Detached

Me@the pharmacy: hi I have one to pick up please.

Pharmacist: sure. Here’s your Albuterol.

Me: My what now? My doctor ordered [redacted], not Albuterol.

Pharmacist: yes, but the insurance company switched it to Albuterol.

Me: Albuterol is for asthma.

Pharmacist: …yes.

Me: … I do not have asthma.

Pharmacist: so you need the—

In early 2021, Amazon installed AI-powered cameras in the delivery vans at one of its depots in Los Angeles. Derek, a delivery driver at the facility, said the camera in his van started to incorrectly penalize him whenever cars cut him off, an everyday occurrence in Los Angeles traffic.

“Maintain safe distance,” the camera installed above his seat would say when a car cut him off. That data would be sent to Amazon, and would be used to evaluate his performance that week and determine whether he got a bonus.  

“Every time I need to make a right hand turn, it inevitably happens. A car cuts me off to move into my lane, and the camera, in this really dystopian dark, robotic voice, shouts at me,“ Derek, who asked to remain anonymous because he feared retribution from Amazon, told Motherboard. “It’s so disconcerting. It’s upsetting, when I didn’t do anything.”

[…]

For Amazon delivery companies, which receive bonuses by earning “fantastic” scores on a weekly scorecard, Netradyne “events” can ruin a scorecard, meaning the delivery company doesn’t receive income it needs to pay for vehicle repairs, consumables, damages, support staff  and bonuses for drivers.

Every week, Amazon gives each delivery driver a tier rating, which ranges from “fantastic” to “good” to “fair” to “poor” based on a series of metrics, including Netradyne events. Each Amazon delivery company receives a scorecard that combines all its drivers’ scores, according to a scorecard reviewed by Motherboard.

for almost a year there have been political protests, movements (eg, stop the sweeps), social media coverage including people warning each other of when police are in certain areas, mutual aid and political organizations (such as little petal alliance), etc etc of ALL these things. there are currently protesters that are in jail or were bailed out of jail by their communities.

The clams are just better at measuring the water quality than any man-made sensors.