The year 2014 has seen dozens of definitive moments — particularly those in technology — that will no doubt set the tone for the rest of the century.
The driving force behind changes of this scale is new developments in technology. While technology no doubt creates progress, people often stagger in catching up to the advances.
One fine example of this sort of innovation is Uber, a so-called ride-sharing company that provides an excellent service but has come under fire for multiple shady dealings.
Uber’s genius lies in the fact that it is remarkably easy, convenient and cheaper than its closest substitute: taxis.
“Everyone’s private driver” is ludicrously convenient and much sexier than similar enterprises. From the consumer’s point of view, Uber is freakin’ brilliant. But consumers aren’t the only people involved in these transactions.
See, Uber makes its physical and philosophical home in the land of Silicon Valley, a swath of California that Ayn Rand would literally kill for an opportunity to inhabit. Silicon Valley — where Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon and Netflix also reside — is a techno-libertarian paradise. Here, the market is truly free — mostly because the technology these companies are built on is, at most, 15 years old, and nobody knows how to regulate it. Innovation is fueled by fierce competition between these companies, which are locked in a constant struggle to generate and acquire absolutely astonishing amounts of capital.
It was from this sleek, state-of-the-art, ruthlessly competitive world that Uber was born. And it is this worldview that it maintains.
Uber has garnered massive amounts of criticism. Much of this comes from governments as well as Uber’s own drivers. Uber undermines taxi regulations, which is why it’s called a ride-sharing service instead of a taxi service. Legally, Uber is just an app that connects people who need to be driven places and people willing to drive them. However, the fact that the financial transactions are done in-app kind of defeats that claim. The money goes to Uber first — drivers get about 20 percent.
Uber also treats its drivers like crap. Driver protests have erupted, and there’s an entire online forum dedicated to drivers venting about mistreatment from the company and entitled drunk millennials. Drivers depend on Uber’s five-star rating system for employment. They are expected to maintain at least a 4.7 average, or they’ll get fired.
But two of this week’s headlines made Uber’s attitude a whole lot more clear. Spotify, after it was dumped by Taylor Swift two weeks ago, recently announced that it’s getting together with Uber. If you have Spotify Premium (the paid version), you can stream your music from the speakers on your next Uber ride.
Although that sounds dandy, drivers and other activists noticed it seems poorly thought out. What if the driver doesn’t have streaming capability and is given a career-ending, one-star review? It’s not safe for anybody to drive while “Just A Friend” is blaring in his or her car and the volume is controlled by someone who’s been slamming sea breezes for the last five hours.
But we saw Uber’s upper management slide from irresponsible to downright creepy when Buzzfeed published a story about remarks made by Emil Michael, a senior Uber executive, at a New York City dinner party. When discussion moved toward some of Uber’s negative press attention, Michael publicly thought out loud about hiring a team of researchers who would investigate journalists critical of Uber. These researchers would dig into “your personal lives, your families,” coming up with something juicy and scandalous to throw back at critics.
Uber has since distanced itself from this fantastic public relations blunder, but the fact that one of its top executives thought this was appropriate to say out loud in public, even if he was joking, is disconcerting. Along with previous questionable behavior, this points to the company leadership’s reckless disregard for anything but its own advancement.
Alec Carver is UF history sophomore. His columns appear on Thursdays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 11/20/2014]
