Breonna Taylor, Quibi’s failures, killer robots

Good morning! The US braces for more protests over the death of Breonna Taylor. Two police officers suffered minor gunshot injuries last night in Louisville, Kentucky, after one of their colleagues was charged with “wanton endangerment” for firin [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning! Here’s what you need to know The US braces for more protests over the death of Breonna Taylor. [Two police officers suffered minor gunshot injuries]( last night in Louisville, Kentucky, after one of their colleagues was charged with “wanton endangerment” for firing into a neighboring apartment during the drugs raid in which Taylor was killed. Car makers are suing the US government over China. Mercedes-Benz said the Trump administration is engaged in “an unprecedented, unbounded, and [unlimited trade war]( while Tesla called tariffs on Chinese parts “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.” Meanwhile, new gas-powered cars will be [banned in California]( (paywall) from 2035. The UK’s annual financial plans are in the trashcan. The government scrapped its Budget, in which it lays out its spending agenda for the rest of the year. Instead, chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to unveil [new emergency measures to protect employment]( as a second coronavirus wave crashes over Britain. Donald Trump might not walk away if he loses. The US president said he would have to “[see what happen]( in the November election. He also called the election “a scam” (again), and thinks the whole thing will end up in the Supreme Court. Sponsor content by Liberty Mutual Weather-driven losses are up threefold globally since 1985; in the US alone, climate-related economic damages could reach 10% of GDP by the end of the century. Climate change is reshaping how insurers assess and manage risk. That is why Liberty Mutual is working with partners like climate analytics firm Jupiter to create innovative offerings and solutions that help policyholders better prepare and cope with losses. Liberty Mutual promises protection for the unexpected, delivered with care. [Start reading]( Why did Quibi fail? The bite-sized streaming platform underestimated, well, a lot of things. 😴 Content: The shows just aren’t good enough. No video platform—no matter how innovative the technology or elaborate the marketing—will work without stuff viewers want to watch. 😰 Competition: Quibi thought it would corner “in-between moments,” but turns out social media already has. So by trying to sidestep competition with the big streaming services, it simply put itself up against other big platforms—TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. 🤐 Shareability: At first, Quibi didn’t allow sharing content or even taking screenshots. You know what tends to be a show’s best free marketing? A viral meme. And that’s not all. [Adam Epstein details the missteps]( of the little streaming engine that couldn’t. Charting Africa’s bitcoin activity In August 2018, a report on the state of cryptocurrency regulation across Africa came back with one obvious conclusion: most countries hadn’t decided what to do. But now, in a major shift, Nigeria and South Africa—two of the continent’s largest economies—are stepping up regulatory plans. [A chart showing the growing pace of bitcoin transfers to and from Africa] Local users and cryptocurrency startups across the continent are not exactly waiting for regulation to catch up. Cryptocurrency trading has taken off, partly powered by homegrown exchanges which continue to operate in regulatory gray areas. [Yomi Kazeem follows how the regulators of Africa’s big economies are trying to stay on top of a cryptocurrency trading spike](. Get news and analysis on African business, tech, and innovation in your inbox by signing up for the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief. [⚡ ✉️ I want it!]( Subscribe with one click The history of the home office [A gif of Walter Cronkite showing off a now antiquated home computer.] Giphy Working from home is a revival of an old idea. Before the Industrial Revolution, the template for residential architecture included a space for doing business. English “workhouses” combined a workshop with the family’s living quarters, “longhouses” gave shelter to farmers and their animals, and merchants often lived above their workshops and storefronts. In the US, middle-class homes typically had a “den” or “gentleman’s study” close to the front door where the master of the house received clients. What changed with the Industrial Revolution is now seeing another big shift. In 1967, US broadcaster [Walter Cronkite concluded his report on the home office]( by predicting, correctly, that “with equipment like this in the home of the future, we may not have to go to work—the work will come to us.” Our [latest field guide]( offers guidance on how to make the most of that shift. ✦ Not yet a member? Unwrap this special gift from us to you. It’s Quartz’s birthday, but you’re getting the treat—50% off a year of Quartz membership with code BIRTHDAY. Keep digging, because underneath all that tissue paper is another surprise—two free Quartz presentations on the future of [sleep]( and [cash](. Both pair nicely with a celebratory glass of champagne. Obsession interlude: Future of work The gig economy has opened up a wave of flexible work options, but in doing so risks eroding hard-won worker protections. Companies whose business model rests on gig work are often criticized for [exploiting workers]( and[fighting attempts]( to change the game. In[Hustle and Gig]( sociologist Alexandrea Ravenelle interviewed 80 gig workers in the US to put their experiences in the context of America’s employment history. She concluded that for all its app-enabled modernity, the sharing economy “is truly a movement forward to the past.” In a cruel irony, workers in the sharing economy—hailed as the height of the modern workplace—find themselves without any of the worker protections enjoyed by their great-grandparents. Although workplace protections still exist for full-time and part-time employees, gig workers as independent contractors, are outside the social safety net of basic workplace protections. Keep up with [the rest of our Future of Work]( obsession. We’re obsessed with the Everglades “There are no other Everglades in the world.” Conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas used these words to describe the vast sheet of slow-moving water that blankets South Florida, a unique wetland ecosystem unlike any other on Earth. In the 20th century, Floridians turned millions of acres of swamp into real estate, one of the grandest water engineering projects in human history—and one of mankind’s most ecologically destructive acts. Now, the state’s Everglades damage control could become a global model for environmental (and self-)preservation. [The Quartz Weekly Obsession takes you on an airboat ride into the swamp](. Get our latest deep dive sent straight to your inbox every week by signing up below. [⚡ 📬 Sign me up!]( Subscribe with one click Message from our Partner Our question, answered. We asked GlobalWonks’ expert network for insight on jobs of the future. One founder notes, 'While data scientists et al. will play an increasingly central role, of equal importance will be the ability to translate business challenges into solvable problems for technical teams.' [Read more]( or ask a question with a [client demo](. Surprising discoveries Nobel laureates will win more than $100,000 extra this year. [In case you were worried]( about tenured Ivy League professors. Grow less weed. After the share price of Canada’s Aurora plunged this year, an anxious analyst [advised the firm]( to chill with the growing. Something smelled fishy. A meticulous two-year-long [scientific investigation]( hooked two fraudulent fishermen with felonies. Your favorite cereals come back. The nostalgia play from General Mills will see [classic recipes return]( to breakfast cereals like Cocoa Puffs and Trix. Robots are making a killing in London. The rolling droids [emit ultraviolet light]( to disinfect St. Pancras International, one of the country’s busiest transport hubs. You told us the Daily Brief makes you smarter and more knowledgeable. Help us continue to keep you up to date every morning—and get some great prizes—by [referring the Quartz Daily Brief](. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, a Nobel prize, and a box of basic corn flakes to hi@qz.com. 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