas from among the 160 original suggestions include cryopreserving coral or growing new varieties of coral in a lab to make them more resistant to rising temperatures.

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