The Obtain: Opting out of the crypto hype, and the gig staff resisting oppressive algorithms

That is as we speak’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a day by day dose of what’s happening on this planet of expertise.

It’s okay to decide out of the crypto revolution. 

Crypto promoting is all over the place. Billboards encompass the Bay Space and line LA highways, and you may’t catch a practice in NYC with out working into an advert for a coin or alternate. A-listers like Gwyneth Paltrow are pushing crypto platforms, and this yr’s Tremendous Bowl broadcast was studded with big-budget crypto spots, every trumpeting the chance to strike it wealthy.

However regardless of their ubiquity and lavish expense, these adverts routinely omit any description of what crypto is, or what any of the crypto corporations which have paid to plaster our panorama are literally promoting. There’s motive for that. Whereas the trade has been good to fortunate speculators with the disposable money to danger and the time to determine how to take action, it has little to supply the common individual as we speak. 

Crypto fanatics declare that the trade will revolutionize monetary techniques by decentralizing commerce, grabbing the reins from the banks which have betrayed us previously and the Huge Tech gatekeepers. However up to now, the crypto trade has not made good on that democratizing promise. Learn the total story.

—Rebecca Ackermann

The gig staff preventing again in opposition to the algorithms

Within the Bendungan Hilir neighborhood, only a stone’s throw from Jakarta’s glitzy central enterprise district, motorbike drivers collect in an off-the-cuff “base camp.” They’re drivers with Gojek, Indonesia’s largest ride-hailing agency. They’re additionally a part of the spine of a rising motion of resistance in opposition to the dispatch algorithms that dominate their lives.

Base camps grew out of a practice that existed earlier than algorithmic ride-hailing companies got here to Indonesia. They’re the community by which drivers across the metropolis keep in tight communication. This sense of neighborhood is now on the coronary heart of what distinguishes Jakarta’s drivers from different gig staff world wide, and will reveal a brand new playbook for resistance: a method for staff to construct collective energy, obtain a measure of safety, and care for each other when seemingly nobody else will. Learn the total story.

—Karen Hao and Nadine Freischlad

That is the third a part of our sequence investigating AI colonialism, shining a lightweight on how the expertise is impoverishing the communities and international locations that don’t have a say in its improvement. The ultimate half is coming tomorrow, however you’ll be able to learn half one right here, half two right here, and Karen Hao’s introductory essay right here.

Quote of the day

“Persons are my air.”

— Robin Solod, a lady who lives alone on Manhattan’s Higher East Aspect, speaks for many people when she tells the New York Instances how a lot she’s come to understand the necessity to socialize.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the web to search out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.

1 China is claiming that solely 17 folks have died from covid in Shanghai
Which raises questions on the way it defines a covid demise. (NYT $)
The town is forcing weak and aged residents into makeshift quarantine camps. (CNN)
Unsurprisingly, the strict lockdown has sparked a serious psychological well being disaster. (The Guardian)
China is resorting to censoring its personal nationwide anthem. (Newsweek) 
A Spanish lady contracted covid twice in simply 20 days. (BBC)
Understanding when to obtain your subsequent booster is difficult. (WP $)
It’s completely tremendous should you nonetheless really feel cautious about catching covid as restrictions raise. (Slate $)

2 On-line disinformation is wreaking havoc in Sri Lanka
And, naturally, Fb is enjoying a central position. (Remainder of World)
+ Barack Obama is fearful about disinformation. (NYT $)
Russia’s “faux information” regulation is getting used to persecute investigative journalists. (The Guardian)

three A social media marketing campaign introduced a homicide suspect to trial
After the police stepped again, a neighborhood of beginner sleuths got here to the rescue. (The Reduce $)

four Meet the pandemic’s PPE scammers 
A number of folks noticed a disaster. Others noticed a possibility to make some huge cash. (The Verge)

5 Who’re digital drugs containing trackers that alert docs in the event that they’re not taken actually for?
They’re unlikely to assist the individuals who might have medicine essentially the most. (Slate $)

6 Gen Z is embracing “genuine” social platform BeReal
It’s acquired no adverts, no seen follower rely, and, crucially, no filters. (WSJ $)
+ Instagram actually needs you to cease reposting TikToks to Reels. (The Verge)

7 Solar energy remains to be a wealthy man’s recreation ☀
And that’s an enormous barrier for wider adoption. (Wired $)
Local weather change is ravaging lives throughout the globe. (WP $)
An Ecuadorian flower was named after its personal extinction, earlier than being rediscovered. (WP $) 

eight How a stealth digital camera reveals hidden creatures within the sea’s depths 🦑
We’re nonetheless discovering freaky new underwater species. (Vox)

9 Corporations are so determined for chips, they’re tearing aside washing machines
The semiconductor scarcity is biting, and firms are panicking. (Bloomberg $)

10 Intestine Well being is taking on TikTok
But it surely’s fast fixes and never long-term wholesome way of life adjustments that are likely to go viral. (NYT $)
A examine says time-restricted consuming doesn’t work as a weight reduction technique. (NYT $)
Fashionable TikTok recipes sound scrumptious and disgusting in equal measure. (The Guardian)
Deep dive evaluation of all types of matters is taking on TikTok. (Vox)

We are able to nonetheless have good issues

A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction in these bizarre instances. (Bought any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)

+ A timeless joke for a timeless tune.
+ Do you know soccer managers used to must ship VHS tapes to the South Pacific as a way to have their matches analyzed? Fascinating stuff.
+ Why are dolls so pervasive in standard tradition proper now? 
+ Take pleasure in this mesmerizing clip of a Feather Star marine creature bobbing alongside.
+ Seems a Clueless-style closet isn’t all it’s cracked as much as be—it sounds exhausting.
+ These old-skool particular movie results are enchanting.
+ Should you’ve ever wanted to know why Oreo cream solely ever sticks to 1 wafer, right here’s your reply.

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