Week 12

1.Ensure that any automated data systems used to contain COVID-19 do not erroneously identify members of specific demographic groups as particularly susceptible to infection

A Balance-Data Collection Based on Science, Not Bias

1. Automation 2. Fired Workers 3. Work is divided among fewer employees

Automation and Increasing Workweek: How?

1. Critics claim lower-paid foreign workers are replacing higher-paid American workers within the walls of high-tech facilities located in the US

L-1 Visa Critics

Technology-based Contact tracing-->using technology to identify the people that an infected person has been around -->reveals potential outbreak hot spots/offers some idea of where the virus may be spread next/warns officials who to contact next/potentially isolate if they become symptomatic -->faster than manual contact tracing

Role of Technology--> Examples

1. Key to globalization 2. Unloading a ship used to take weeks 3. Now use crane to move container to back of a truck

The Big Invention: Shipping Containers

1. There is little wealth 2. Many of these countries have an inadequate telecommunications infrastructure 3. The primary language is not English. 4. Literacy is low and education is inadequate. 5. The country's culture may not make participating in the information age a priority

What is hampering Internet development in less technologically developed countries?

1. Promotes the idea that the difference be. the "haves" and the "have nots" is simply a question of access 2. Implies everyone is on one side or another of a huge canyon. Everyone is put into one of two categories. (But access is a continuum, and every person has a place on it.) 3. Implies the lack of access will lead to a less advantaged position in society 4. The Internet does not represent the pinnacle of information technology

4 Reasons Why the Term "Digital Divide" is Not Helpful

1. The government should be clear in articulating what specific public health goals it's seeking to accomplish 2. How are they limiting the collection of personal data to what's necessary to achieve those very specific goals? 3. Making sure that there are appropriate privacy safeguards put in place before data starts to change hands.

A Balance - Transparency

If the government seeks to limit a person's rights based on this "big data" surveillance, then the person must have the opportunity to timely and fairly challenge these conclusions and limits.

A Balance-Due Process

1. There is a hazard that the data surveillance infrastructure we build to contain COVID-19 may long outlive the crisis it was intended to address. 2. The gov./corporate cooperators must roll back any invasive programs created in the name of public health after crisis has been contained.

A Balance-Expiration

1.Any data collection must be scientifically justified and proportionate to the need. 2.Even anonymized, aggregate data can inform health efforts. 3.Consider a scenario where city officials close bars/restaurants for a weekend, hoping to reduce the number of new coronavirus infections. -infections increase -some may be the result of exposures days earlier, but tracking where people went over the weekend could reveal new transmission hot spots

A Balance-Parsimonious Use of Data

1. Average square feet of homes has risen 2. Have have more stuff/less free time 3. Personal choice of tradeoff

Amount of Stuff We Have Has Risen

1. American workers shouldn't have to compete with foreign workers who do not receive decent pay and working conditions. 2. Globalization increases the rate of US job loss overseas 3. Foreign workers also hurt by globalization 4. Many foreign workers aren't allowed to unionize

Arguments Against Globalization

1. The US/other govs. should not be subordinate to the WTO 2. American workers should not be forced to compete w/ foreign workers who do not receive decent pay/working conditions 3. Globalization has accelerated the loss of both manufacturing jobs/white-collar jobs overseas 4. The removal of trade barriers hurts workers in foreign countries too

Arguments Against Globalization

1. Free trade can increase everyone's standard of living.-->every country has comparative advantage at producing certain products/services 2. People in poorer countries deserve jobs, too 3. Every example in the past century of a poor country becoming more prosperous has been the result of that country producing goods for the world market rather than striving for self-sufficiency 4. Creating jobs around the world reduces unrest/leads to more stability

Arguments for Globalization

1. Increase everyone's standard of living 2. Each country has a specialty 3. Increase competition--> better prices for consumers 4. People in poorer countries deserve jobs too 5. Creating jobs around the world leads to greater stability 6. Poorer countries typically become more prosperous by exporting goods

Arguments for Globalization

1. Percentage of American workers involved in manufacturing has dropped significantly. 2. Manufacturing output in America continues to rise/doubled since 1970. -->productivity has increased 3. Increase in workweek for salaried employee/incomes stay flat. 4. White-collar jobs are being lost to automation.

Automation Effects on Jobs

1. Automation-->less expensive for machine to perform a particular job than a human being. 2. Lower production costs result in lower prices for consumer 2. Drop in price-->increases demand/more money to spend on other things 3. Some people may be employed designing/creating automated devices.

Automation and Purchasing Power

1. Productivity has doubled. 2. People owned/consumed more material possessions instead of opting for working less. 3. Less free time to enjoy possessions.

Automation's Effects on Productivity

1. New technology destroys/creates jobs. 2. Net result is an increase, not a decrease, in the number of available jobs. 3. Some people may be employed designing/creating automated devices.

Automation/Job Creation

1. Increases in productivity 2. Globalization of job market 3. Organization of companies 4. Telework 5. Reduced human need for repetitive or automatable tasks

Computing Transforms Workplace

1. Keeping society "safe from criminals" --> recidivism 2. "Contain spread of HIV" --> Grindr sharing HIV status/other personal data with 3rd parties 3."Simplify sharing health records" -->any medical professional can access without explicit consent

Disproportionate Distribution of Benefits/Harms for Invasive Tech

1. Works with stock traders 2. In other cases, it may not work 3. Notice that the new jobs have higher skill requirements-->new jobs may not go to the same people as the old ones

Do you believe the model?

1. Dot-come bust resulted in 862 high-tech start-ups going out of business be. Jan. 2000 and June 2002 2. Dot-come bust resulted in the loss of 13% of nonagricultural jobs, worst downturn since the Great Depression

Dot Com Bust

Internet-related start-up companies

Dot-comes

Public policy must reflect a balance between collective good and civil liberties.

EFF's Guidelines

1. FB created a disease mapping tool that tracks the spread of disease by aggregating user travel patterns

Facebook Disease Prevention Maps

1. China is #1 producer of computer hardware 2. Indian companies now employ more than a million people/have annual sales over $60 billion.

Foreign Competition

...

Gig Economy

1. People only take these jobs because they can't find stable employment 2. Prices decrease as contractors compete-->bad for people providing services/lower pay

Gig Economy Cons

1. Provides workers with independence/flexibility 2. Workers can make their own schedules/decide which assignments they want to accept.

Gig Economy Pros

1. Refers to the disparity in Internet access be. more industrialized/less industrialized nations

Global Divide

The process of creating a worldwide network of businesses/markets -investments are made across national boundaries -decreasing cost of information technology has made globalization possible

Globalization

1. Expected to do much more in the decades to come. 2. Not just simple manual tasks, also knowledge work.

Greater Expectations

1. Allows foreigner to work in the US for up to six years 2. Company must demonstrate there are no Americans qualified to do the job. 3. Company must pay the foreign worker the prevailing wage for the job.

H-1B Visa

1. CDC: Covid spreads from person-to-person when people are physically near Mechanism of spread: respiratory droplets when people cough/sneeze/sing/talk/breath 2. Early research on coronavirus-->suggests isolating people after they become symptomatic plays the biggest role in controlling outbreak

How COVID-19 Spreads

1. With multiple vaccines, distribution happening quickly in the US, and picking up elsewhere, it is possible that we may soon "return to normal"? 2.So, does any of this matter? The last pandemic was 100 years ago-are we done until 2120?

How much does this matter?

1. American companies use L-1 visas to move workers from overseas facilities to the US for up to 7 years 2. Employees brought to the US under the L-1 visa don't need to be paid the prevailing wage (saves employers money). 3. Number of foreigners working in the US under L-1 visas is smaller than the number holding H-1B visas.

L-1 Visa

1. Manufacturing jobs down 40% (1979-2011) 2. 35%-8% of Americans in manufacturing 3. Manufacturing output has doubled since 1970 4. Time to make car: 35hr ('77) --> 15hr ('08)

Loss of Jobs to Robots/Automation

1. Companies have new tools to monitor employees 2. Identify inappropriate uses of company resources/illegal activities/quality 3. 30-40% of Internet use by employees was not work related. 4. Decreases job satisfaction

Monitoring

1. Western-based companies use Indian companies to write software/process credit card applications/do billing

Multinational Teams

1. The infrastructure in less developed countries can make conducting business more difficult 2. IT-related jobs in the US are moving to foreign countries every year

Multinational Teams Cons

1. Multinational teams-->stay in business/preserve jobs in the US 2. Multinational teams allow a company to have people at work more hours during the day 3. Possible for projects to be shuttled be. multiple sites/allow around-the-clock progress to be made on time-sensitive products 4. Cost savings (Wages in India are lower than in the US/Western Europe)

Multinational Teams Pros

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) be. Canada/US/Mexico-->step toward globalization

NAFTA

Three groups: One gets the tech first, second second, third gets it last. At some point, nearly everyone in all three groups is using the new technology

Normalization Model

1. Organizations used to be more hierarchical 2. Organizational structures are now flatter/more connected

Organizational Structure

1. Depending on who is speaking, the outlook for Job Impact may be good or bad. 2.Skills/job displacement will affect every industry/geographical region -->losses may be offset by job growth in key areas 3.7.1 million jobs could be lost through redundancy/automation/disintermediation -->offset by 2.1 million new jobs

Outlook for Job Impact

1. Cotton is grown in the US 2. Person who drives harvester just sites there (all automated) 3. Why is cotton grown in us? -subsidies/cheap insurance/automation makes a superior quality product

Planet Money T-Shirt Podcast (1/2)

1. Cotton is shipped to Indonesia to make thread. 2. Thread shipped to Bangladesh to make fabric -factory jobs leading to dramatic social change -no longer starving 3. Fabric shipped to Colombia to make fabric into shirts -jobs follow poverty -company that provides fair working conditions can't compete

Planet Money T-Shirt Podcast (2/2)

1. These possibilities raised red flags to privacy advocates -European/US laws -There's already legal debate over whether such actions would overstep the 4th amendment's restrictions on the gov'ts ability to search private property 2.What are the specific privacy threats?

Privacy Threats

1. Protestant Reformation/Calvinism stimulated capitalism in Western Europe-->introduced diff. conception of work 2. Working hard/rich-->proof of rebirth/genuine faith "evidence" 3. New England: Puritans banished holidays-->Sunday only day of rest -General Court of Massachusetts fine/whip people who celebrate Christmas/holidays

Protestant Work Ethic

1.Paradox: -Factory pays workers in developing nation by the piece -want more productivity -raises wages per piece -What happens? -people work less -just wanted enough to cover needs

Protestant Work Ethic/Spirit of Capitalism

Programmable machines that either in performance or appearance imitate human activities.

Robots

1. Officials have a powerful potential surveillance tool unavailable to past pandemics: smartphones 2. Policy makers are anxious to tap the information from phones to help monitor/blunt the pandemic 3. Gov't officials asking tech companies for more insight into our social networks/travel patterns

Role of Technology--> Novel Approaches

1. Israel rolled out surveillance program that use the country's domestic security agency to track the locations of people potentially infected with the virus 2. SK released detailed info on infected individuals-->including their recent movements-->viewable through multiple private apps that send alerts to users in their vicinity

Role of Technology-->Early Examples

1. The controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI says it is in talks with public officials to use its software to identify anyone in contact with people who are infected. 2. The weapons detection company Athena Security claims its AI-enabled cameras can detect the coronavirus by spotting fevers.

Role of Technology-Novel Approaches

1. Another potential-->tap geofencing capability of phones to learn who may have been near people infected with the virus 2. Police have relied on geofencing in investigations/using broad warrants to request info on every smartphone near a crime scene 3. In theory, phone platforms/providers could notify users whose phones were recently near an infected person

Role of Theology-Novel Approaches

1. Crises as catalysts for change 2. Powerful institutions passing regulations that increase their power in crises usually don't like reducing their power after the crisis.

Scope Creep

1. How can we assure that the data collected is used only for COVID-19 safety purposes? 2. How can we assure that the data is retained only as long as is necessary for these purposes?

Secondary Use

1. Refers to the difference in access be. the rich/poor within a particular country

Social Divide

Solution for Individuals: 1. Physical distancing/wear a mask/wash hands 2. Empirical evidence to support all these things; not just rhetoric Solution for policy makers: 1. Isolating/quarantining infected individuals/those with whom they were in close physical proximity while they were contagious

Solution?

1. Balancing collective good vs. individual civil liberties 2.Can't necessarily use data for pandemic because there's the issue of privacy. 3.We don't live in a culture of public trust when it comes to data.

Spot the Pattern?

Three groups: One gets the tech first, second second, third gets it last. The eventual number of people in the last group who adopt the technology is lower than the number of adoptees in group A

Stratification Model

1. Computers at two diff. companies are responsible for ordering the widgets, eliminating the need for employees to handle the orders.

Supply-Chain Automation

Refers to the rate at which a new technology is assimilated into a society

Technological Diffusion

Arrangement where employees spend a sig. portion of workday at a distance from the employer or a traditional place of work. (37% of workers in the US telework at least one day a month)

Telework

1. Telework increases productivity 2. Telework reduces absenteeism (less likely to miss work) 3. Telework improves morale (employees have more freedom/dress more casually) 4. A company can recruit/retain more top employees (recruit employees who otherwise would not be interested in the job) 5. Telework saves overhead (doesn't have to invest as much of its resources in office space) 6. Telework improves the resilience of a company (less likely to be harmed by a natural disaster) 7. Telework is good for the environment (pollution) 8. Employees may save money by teleworking (gas/business attire/child care)

Telework Advantages

1. Increased productivity 2. Reduces absenteeism 3. Reduced pollution/traffic 4. Increased flexibility 5. Improved child-care options (or lack thereof) 6. Coordinate schedules with other time zones 7. Improves morale 8. Can recruit/retain more employees 9. Saves overhead 10. Less vulnerable to problems that occur in one geographic space 11. Save money for employees?

Telework Benefits

1. Decreased productivity? 2. Can't meet with customers at the office 3. Resentment from those working at the office? 4. Working too many/too few hours? 5. Distractions from child-care responsibilities 6. Social isolation/low morale 7. Lack of "visibility" leading to problems at raise/promotion time. 8. Removes control from managers 9. Sensitive information may be less secure 10. Less of a resource for other employees 11. Difficult to schedule team meetings 12. Work longer hours for the same pay.

Telework Disadvantages

1. Telework threatens the authority/control of managers 2. Telework makes it impossible for an employee to have face-to-face interaction with customers at the company site 3. Sensitive information is less secure 4. When people in an organization do not keep the same hours or come into the office every day, it is more difficult to schedule team meetings. 5. Teleworkers are less visible. 6. When faced with a problem or a need for information, employees at the office are less likely to contact a teleworker than another person on-site 7. Teleworkers are isolated 8. Teleworkers end up working longer hours for the same pay

Telework Disadvantages

1. We've exchanged leisure time for material possessions 2. Expectations of possessions rise. 3. Work harder to maintain lifestye

Time vs. Possessions

1.Such apps will reduce the spread of disease only if a lot of people use them. 2.Because a tracking app can't capture every possible source of infection, it risks creating a false sense of security for users. 3.Just because you don't see a dot on a map where a contact might have been doesn't mean that areas that don't have dots don't have infected people.

Tracking Apps

1. H-1B 2. L-1

Two Visa Types (US companies use to hire foreigners to work in US)

World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body that devises rules for international trade/promotes the goal of free trade among nations

WTO

1. Bringing more work home w/ email/cell phones 2. Mythical man month: can get more done with one person -adding a programmer to a late project makes it later 3. What obstacles does working with someone else add? 4. Why do nurses work 12-hour shifts?

Why Have Working Hours Gotten Longer?

1.Weber argues that people in capitalist societies measure their worth by their material success -perhaps religious: sign that God favors you

Why is it different?

1. Computers enabled companies to customize products/provide better service to their customers 2. Encouraged decentralization of sales/support functions/reducing company's bureaucracy 3. Flatten organizational structures. 4. Increased demand in some job categories. Demand in other categories will drop.

Workplace Changes

Lower-wage workers are more likely to be subject to it.

Workplace Surveillance

A field of computer science/engineering concerned with the computational understanding of what is commonly called intelligent behavior, and with the creation of artifacts that exhibit such behavior

Aritificial Intelligence

Refers to the situation in which some people have access to modern information technology while others do not.

Digital Divide

1. Global Divide 2. Social Divide

Digital Divide has Two Dimensions:

Service workers who make a living by completing types of short-term jobs for clients. -companies connect people who want a service with people willing to provide that service

Gig Economy

1.AI is unlikely to replace the need for humans in the work-place, but there will be a potentially decades-long transition period where: Real people will be out of jobs/unable to find new ones 2.Need to approach this responsibly as a society Can't assume 50 year old coal miner will become an AI expert to feed family 3.Consider how to adjust society to handle the possibility that there won't be as many jobs

Human Costs

1970-1990: US working hours went up 163 hours

Longer Work Week

1. Pharmacists 2. Law Firms 3. Teaching Assistant

Loss of White-Collar Jobs

Mainstream opinion in the ai research community holds that the prospects of a personal AI being constructed are quite remote.

Mainstream Opinion on AI

Automation-->eliminates jobs/reduces price of product --> increases demand/incomes of consumers --> increases demand --> creates jobs

Model of the Impact of Automation

1. Some experts maintain that most jobs will be taken over by machines 2. Inexpensive/capable robots will displace human labor so broadly that the average workday will have to plummet to almost zero to keep everyone usefully employed 3. Ethical issue related to creation of intelligent robots.

Rise of the Robots