Every week, we put together a list of our top 5 articles of the past week. Happy reading!
How Uber Uses Psychological Tricks to Push Its Drivers’ Buttons NY Times
Uber’s business is built on a freelance workforce causing an issue for a company that matches supply& demand. This interesting NYT’s piece uncovers how use techniques in the app to get drivers to alter their behavior.
To keep drivers on the road, the company has exploited some people’s tendency to set earnings goals — alerting them that they are ever so close to hitting a precious target when they try to log off. It has even concocted an algorithm similar to a Netflix feature that automatically loads the next program, which many experts believe encourages binge-watching. In Uber’s case, this means sending drivers their next fare opportunity before their current ride is even over.
Ralph Lauren Is the Latest Fashion Victim in a New Era for Retailers Bloomberg
Ecommece gets the blame often for the downfall of brands, especially brands selling through retailers. The reality is that there is disconnect with established brands and how they understand younger audiences (which they desperately need to survive). Digital is the core means to listen and understand / selling second.
AI versus MD New Yorker
I have a feeling that the hype cycle of artificial intelligence isn’t going away soon. That being said, there are many interesting applications of AI that are starting to emerge. This piece from the New Yorker goes in depth about how neural networks can learn and where we will be constantly monitored. Will these systems replace doctors or augment their work?
The two final frontiers before we reach “Peak Attention” Joshua Lesky, Medium
Probably my favorite article of the week. How much more time before we’ve saturated the amount of time we can spend consuming media? The article argues that we’ve hit a peak and the next wave of growth is going to come when we have more free time in autonomous cars.
Episode 23: Jeremi Lavoie, Managing Director @ car2go Montreal PNR Podcast
If you’re interested in the future of transportation, I had an interesting conversation with Jeremi Lavoie who leads car2go in Montreal. Car sharing is one of those key trends that can dramatically change the core notion of property.
