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San Francisco’s Robot Tax Could Save Jobs Threatened by Automation

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Many workers worry about being laid off and replaced by autonomous robots. While some employers view robots as an effective cost-saving measure, Bill Gates has a plan to dis-incentivize rampant reliance on robotic workers with a plan that is both brilliant and simple: implement a robot tax.

Earlier this year, the online magazine Quartz interviewed Gates, and he has some innovative thoughts regarding autonomous robotic workers. While Gates agrees that autonomous robots can give employees more time to do important (or even non-work) activities, robots aren’t taxed like humans. Even though these robots are a sign of improving technology and innovation, they often displace and replace human workers, for any number of reasons (including not being taxed), which instills fear instead of enthusiasm in the general public. And, Gates believes that taxing companies that use robots will dis-incentivize their use without outright banning robotic workers. Granted, the companies could easily bite the bullet and just pay the taxes, but Gates believes the taxes will, at the very least, give workers who risk being displaced by autonomous robots a chance to train for other jobs before they’re ultimately replaced.

Even though Gates came up with the idea of the robot tax, according to sites such as Fortune and ABC News, the city of San Francisco might be the first to implement these taxes. City Supervisor Jane Kim wants to enforce this tax because she is concerned that job automation will affect income inequality.

“I really do think automation is going to be one of the biggest issues around income inequality,” explains Kim. “It’s not inherently a bad thing, but it will concentrate wealth, and it’s going to drive further inequality if you don’t prepare for it now.”

However, not everyone shares Jane Kim’s concerns. Knightscope CEO William Santana Li believes automation is a positive move and a means for human workers to eventually earn higher salaries, and they will not be replaced by robots.

“We’re working on 160 contracts right now,” states Li, “and I can maybe name two that are literally talking about, ‘How can I get rid of that particular human position?”

Granted, Knightscope specializes in private security robots, and according to Li, private security has a high turnover rate and doesn’t pay well. Li believes his autonomous K5 robots can handle menial tasks and free up time for human workers to perform more important jobs, such as monitoring a fleet of K5 robots (shock of all shocks). However, Li’s opinion might not necessarily apply to other job positions in other industries, such as restaurants.

Currently, Jane Kim is brainstorming with San Franciscan public policy makers, labor groups, and technology leaders to determine the best way to implement the robot tax, such as donating the money collected from the tax to those who work in low-paying jobs that can’t be automated. However, another problem with the tax is determining who, if anyone, should be exempt, such as hotels or restaurants that use robots when they cannot find human workers or small companies that can’t afford to pay the tax. Right now, we do not know if Kim will succeed in her bid for the robot tax, but if she does, it will be an excellent trial to test a possible solution for the looming threat of job automation. If the tax is successful, other cities might adopt it, and if not, at least lawmakers will learn how not to combat the robot worker revolution.

All you have to do to get my attention is talk about video games, technology, anime, and/or Dungeons & Dragons - also people in spandex fighting rubber suited monsters.

Industry and Service

Republican lawmakers and Apple CEO Tim Cook meet in Washington

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Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with Republican lawmakers who will probably lead committees that regulate the tech sector.
Republican representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Darrel Issa of California, and Cathy McMorris Rogers of Washington are among those with whom Cook has booked meetings.

The meetings were probably planned several weeks, if not months, beforehand. Top conservatives have criticized Apple since the beginning, and many of them have joined with Twitter CEO Elon Musk in their recent dispute with Apple.

Jordan has publicly expressed his support for Elon Musk, as Bloomberg notes.

When the GOP wins over the House in 2023, Jordan is also set to serve as chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s chairman is most likely to be McMorris Rodgers.

They both will play a key role in developing the GOP’s technology policy agenda for 2023.

What is particularly on the agenda is unclear. Even when he is not called to testify about big tech, Cook travels to Washington, DC, on several occasions each year.

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Gadgets

EPA establishes a new office devoted to civil rights and environmental justice

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The goal is to make sure marginalized people are considered in environmental decisions.

According to Reuters, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a new office to assist underserved communities in coping with the additional responsibilities of pollution and climate change. 200 EPA workers from the Washington headquarters and 10 regional bureaus will work in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

“The establishment of a new office dedicated to advancing environmental justice and civil rights at EPA will ensure the lived experiences of underserved communities are central to our decision-making while supporting community-driven solutions,” remarked Kamala Harris, vice president of the US.

As part of a $60 billion investment in environmental justice, one of the main responsibilities of the new office will be to supervise the distribution of $3 billion in grants for environmental justice that were made possible by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, it will ensure that other EPA initiatives adhere to President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that 40% of certain government spending go to underserved communities. Finally, it will assist localities in obtaining funds, upholding human rights legislation, and resolving environmental disputes.

The opening of the new office took place in Warren County, North Carolina, the scene of demonstrations against the disposal of toxic waste there in 1982. While the 22-acre dump was not stopped as a result of the civil disobedience actions and arrests that followed, the current environmental justice movement was born. Participants remembered the protests’ 40th anniversary last week.

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Politics

Pewdiepie has Gotten into Trouble Yet Again

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Pewdiepie

The competition between Pewdiepie and T-Series has been going on for quite a while. I say this mostly because if Pewdiepie was in the middle of a smear campaign, I would certainly believe that it was all a ploy by T-Series in order to make him lose popularity. However, it seems like T-Series doesn’t have to do much as Pewdiepie is no stranger to getting himself into trouble.

So, what did Pewdiepie do this time? Well, in his most recent edition of “Pew News,” a semi-satirical series where Pewds offers his own take on news events or YouTube discussions, he dedicates the last portion of the video to shouting out smaller YouTube creators he enjoys watching. One of those creators is E;R (otherwise known as “EsemicolonR”), an essayist who often includes anti-Semitic, sexist, homophobic, and cruel language in his videos.

At least that’s what TheVerge and so many outlets/other YouTubers are saying. I took a look at E;R’s content and saw mostly meme videos about political stuff. The guy even made a tribute to Tay AI. You can see a whole documentary made about this by Internet Historian down below:

However, the subjects tackled in the videos can be a bit more problematic because of the current political climate with Pewdiepie. As such, we can assume that a lot of people don’t find this very funny and even reprehensible. Especially when the US is caught in the middle of tension thanks to laws like FOSTA, which are an indirect cause of Tumblr’s collapse right now.

Ever since Pewdiepie has made the shoutout, the channel has gained over 15,000 Subscribers. Of course, this also means that the ire of the people who are against him has risen even more. As such, we’re in this situation where Pewdiepie has gotten himself into trouble yet again despite knowing that the current situation is tense. I guess some people will never learn.

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