Tech Story Sampler

U-Turn for Uber

They announced they were testing “Uber Tasks” a few weeks back, and it got me thinking… Uber is going places. In their most recent financial results, they reported a second straight quarter with profits ($221M) and record ridership. Plus, even beyond their core rideshare business, I like that they are looking for other businesses to be in. Travis Kalanick, the Uber founder and predecessor to now CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, got a bad rep for quoting that rideshare would be way more profitable once the people in the driver’s seat were automated away… but for a company searching for profits, it did seem to be a cold hard truth.

Uber Tasks is being tested in Florida and Alberta, and the goal is to take on TaskRabbit and add new revenue streams. At the end of the day, Uber/ridesharing is just a platform helping connect people with time to people who need a job done, so it absolutely makes sense to add new jobs to list. I like this experimentation and the fact that they aren’t slacking after a profitable streak.

Concerning: Hacking Exploding

A few crypto exchanges, The Idaho Dept of Energy, and the 2nd biggest port in Australia were all hacked in the last few weeks, and statistically that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “Winters” are nothing new in tech – just ask entire crypto industry and the early AI folks… For cybersecurity, which I would argue was pushed to the backburner in the last decade, winter is ending, and things are thawing incredibly quickly.

It sounds like part of this thawing – and the reason we’re seeing so many hacks – is because of AI. Access to AI tools that can create/interpret/repurpose malware more quickly than humans can learn it is making it easier than ever to wreak havoc. Low-skilled hackers are able to do more with a fraction of the time, and they are taking advantage of anyone and everyone who has been asleep at the wheel. I wrote about the infamous casino hacks and gave a crash course in defense measures a few months ago, but it is woefully inadequate.

Just the same way I advocated for sidestepping an AI pause, so that the good guys could be among the first to artificial general intelligence, I think these ongoing cyberwars are in need of some good-guy advantages. Hopefully some smart entrepreneurs are out there crafting gamified, high-powered AI-defense tools for normal people, so we stand a fighting chance against this flood of hack-tivity.

United Airlines Ads Play

Apparently, the airline is considering allowing brands to target its customers with narrowly focused ads, which could be shown in their in-flight entertainment systems or in the app while booking a flight. So you, reader, might see ads for yachts and expensive chocolates, while I see ads for refurbished Tupperware.

All jokes aside, this is a little bit frustrating to see. In-app ads are OK, since many apps we use have them anyway, but I would hope for better when it comes to things that impact the in-flight experience. I’m probably (definitely) biased, but I feel like airline quality peaked in 2016. I was in my second year of consulting, when status and perks were being showered on customers. Seeing more ads in-flight (like an insistent attendant trying to get you to buy that snackbox) just sounds crappy. But competitive industries lead to tough times and desperate measures for companies, and it isn’t just United. A few months ago, Delta came out with an “update” to their SkyMiles program, where they made it significantly harder to achieve status. After an uproar of customer protest, they announced an updated update… backtracking and trying to make amends. This stuff is not easy.

Last, but not least…

The Sam Saga

If you haven’t heard about the drama with Sam Altman, the former – and returning – CEO of OpenAI this week, then I envy you. Honestly, it’s been exhausting trying to keep up. The board kicked him out, then regretted it, then Microsoft hired him (almost), then 500 employees planned to join him at Microsoft (almost), then the OpenAI board dissolved and reassembled, naming him CEO again.

Instead of adding play-by-play commentary, and being lost in a sea of outdated takes and annoying “I knew it would play out like this” know-it-alls, let’s zoom out…

Tech Jobs Update:

Here are a few things I’m paying attention to this week:

• Big Tech Job Posts: LinkedIn has 7,097 (-30.8% WoW) US-based jobs for a group of 20 large firms (the ones I typically write about — Google, Apple, Netflix, etc.).

• Graph: Layoffs since covid (Source: Layoffs.FYI). Note that this is showing in-progress Q4 numbers.