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Reposted by United Tech & Allied Workers

Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social · 5d

“AI isn’t magic; it’s a pyramid scheme of human labor,” said @adiod.bsky.social, a researcher at @dairinstitute.bsky.social. “These raters are the middle rung: invisible, essential and expendable.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

How thousands of ‘overworked, underpaid’ humans train Google’s AI to seem smart

Contracted AI raters describe grueling deadlines, poor pay and opacity around work to make chatbots intelligent

www.theguardian.com

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Reuben Binns @rdbinns.bsky.social · 6d

Trying to grow the UK AI sector by building data centers is like trying to grow the university sector by building paper factories.

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · 19d

Article here by @mickeycarroll.bsky.social news.sky.com/story/we-wou...

'We wouldn't let our children on the app': TikTok moderators warn users may be at risk after redundancies

In August, TikTok said it was making redundancies in order to "concentrate operations in fewer locations" and develop the use of AI in moderation, in part to protect human workers from seeing harmful ...

news.sky.com

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · 19d

TikTok's biggest European market is the UK, something they were gleefully boasting to the press about early this summer but then as soon as a union recognition ballot is scheduled, suddenly it isn't that important and they want to offshore jobs somewhere with cheaper labour and weak unions.

Sky News website headline 'We wouldn't let out children on the app': TikTok moderators warn users may be at risk after redundancies, In August, TikTok said it was making redundancies in order to "concentrate operations in fewer locations" and develop the use of..."

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The CWU @cwunews.bsky.social · 23d

Moderators face one of the most psychologically damaging jobs on the internet to keep the public safe, yet TikTok wants to offshore the roles, despite making BILLIONS.

We rallied outside TikTok HQ to show that our @utaw.tech members aren’t going anywhere.

www.youtube.com/shorts/oJl172PqRXI

TikTok Workers Speak Out

YouTube video by Trades Union Congress (TUC)

www.youtube.com

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Molly Shah @mommunism.bsky.social · Jul 24

Fedaa has worked as a pediatrician this whole time

Dr.fedaa nadi @drfeda.bsky.social · Jul 24

If I die, I am not a number I have dreams and ambitions that I wanted to achieve.

Don't forget me in your prayers and keep talking about me
chuffed.org/project/save...

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · Jul 24

"Politicians are not commentators, they are paid to take decisions."
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

www.etuc.org/en/pressrele...

EU action not words needed over Gaza now

Amid the unconscionable and escalating atrocities being committed in Gaza, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) calls for the EU Commission to act on their assessment and findings of violations, and advance sanctions, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

www.etuc.org

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · Jul 18

Nik's thesis is fascinating - tech leaders don't lead, buying software as a means of putting the responsibility for their company's future on someone else's back, allowing them to do specious TED talks and as little work as possible.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-remarkab...

Everyone, even grifters, would actually prefer clear and unambiguous wins of the sort you’d get from solving the problems above. The preferred way to defeat your political opponents and other companies is force-of-arms, not grifting. If you’re the one person that gets their projects delivered on-time, at high-quality, without the need to lie, then you’ll have a great career. The issue? Society does not systematically produce nearly enough people who can do this. In their absence we select people who are either deliberately lying or so vapid that they really do think they’re incredible despite all evidence to the contrary. None of this helps them ship software, but it does make it easier to accept awards on stages and maybe get a TED talk one day, fantasies of which put them in danger of orgasm. They do not have the ability to address the hard problems, because they cannot even perceive the problems accurately.

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · Jul 18

Who lined up the speakers for the UN's AI For Good summit?

Of all the actual experts and people who know about 'AI'', its impact now and potential, and you booked WILL I AM and CHERIE BLAIR???

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · Jul 12

Some billionaires getting very nervous as more and more of these studies start to get published www.reuters.com/business/ai-...

AI slows down some experienced software developers, study finds

www.reuters.com

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · Jul 9

I bet he wonders why he isn't allowed to run the company anymore.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin calls U.N. ‘transparently antisemitic’ after report on tech firms and Gaza

In WaPo wapo.st/4lg3pIh

(links sans paywall) archive.is/yUZfC#select...

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · Jun 7

At the CWU we back Zarah, and she backs us. The Mail on Sunday can eat shit.

Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana.bsky.social · Jun 6

For the record:

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · May 17

On this International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (#IDAHOBIT), join a union that will stand up for your rights.

On a background of UTAW logos coloured in the various queer flags is the following text:

"The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is an important day in the queer calendar, representing the day that the World Health Organisation took homosexuality off their list of mental illnesses in 1973, but the struggle continues -- every. single. day.

We’re all weary of companies putting out bland, empty statements. All while they continue to support political parties that stoke division, push oppressive laws and legal decisions, support the military-industrial complex, and fund Israel’s genocide.

We’ll continue working to get all queer people the dignity they deserve, in and out of work, no matter the time of year.

Oh, and remember, Barclays did NOT throw the first brick at Stonewall.

None of us are free until all of us are free.

Join a union that will stand up for your rights today."

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · May 14

Apropos of nothing...

lawcha.org/2022/03/0...

Not Your Father’s Anti-Union Movement: Ten Key Facts About Starbucks’ Union Avoidance Law Firm, Littler Mendelson | LAWCHA

Since winning two NLRB elections at Buffalo stores last December, the remarkable Starbucks Workers United union campaign has now spread to well over 100

lawcha.org

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · May 8

One of our members has created some homemade merch. These jars will be stored in a dark place, as dark and cold as the supreme court's decision, only to be unleashed like a limited-edition drop.

#TransRightsAreHumanRights #cooking

Jars of homemade rhubarb and vanilla spread on a kitchen counter, each labelled with a UTAW sticker and the words "Trans rights are human rights".

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · May 6

We stand with our trans comrades.

#Trans #TransRights #Union

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Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · May 2

The AI jobs crisis is not the sudden displacement of millions of workers in one fell swoop—instead, it’s evident in the attrition in creative industries, the declining income of freelance artists, writers, and illustrators, and in corporations’ inclination to simply hire fewer human workers.

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UTAW@Apple @appleutaw.bsky.social · May 2

FRIDAY 2 MAY 2025 Apple Grand Arcade, Cambridge 
UTAW-CWU Members at Apple Grand Arcade held a meeting with Apple management this morning, mediated by ACAS, to discuss union recognition.

Apple’s representatives demonstrated a complete lack of good faith and refused to agree to a count of union members that would proceed to a ballot of staff in the store. Instead, they attempted to delay the process and waste our time. We offered Apple the opportunity to recognise us on a voluntary basis, which they had no intention of agreeing to. As a result we were unable to continue the discussion.

We will now immediately proceed with the process of statutory recognition with the CAC which we have every confidence we will be successful in due to the strength of our membership.

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · May 1

Happy May Day and International Workers' Day from our comrades in Cuba! 🇨🇺

A night-time photo of the Cuban Ministry of Interior building, adorned with a steel sculpture of Che Guevara alongside his famous phrase "¡Hasta la victoria siempre!", which is lit up in amber.

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United Tech & Allied Workers @utaw.tech · Apr 29

"There've been half a million US tech layoff since 2023. Tech workers' scarcity-derived power has been vaporized. Tech workers can avoid the fate of the factory, warehouse and delivery workers their bosses literally work to death – but only by unionizing."