Marketplace Tech

Since Amazon first introduced robots into its warehouses six years ago, the company has seen staggering growth. And demand has only intensified during the pandemic as more people do their shopping online. But a new investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting finds that growth may be coming at a heavy price to workers. Injuries are on the rise, especially in facilities where robots are used. Amy Scott speaks with Will Evans, a reporter for Reveal who led the investigation.

Since Amazon first introduced robots into its warehouses six years ago, the company has seen staggering growth. And demand has only intensified during the pandemic as more people do their shopping online. But a new investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting finds that growth may be coming at a heavy price to workers. Injuries are on the rise, especially in facilities where robots are used. Amy Scott speaks with Will Evans, a reporter for Reveal who led the investigation.

The Russian group accused of meddling in the 2016 election was caught this month in another disinformation campaign. Reuters reports that the group posed as a news outlet publishing articles that attacked former Vice President Biden. They targeted Facebook and Twitter, yes, but also spread content on Gab and Parler, social media networks that attract right-wing users. Molly speaks with Camille Francois, chief innovation officer at Graphika, who helped research this effort. She says disinformation is looking for a new home.

The Russian group accused of meddling in the 2016 election was caught this month in another disinformation campaign. Reuters reports that the group posed as a news outlet publishing articles that attacked former Vice President Biden. They targeted Facebook and Twitter, yes, but also spread content on Gab and Parler, social media networks that attract right-wing users. Molly speaks with Camille Francois, chief innovation officer at Graphika, who helped research this effort. She says disinformation is looking for a new home.

Every Monday this fall, we’ve been taking a look at education and technology during the pandemic. We’ve mostly talked about remote school, but today we’re going to talk about how schools and districts are using tech to try to monitor students’ health in the classroom. Even before the pandemic, some schools had used things like facial recognition to monitor students. Now, they’re adding QR codes, thermal cameras and spending potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. Molly Wood speaks with Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the nonprofit Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.

Every Monday this fall, we’ve been taking a look at education and technology during the pandemic. We’ve mostly talked about remote school, but today we’re going to talk about how schools and districts are using tech to try to monitor students’ health in the classroom. Even before the pandemic, some schools had used things like facial recognition to monitor students. Now, they’re adding QR codes, thermal cameras and spending potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. Molly Wood speaks with Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the nonprofit Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.

At some point, trying to manufacture and distribute a vaccine for a brand new virus, keeping track of who’s gotten it, where it’s going, how long it’s taking and how much you have, is a logistics and data problem — a big one. Enter Salesforce, whose whole job is organizing data. The company has introduced new products during the pandemic under the name Work.com. First, it was organizing employees returning to work. Then it offered it to schools as students went back. And now, it’s trying to sell that system to health care organizations and even governments to organize vaccine distribution. That gets the company close to something like electronic medical records, or EMRs. Molly speaks with CEO Marc Benioff.

At some point, trying to manufacture and distribute a vaccine for a brand new virus, keeping track of who’s gotten it, where it’s going, how long it’s taking and how much you have, is a logistics and data problem — a big one. Enter Salesforce, whose whole job is organizing data. The company has introduced new products during the pandemic under the name Work.com. First, it was organizing employees returning to work. Then it offered it to schools as students went back. And now, it’s trying to sell that system to health care organizations and even governments to organize vaccine distribution. That gets the company close to something like electronic medical records, or EMRs. Molly speaks with CEO Marc Benioff.

The Trump campaign sent targeted ads to Black people in 2016 to deter them from voting, according to an investigation published this week by Channel 4 in the U.K. The campaign denies this, but targeted digital advertising is a big part of political campaigns. So big that Google banned microtargeting in political ads; Twitter banned political ads completely. Facebook has not. How effective are targeted ads? If they can change a vote, should they be allowed? Molly speaks with John Deighton, a professor at Harvard Business School. His research focuses on digital and direct marketing. He says targeted advertising works, but it’s not the real problem.

The Trump campaign sent targeted ads to Black people in 2016 to deter them from voting, according to an investigation published this week by Channel 4 in the U.K. The campaign denies this, but targeted digital advertising is a big part of political campaigns. So big that Google banned microtargeting in political ads; Twitter banned political ads completely. Facebook has not. How effective are targeted ads? If they can change a vote, should they be allowed? Molly speaks with John Deighton, a professor at Harvard Business School. His research focuses on digital and direct marketing. He says targeted advertising works, but it’s not the real problem.