Most of the newest systems are simply a way of burying the prejudice under obfuscation.
Simply put: they can hire who they want and blame anything else on whatever system they have in place.
No old people (like me).
No "over-qualified" people - they'd cost too much, even if they would do the job Very well.
"Gender and/or Racial/Cultural bias" can also be added without being too noticeable.

Seriously, though. it highlights the old adage "It's not what you know, but Who you know".
Anyone who can bypass the digital "vetting" process.
Nepotism and favouritism are rife in just about any industry, if you look closely. "They" are just better at hiding it (most of the time).

Apparently, Ransomware is still a thing and people are still falling for it

Best Defense: Regular Backups and Secure User Practices.

Have a system in place that you can "simply" roll back your system to a time before the infection.
It's never simple, but better than getting hosed by digital terrorists and letting them win.
Besides, what about catastrophic system failure? One lightning strike (or other core system failure) and they'd have to recover from it anyway.
Treat it in the same category as that, and have a response ready.

Microsoft really needs to step up their game if this is going to become a thing of the past (like it should already be).
Perhaps a system that limits what gets encrypted, or only encrypts specific sections so such a wide-spread attack can't get the whole thing (or all the critical stuff) in a single attack?
Maybe it can't affect a system that is already encrypted?
After all, it forces the system to encrypt, right?
Beat them to it, and lock Them out?

Sounds to me like a plan that could work. Have a default level of Encryption for core elements during setup (or Security Rollout) and Voila! Ransomware Defense!

Maybe I'm just missing something...

Another case of SciFi being ahead of the curve on things.
After all, if it's not a digitally controlled system, remote hacking becomes much more difficult. You have to have someone in the room with the system to truly take control.
Needless to say, it takes the control over the grid out of digital overlords' hands, and puts it squarely into the realm of job security, I mean Security Jobs.

Back to spies and moles again.

Alas, "everything old is new again" keeps playing on loop.

You think VW is the only player in the "tinker with the numbers" market?

Think again.

They were just the first to get caught.
Should have been a clarion call to the others to clean up their acts before the magnifying glass got turned on them. That is, if they weren't too confident in the pay-offs for looking the other way.

Looks like someone else got caught.
I think it's about time to look at All of the players in the game.
Just how wide-spread is this phenomenon, any way?

'nuff sed.

Seriously, why not pay people for the data they supply?
Oh, right.
"Business model" and all that.

Silly me.

As a courier, FedEx does need to be aware of what's in their packages for a few reasons: Employee and Public Safety being the 2 at the top on the list.
However, they have built their business on picking up packages that are sealed and unseen, and delivering them with "no questions asked".
I wonder just how many times they have been taken advantage of by simply having a package vaguely labelled while they deliver something that could be quite harmful to their courier or the general public.

Sure, FedEx needs to be a bit more careful, but to what end?

That NQA Delivery everybody has come to rely on is then threatened, and business models are compromised.

We don't even need to consider the Privacy Impact, do we?

Again, double-edged sword.

Even the almighty USPS has this problem, with many companies simply bundling things up, labeling them, weighing them and slapping on the metered rate tags for sight-unseen deliveries.

Is Trump going to hold the USPS to the same standard, too?
"All" packages need to be thoroughly inspected and "cleared" before export to foreign destinations?

Don't they call that "Customs and Excise", or am I missing something?

Our O.H.I.P. program in Ontario has had issues for years.
So much so, that you "can't" use it's green Health Card as photo ID "legally" anywhere but a healthcare provider or service.

I shudder to think of how many times that ID has been used for purposes other than its intended use.
Things like Insurance dabbling and data mining.

Exercise your Google Foo. Just be sitting down...

I can only see this idea working out in something like a short-hop format.
Things like an airborne bus ride.
Anything longer than that, and you'll have people getting really stressed out (even more than usual) and then there would be trouble.

Another example of "canned humanity".

Can the income gap become any more obvious?

If a single bitcoin was worth, say, $10, it would be much more practical.
People could easily wrap their head around something being worth 20bc, or about $200.
With it being so huge, people can't think of it in real world terms, and wouldn't really consider using it for day-to-day transactions.
After all, what's the price of a loaf of bread in bitcoin?
How about milk, or other daily staples?
Maybe a car could be expressed that way, but if you can't get the general populace to think about it, then it will go the way of the dollar coin.

Many would scramble and panic at their loss of perceived privacy.
Anyone who practices safe, secure communications would consider tweaking their usual jargon and keep on keeping on.

If encryption is your only "secure" way to communicate, you're not doing it right.

Never mind the robots; It's always about the management and the Bean Counters.
As an example: If your shift of, say, 6 people has someone call in sick, and your crew manages (barely) to cover what needs to be done, next thing you know, you only have 5 people on your shift to work with.
After all, "you can do the job with 5, why do you need 6?"

And so, it continues.

Of course, when things break down, and 5 can't cover the load without a bunch of customer complaints, then it's Obviously the fault of the lazy employees, right? I mean, they did it before, why the lack of service?

Yup. Robots are not the real issue. Humans are (as always).

1. Bleed them of a Humanity
2. Teach them Accounting
3. Fill their Vocabulary with Buzz-words

Evidence of this has been widespread for decades, and shows no signs of stopping.

Gone are the days of Employee Satisfaction and any real efforts toward employee retention. Christmas bonuses and decent work-to-life ratios are gone, with vacations and decent benefits being nearly unheard of among the rank and file.

There are to many stories of Good Employers retiring and leaving CPAs in charge only to have the company suffer horribly in the aftermath.

If anything, the MBA courses need a serious overhaul, with Humanity and employee care being made a substantial part of the equation.

The "Bottom Line" business model has been killing the economy for too long

The score from SATs is seen as a de-facto measurement of a students' worth, and not as a tool of evaluation.
Needless to say, the rich are using their privilege to get more time, so that the scores of the rich are better than their comparable lower income "peers".
It's another way of getting more of their rich friends to qualify for "better" schools, while leaving out others.
After all, the "buy your kids' ways through school" thing has become more well known, so they have to have some other system put into play as soon as possible, or the rich loose their grip, and the education system looses it's perceived value.

Heaven for-fend each and every student gets a fair shake and is able to get the education they need based on their actual aptitudes! They might even get the help they need to make up for shortcomings and actually improve themselves!

We can't have that!

Also, the actual scores and grades from most high-end institutions mean little to nothing in the world of Privilege anyway. It's just a badge of having paid their dues to the system so that their "high pay for low skills" mechanism is not upset, and the status quo is maintained.

The real question here should be: Are SAT Scores really relevant in todays' world?

Great at first for encouraging your kids to buckle up.
Sadly, there are a LOT of little bypass devices out there already.
I have also seen a lot of cars where the seat-belt is simply left "done up" across the empty seat, and the driver just sits on it.

All in all, a good idea that has potential. If it weren't for the bypass devices, I'd say it's well worth putting into ALL cars as mandatory. After all, it's the law, isn't it?

Fleets of brightly coloured delivery drones all charging in designated areas of the parking fields.
Roof lined with solar collection grids to offset the cost of electric power consumption.
Internal sections separated into content categories.
Walk-through access for people that actually want to do some eyes-on shopping, and drive-up pickup for discounted orders.
All that, with picker-bots scurrying around from department to department, shunting collected orders to the delivery department for drone dispatch (road-based, or flying).
Internal food court will be intact for employees and shopper alike, so everything can be kept "on campus".
Next, add an assortment of housing options, and you have a dystopian corporate city-state in the making.
Just add other services: Dentist, Pharmacy, "Walk-in Clinic", etc.
You'd never have to leave.

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