CommonSpace columnist Mick Clocherty says generation cyborg must starting listening to those moral pangs in their consciences
I SEE YOU. I see the look of panic in your eyes while you’re waiting on a self-service scanner at the supermarket but a member of staff calls out “next!”. You’d rather deal with the machine, wouldn’t you? You can’t even handle phoning up for a pizza any more, you just mash your paws into the nearest mobile, tablet or laptop and expect sustenance to be delivered to you directly.
You interface with these devices for food, finding a partner, transportation and news of the outside world. You probably silently lament that the Americans have an app for getting weed delivered to their door and we don’t. You don’t know exactly when human interaction made something more inconvenient, but it feels that way now.
I see you. I am you. Forget generation snowflake: we are generation cyborg.
Firstly, and most recently, Uber is so militantly anti-worker’s rights that it produced an 18-part podcast series about the so-called dangers of joining a trade union.
There’s a trend I’m noticing at the moment where removing the human touch from something makes it seem more accessible, more streamlined. For the most part, people these days are quite happy to deal with a machine rather than a person (except for interactive voice response software at call centres, everyone hates those).
As this becomes more and more commonplace, it’s something that’s craved by the younger generation who prefer to use apps for many of these transactions.
Now I know what you’re thinking: “What? You want me to doff my cap and actually have a conversation with another human being? What do you think this is mate, the middle ages? I just press a couple of buttons, wire a few credits across on the transponder, and voila, done. Much more elegant. This is fucking Star Trek, mate.”
I’m not saying we shouldn’t use apps – in fact, there are a lot of them that actually can be quite useful, as well as others that, while pointless, are entertaining. What I will say is this: while racing ahead chasing the next technological marvel, we should still be careful to scrutinise the companies behind these apps.
Which brings me to Uber, and the resignation of the company’s president, Jeff Jones, who has left citing its values as “inconsistent” with his own.
With every click, you’re condoning these shitty employment practices.
Uber, for the uninitiated, is an app that lets you order a taxi without having to speak to an operator, you can pay for it with your bank card (eliminating cash from the transaction), and watch your driver arrive on a wee map. It probably either sounds completely pointless or pretty cool to you, depending on which side of 25 you fall on.
With the departure of Jones, the latest in a string of departures of high level executives, you may be wondering what makes the company so toxic. For any of my fellow pod-people, with a smartphone permanently grafted to your hand, here are some reasons we should not assimilate this programme into our network processors.
Firstly, and most recently, Uber is so militantly anti-worker’s rights that it produced an 18-part podcast series about the so-called dangers of joining a trade union. You’ve really got to take a close look at any corporation with such a knee-jerk fear of collective bargaining and closely scrutinise its motives.
There’s a recent trend in companies, involved in parcel-delivery for instance, using the fact that their drivers are technically self-employed as a means of side-stepping employment laws (enabling them to pay less than the national minimum wage and do away with sick pay and maternity leave).
With every click, you’re condoning these shitty employment practices.
In summation: Uber doesn’t appear to care much about worker’s rights, women’s rights or your safety. Is that icon on your phone annoying you yet?
Also, it has been highlighted before that Uber drivers are not subjected to strict enough background checks. While Uber maintains that in the United Kingdom its background checks are the same other cab drivers go through, it’s at least pretty alarming that this is a company which has comfortably employed violent sex offenders in the recent past.
We also have Susan J Fowler’s account of the alleged rampant sexism she experienced while working for the company if you’re looking for further reasons why this lot may be unscrupulous scumbags.
Throw in the fact that Uber prices local taxi companies out of existence, which is a problem for the older and less tech-savvy in our communities. (Do you really want to have a 20-minute long conversation with your grandmother about what an app store is when all she wants to do is get home from the chemist?)
In summation: Uber doesn’t appear to care much about worker’s rights, women’s rights or your safety. Is that icon on your phone annoying you yet?
It’s time to delete Uber.
Press about three different buttons and there’s one less bad guy getting your money.
I know boycotts can be a pain in the arse. In our world of unchecked global capitalism, trying to find products that aren’t complicit in the assassinations of trade union leaders or state-funded terror, for example, can actually prove pretty challenging, especially when you take parent companies into consideration. Ethical shopping isn’t very realistic when you’re skint, either.
The beauty of something like Uber, though, is that this ‘at the touch of a button’ convenience works both ways. If you don’t like Uber as a company, deleting the app from your phone can literally be done in seconds. That’s it. Press about three different buttons and there’s one less bad guy getting your money.
If you’re really too lazy or hungover to phone up and deal with a taxi firm, most of them have gotten with the times and created their own apps for you to use now anyway, complete with the easier payment method. So: why not? Doesn’t that sound like a hassle-free technology-friendly way to do something good for your conscience?
The rats are abandoning the sinking ship. It’s time Uber was confined to whatever strange cyberspace graveyard Napster and Bebo are buried in.
Picture courtesy of freestocks.org
Check out what people are saying about how important CommonSpace is: Pledge your support today.
