Gig workers build tools to wrest back control from algorithms

PLUS: The latest stories on how we move, work, and live. View this email in your browser  |   Manage newsletter subscriptions 03.01.21 One of the weirdest things about working for a gig company—like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, or Instacart—is that the algorithm is the boss. In most parts of the world, gig workers are still considered independent contractors, but the companies' automated systems create incentives for drivers or delivery people to sign on at specific times. They automatically assign jobs, and a series of low ratings from passengers or eaters might even kick the worker off the app. Gig workers don't always think the algorithm is fair. Armin Samii was delivering meals for UberEats when he realized that the trip that Uber paid him for was miles shorter than the trip he actually took. So Samii, a software engineer, created UberCheats, a Google Chrome browser extension that could automatically flag if Uber's own automated system might be miscalculating fares. UberCheats is one piece of a larger effort by gig workers to wrest back control over work directed by opaque algorithms. As the gig economy has grown during the pandemic, so have the number of homemade tools to help drivers stay on top of the not-so-obvious expenses that come with working for a tech platform. "It's actually really, really complicated to figure out what you, as a gig worker using your own vehicle, are putting into this," one ride-hail driver told me. "It's a kind of active disempowerment on the part of the companies, because many drivers might lack the resources or skills to understand their true hourly wage." Read more about gig workers' efforts to flip that power dynamic here. Aarian Marshall | Staff Writer, WIRED   Gig Workers Gather Their Own Data to Check the Algorithm's Math Drivers for Uber, Lyft, and other firms are building apps to compare their mileage with pay slips. One group is selling the data to government agencies. 5-MINUTE READ The SolarWinds Body Count Now Includes NASA and the FAA Plus: Firefox blocks more tracking, how to fight a robodog, and more of the week's top security news. 3-MINUTE READ How Google's Grand Plan to Make Its Own Games Fell Apart The tech giant hired 150 game developers for Stadia Games and Entertainment, only to lay them all off. Sources say it never gave the studios a chance. 9-MINUTE READ Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog Is Now Armed—in the Name of Art A group of meme-spinning pranksters attached a paintball gun to the dynamic robot to make a point about the automated future. 3-MINUTE READ China Hijacked an NSA Hacking Tool—and Used It for Years The hackers used the agency's EpMe exploit to attack Windows devices years before the Shadow Brokers leaked the agency's zero-day arsenal online. 5-MINUTE READ NASA Wants to Set a New Radiation Limit for Astronauts As the agency considers sending people to the moon and Mars, it's taking a fresh look at the research on cancer risk and recalculating acceptable thresholds. 6-MINUTE READ The Untold History of America's Zero-Day Market The lucrative business of dealing in code vulnerabilities is central to espionage and war planning, which is why brokers never spoke about it—until now. 16-MINUTE READ If Work Is Going Remote, Why Is Big Tech Still Building? Google, Facebook, and others promise more flexibility to work from home. But they're charging ahead with plans for more offices. 7-MINUTE READ A New Artificial Intelligence Makes Mistakes—on Purpose A chess program that learns from human error might be better at working with people or negotiating with them. 4-MINUTE READ GET WIRED Get 1 year of WIRED access for less than $1 a month. Tech news and analysis you won't find anywhere else. Subscribe now.             This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions