Category: Economy & Business
Posted inArtificial Intelligence, Economy & Business, Labor, News, Technology, Transportation

Drivers Protest Uber’s ‘Black Box’ Fare System

Avatar photo by Jason Winshell

Uber’s use of secretive fare pricing algorithms driven by artificial intelligence lowers drivers’ wages, causes them confusion and uncertainty, and could undermine public safety — all while boosting company profits to record levels. 

That’s the conclusion of a new report surveying more than 2,500 Uber drivers and the message sounded by dozens who protested July 1 outside the company’s San Francisco headquarters. 

Drivers say the company’s opaque fare-pricing algorithms have been hurting their income and wellbeing. The protesters’ signs echoed conclusions from the report by PowerSwitch Action and Gig Workers Rising, grassroots organizations representing workers and labor interests.

Posted inBay Area, Data Privacy, Economy & Business, Law & Justice

Patelco Credit Union Settles Class Action Cyberhack Suit for $7.25M

by Yuri Nagano

Nearly a year after a ransomware attack paralyzed Patelco Credit Union, a class action against the nonprofit financial cooperative has been settled for $7.25 million. More than 1 million accounts were affected by the breach.

Settlement terms include creating a $7.25 million fund to be shared by victims affected by the ransomware attack and system shutdown of Patelco that lasted for more than two weeks last summer.

Posted inEconomy & Business, Neighborhoods

Tech to Table: Second-Generation Business Owners Take Over Chinatown Restaurants

Avatar photo by Zhe Wu

Chelsea Hung wasted no time in making a life-changing decision: In her late 20s, she left her tech job in New York City, and headed back to San Francisco’s Chinatown to take over her parents’ restaurant, all within a month. 

Hung’s parents were planning to sell the restaurant, R&G Lounge. Her motivation was simple: She didn’t want to see the place where she grew up and celebrated so many milestones close its doors. 

After moving back in 2018, she kept the business running and in March, R&G Lounge celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Posted inCalifornia, Economy & Business, Public Safety, Transportation

Uber Submitted False Information to Regulators, Used Substandard Limousines, Agency Rules

Avatar photo by Seth Rosenfeld

Uber must pay a $50,000 fine for submitting false information to state regulators about numerous substandard rides it provided on its Uber Black luxury limousine service, violating a fundamental rule that officials said caused “harm to the regulatory process.”

In the previously unreported final decision, the California Public Utilities Commission found that San Francisco-based Uber had lax review procedures and failed to detect obviously falsified limousine licenses presented to it by independent limousine companies that Uber had subcontracted to give rides on Uber Black.

Posted inArtificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Economy & Business, Labor, Series, Technology

California Creatives Rally Behind State AI Rules to Save Their Artwork

by Yuri Nagano

Many creative professionals — including visual artists, writers, actors, singers and musicians — are concerned that companies are feeding existing creative work into data troves and applying generative AI to produce content based on their original work without giving credit or compensation. Creative professionals say their work is being used and monetized without their permission.

Posted inEconomy & Business, From the Newsroom, Media

Film Screening: ‘Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink’

by Public Press staff

Join the San Francisco Public Press at the Roxie on March 13, for a special fundraising screening of “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” a documentary by two-time Academy Award-nominee Rick Goldsmith. Hedge fund Alden Global Capital is quietly gobbling up newspapers across the country and gutting them, but no one knows why — until journalist Julie Reynolds begins to investigate. Her findings trigger rebellions across the country by journalists working at Alden-owned newspapers. Backed by the NewsGuild union, the newsmen and women go toe-to-toe with their “vulture capitalist” owners in a battle to save and rebuild local journalism in America.

Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Elections, Housing, Land use, San Francisco March 2024 Election Guide

Proposition C — Real Estate Transfer Tax Exemption and Office Space Allocation

Avatar photo by Lila LaHood

Proposition C would change San Francisco’s tax policy to allow a one-time transfer tax exemption for owners of properties converted from commercial to residential use the first time they are sold following conversion, as long as the change of use is approved before Jan. 1, 2030.

Posted inClimate Change, Economy & Business, Housing, Land use, News, Sea Level Rise

Promising to Prevent Floods at Treasure Island, Builders Downplay Risk of Sea Rise

by Kristi Coale

Sea level rise is forcing cities around San Francisco Bay to weigh demand for new housing against the need to protect communities from flooding. Builders say they can solve this dilemma with cutting-edge civil engineering. But no one knows whether their ambitious efforts will be enough to keep newly built waterfront real estate safe in coming decades.

Meanwhile, developers are busy building — and telling the public that they can mitigate this one effect of climate change, despite mounting evidence that it could be a bigger problem than previously believed.

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