It’s 2024, but we’re longing for the 90s internet; the workplace Magic 8 Ball offers a few predictions, and AI is eliminating the H from HR.

Keep Internet Weird 

Is it just us or has the online world gone stale? Anil Dash suggests the early internet ethos remains fresh. “The human web, the one made by regular people, is resurgent,” he writes. “We are about to see the biggest reshuffling of power on the internet in 25 years.” 

Now that’s a prediction! And there’s at least a few reasons to believe he’s right. New regulations and court decisions are breathing some oxygen into the internet’s stuffiest rooms (think Epic Games’ epic victory over Google and the EU crackdown on the Apple monopoly), and a wave of artists, coders, and activists are working hard to keep the internet accessible to everyone. 

Dash sees in all of this a return to the homespun, community ethic of the 90s internet – rough-and-ready Geocities sites, bespoke micronetworks, and a handy-person approach to coding. Even zines! But as Dash acknowledges, thirty years ago these same trends led to an unstoppable march of consolidation and monetization. It sounds fantastic but are we simply hoodwinking ourselves in the search for authenticity?

– Rolling Stone

Workplace Astrology

This is the year of the wood dragon, and this is the wood dragon’s horoscope. (It is also Pantone Color of the Year Peach Fuzz and Mayan Long Count Date 13.0.11.3.12, fyi.)

Your leadership style will evolve. Hierarchy is out; empathy is in. Your work may be hybrid and remote. (Safe prediction!) You will witness the forward march of AI. (Another safe prediction!) You love flexibility. 

And … it’s time to do the Leadership Shuffle! There may be no catchy tune like the one that put the 1985 Chicago Bears on the Billboard music charts, but it is undeniable that Boomers are retiring, leaving openings for the other members of our astrological chart – Gen Xers, Millennials, and Zoomers: “Zoomers will make up 25 percent of the workforce by 2025 … Zoomers are more apt to care about DEI, flexibility, and values driven companies -- understanding Zoomers workforce needs and how leaders engage will be critical.” It is decidedly so! 

– Inc.

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto

The word “robot”  was coined by the Czech writer Karel Čapek and comes from older Slavic words for “forced labor” or “drudgery” -- both of which conjure images of medieval serfs toiling in their lords’ fields. Have we created mechanical drudges to take over our most boring and repetitive tasks (hence avoiding the need to force humans – or even animals! – to do this work)? Or are we slowly turning ourselves into robotic drudges by relinquishing our deepest responsibilities to our tools?  

Artificial intelligence is another way of saying robot. And there’s evidence to suggest that, at least in the world of HR, we are in danger of taking the latter route. In this interview, journalist Hilke Schellmann talks about her deep dive into the mass automation of hiring processes. Her book The Algorithm includes tales of perpetuated bias, widespread ignorance of the mechanisms by which AI tools screen candidates, and some suggestions for those looking to get on the right side of the algorithm. 

In the end, Schellmann asks whether the automation of hiring hearkens back to the dark days of physiognomy and phrenology, bogus sciences that claimed to read people’s inner lives with detailed measurements of their faces and heads. Because these tools can replicate bias at vaster scale, it’s important that companies understand how they work, and rethink relying on these tools to determine hires, layoffs, and promotions. And on the other side, job seekers may want to structure their resumes so the robots have an easier time interpreting them. :/

– Wired

ELSEWHERE ON THE INTERNETS

YESTERYEAR TECH OF THE WEEK

Time is flat circle indeed.

See ya next week, 

– The EiT crew at Status Hero 🫡