New law mandates Amazon to disclose how its algorithms judge workers

Lithium recovery tech with 99% efficiency earns its company $150m in funds, CIA and NSA use adblockers to stay safe online. Sep 26, 2021 # Greetings! We have an almost steady stream of new electric VTOL vehicles coming down the pipeline these days, there's a new vehicle in the block though, and it claims to have a really quiet engine and the lightest electric powertrain all around. After all, Rolls Royce co-developed it. Moving away from skies and into cables, it was confirmed that the CIA and NSA use ad blockers to combat a little more than distractions in the workplace. Also, a new California law is forcing "mega-retailers" such as Amazon to disclose how their algorithms monitor, reward, and discipline their workers. This is The Blueprint. Keep going. Help us make your reader experience better by taking [this survey](. It takes just 2 minutes. CULTURE [Amazon Has to Disclose How Its Algorithms Judge Workers Per a New California Law]( [amazon]( [Amazon]( has [had]( a spotty [history]( when it comes to how it treats its employees in recent years. Drivers who work for subcontractors reported being requested to disable the safety app put in place by Amazon to meet their quotas. And in one instance some major delivery partners simply choose to shut down their operations rather than meet Amazon's draconian demands. This type of publicity is bound to get policymakers' attention, and it indeed did so. This Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom [signed a bill into law]( that will bar "mega-retailers" like Amazon, from firing warehouse workers for missing quotas. How are they going to determine this stuff, you might wonder. The bill will take effect on Jan. 1. It basically mandates Amazon, along with other so-called mega-retailers, to disclose both: - The quantified number of tasks to be performed, or materials to be produced or handled, within the defined time period. - Any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota. The workers then will be allowed to see how they have fared against these quotas and have a 90-day window to sue on these findings. [Read More]( INNOVATION [This New Air Taxi Claims to Have the World's Lightest Electric Powertrain]( [the va-x4]( There’s a new a piloted, fully electric VTOL aircraft being developed [called the VA-X4](. It comes out o f a collaboration from UK-based Bristow, Vertical Aerospace, and Rolls Royce and it is near silent. How quiet is it? Vertical Aerospace says the aircraft is 100 times quieter than a helicopter, reaching 45 dB at cruise and 60 dB at hover. How does this compare with other aircraft? According to the Helicopter Association International (HAI), the sound of a helicopter flying at 500 feet is about 87 decibels. Why does it matter? Quiet VTOLs are useful for city applications. Indeed, in a crowded already-loud city you don’t want the added noise pollution of an aircraft. If such a near-silent vehicle can be created, it can find many uses in urban environments from hospital transports to air taxis. [Read More]( CULTURE [Confirmed: The CIA and NSA Use Ad-Blockers to Stay Safe Online]( [fbi website under a magnifying glass]( Ad blockers are a huge convenience. They are a lot of help when trying to focus on content online and perhaps when browsing on a limited data plan, but they offer more than that. You see, advertisement vendors nowadays have a huge reach into our privacy; our likes, dislikes, life events, plans, and whatnot. So it seems, the U.S. Intelligence Community (which includes organizations like the CIA, FBI, Army, DEA) is not taking any chances. And [personal data is not their only concern](. Foreign nation-state actors and criminals can launch what's called malvertising campaigns. What's more, there are people out there who are willing to sell the data they scraped off of ad platforms to anyone who would pay for it. For now, only a handful of Intelligence Community organizatios practice ad blockers. But Oregon Senator Ron Wyden's letter urges others to join in on the bandwagon. [Read More]( [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Make Your Own Railgun From Basic Magnets and Some Wood]( [Make Your Own Railgun From Basic Magnets and Some Wood]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “ The knowledge of anything, since all things have causes, is not acquired or complete unless it is known by its causes. ” Ibn Sina (a.k.a. Avicenna) Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( to manage your newsletter subscriptions. © Copyright 2021 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]