Uberland: How Algorithms Are Rewriting the Rules of Work

This book was interesting. The chapters blended together a little and I’m not sure if some points or examples that were used were necessary. A lot of repeating and very wordy and verbose. I read this book for a information and security course on privacy. It did open my eyes to harmful practices that companies that Uber as well as lyft and Facebook can be engaged it. I definitely saw Uber differently after this book and am disappointed to learn they are a dog eat dog company. Very selfish and manipulative. It is shocking to see that they can get away with this algorithm management bs. Hopefully laws can come about that better protect this type of employment.

Alex Rosenblant explores how Uber operates, and also how technoly partices are shaping the new economy. Rosenblant takes the reader deeper into Ubers'labor by sharing some drivers' own experinces across the United States including Canada. The author expalins how the new economy is shaping people's lives by offering them a flexible job , where drivers do not have a physical boss, but they still being controled by a platform of algorithms. The author shows us both sides of this job the advantages and disadvantges of beind an Uber's driver.

This book is a marvelous inside look at what it's like to drive for Uber, and by extension, any Silicon Valley gig economy platform. The author claims she tells her children Uber stories at bedtime - and I believe her. She weaves many a tale about the rides she took in years of research (over 5,000 miles in the U.S. and Canada). The author illuminates a myriad of problems associated with having an algorithm as your boss, where there is rarely a real human to help you resolve issues. Although Uber touts the independence of their drivers, the author demonstrates that independence is mostly an illusion and manipulation abounds. I was expecting a typical academic tome, and what I got instead was a really terrific read. I highly recommend Uberland.

Uber is slippery and abstract, the company and its services are (in many places) ubiquitous but also hard to understand as they change policies, leadership, and scandals erupt. This book not only makes Uber concrete through the experiences of its drivers, but also explains the slippery-ness in a way that sends readers away with a more fulsome understanding of not only the company, but also the consequences of companies beyond Uber using technology to “rewrite the rules of work”. Rosenblat goes beyond description to explain the experiences of drivers with her deep knowledge of Uber’s technology and business incentives. Her expertise in this area is unmatched by more casual observers, a must-read for those grappling with technology, work, and inequality.

Thanks.

Taken at face value, the shiny veneer of the gig economy are simply apps that allow people to seek services from other people. Yet, as Uberland demonstrates, the brokers of those exchanges are not agnostic actors developing neutral platforms that connect people. Rather, companies like Uber have built algorithmically-rooted technologies that govern how people can connect. Through explicit managerial processes and implicit nudges, Uber shapes a distributed workforce based on its own values with little accountability for its actions. This book shines a light on these dynamics, highlighting the logics of ridehail companies (most notably Uber), the experiences of drivers, and the tensions that emerge as competing interests collide.Alex Rosenblat has spent years talking to a wide-range of drivers, Uber employees, and other stakeholders to understand their values, logics, and work-arounds. Through eloquent prose and thick description, she elevates the voices of those she talks with so that the reader can see the challenges presented by algorithmic management. She offers a compelling framework for understanding what's unfolding and helps the reader get past their naive assumptions of how drivers experience Uber. This work is critical, in no small part because every person who has ever taken an Uber feels as though they understand drivers. Rosenblat helps the reader see the wide range of incentives and logics and how they contradict in important ways.This book is an essential read for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and all who have a vested interest in understanding how technology is reconfiguring society. It's also a fun read for anyone who may simply want to see what lies below the shiny veneer.

I had to take a break from reading a few times because Uberland hit so close to home with my experiences on the road as a ridehail driver. I have driven for services like Uber and Lyft for the last 5 years while writing about my experience for 3 years at therideshareguy.com.Alex does an excellent job of describing those who really work for these services, capturing the ways that Uber and Lyft try to "nudge" their workers into desired outcomes for the platform, and how drivers respond to those "nudges". The book documents a wide history and provides examples with screenshots of how the workers for these services are almost completely managed by algorithms and automated processes; for better and worse.There's no affiliate code at the end. No Call To Action to "signup and drive" at for "guaranteed earnings". No rosy colored shades on how the sharing economy is creating jobs, or speculation on how these companies mean well.If you're considering a career in the gig-economy as a worker or even an employee for a platform like Uber, READ THIS BOOK!

Managed by a faceless boss - Rosenblat gives us the frameworks to understand the impact of tech on society. The interviews and perspectives outlined in the book show the challenges of working in the sharing economy. Accountability to an algorithm, loss of control in deciding when and where you work, and being able to be terminated at any point with little recourse.An excellent and important book for anyone interested in the future of work, the gig economy, and how people move.

Todo muy bien y a tiempo. GRACIASSSSSSSS!!!!!