A World Without Work

The Sharing Economy

The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism

By Arun Sundararajan

Overview
Sharing isn’t new. Giving someone a ride, having a guest in your spare room, running errands for someone, participating in a supper club—these are not revolutionary concepts. What is new, in the “sharing economy,” is that you are not helping a friend for free; you are providing these services to a stranger for money. In this book, Arun Sundararajan, an expert on the sharing economy, explains the transition to what he describes as “crowd-based capitalism”—a new way of organizing economic activity that may supplant the traditional corporate-centered model. As peer-to-peer commercial exchange blurs the lines between the personal and the professional, how will the economy, government regulation, what it means to have a job, and our social fabric be affected?

Drawing on extensive research and numerous real-world examples—including Airbnb, Lyft, Uber, Etsy, TaskRabbit, France’s BlaBlaCar, China’s Didi Kuaidi, and India’s Ola, Sundararajan explains the basics of crowd-based capitalism. He describes the intriguing mix of “gift” and “market” in its transactions, demystifies emerging blockchain technologies, and clarifies the dizzying array of emerging on-demand platforms. He considers how this new paradigm changes economic growth and the future of work. Will we live in a world of empowered entrepreneurs who enjoy professional flexibility and independence? Or will we become disenfranchised digital laborers scurrying between platforms in search of the next wedge of piecework? Sundararajan highlights the important policy choices and suggests possible new directions for self-regulatory organizations, labor law, and funding our social safety net.


https://mitpress.mit.edu/sharing
 
This robot-powered restaurant is one step closer to putting fast-food workers out of a job
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/robot-powered-restaurant-one-step-201400151.html

A secretive robotics startup has raised a new round of venture funding as part of its quest to replace humans with robots in the kitchens of fast-food restaurants.

In 2012, Momentum Machines debuted a robot that could crank out 400 made-to-order hamburgers in an hour. It's fully autonomous, meaning the machine can slice toppings, grill a patty, and assemble and bag a burger without any help from humans.

In 2015, futuristic food-chain Eatsa opened downtown. The vegetarian restaurant, which specializes in quinoa bowls, automates the ordering and pick-up process. It's since expanded to New York and Washington, DC.

In San Francisco, robots also run food deliveries for Yelp's Eat24 and pour coffee at Cafe X. These changes, along with other evidence that AI could displace huge swaths of workers, have even prompted a San Francisco politician to consider a "robot tax" to help offset the economic devastation a robotic workforce might bring.

Although Momentum Machines eliminates the need for line cooks, front-of-house and custodial staff will likely still be required. The company also told Business Insider in 2012 that letting robots fill in for humans in the kitchen may actually promote job growth because the automation would allow the company to hire new employees to continue developing their technology and to staff additional restaurant locations. The full impact of a robot-powered kitchen remains to be seen, however." Although Momentum Machines eliminates the need for line cooks, front-of-house and custodial staff will likely still be required. The company also told Business Insider in 2012 that letting robots fill in for humans in the kitchen may actually promote job growth because the automation would allow the company to hire new employees to continue developing their technology and to staff additional restaurant locations. The full impact of a robot-powered kitchen remains to be seen, however.

A Craigslist job posting from Momentum Machines last summer gave us our first glimpse into what the restaurant might be like." A Craigslist job posting from Momentum Machines last summer gave us our first glimpse into what the restaurant might be like.

"The burgers sold at 680 Folsom will be fresh-ground and grilled to order, served on toasted brioche, and accented by an infinitely personalizable variety of fresh produce, seasonings, and sauces," the ad said." "The burgers sold at 680 Folsom will be fresh-ground and grilled to order, served on toasted brioche, and accented by an infinitely personalizable variety of fresh produce, seasonings, and sauces," the ad said.
 
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