AI and Traffic Flow: Innovation, Emissions, and the Google Factor

An initiative by Google and the city of Manchester aims to use AI to dynamically regulate traffic lights across the Greater Manchester region. This is a great use case for AI technology, as studies show that 50% of car emissions at traffic intersections come from vehicles stopping and starting. Based on previous experiences in Brazil and India, traffic flow is expected to improve by up to 30%, while emissions could decrease by up to 10%. The only caveat is that, after reading The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6776829635), I’m always looking for the catch—questioning what Google stands to gain beyond the explicit use case. In this particular instance, the implications seem both obvious and concerning. That said, opportunities like this should be explored and supported. However, we must remain vigilant and ensure that the inevitable data surplus we provide to companies like Google is not misused. (text revised LLM) https://content1.avplayer.com/6536783932d8a8365a0842d9/videos/65367e747ebff164c504fe60/65367e87c1aacf127d085a34/video.mp4?AV_TAGID=65367eb2aacb313497060747&pid=6536783932d8a8365a0842d9&cid=65367e8906c29393c30221d6&AV_TEMPID=65367eb2bc7bf3bcc50e2584&AV_PUBLISHERID=6536783932d8a8365a0842d9&av_qd1=6536806d667c2a96db026742&videoId=65367e747ebff164c504fe60

- Pedro

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Do managers add value?

The usefulness of managers

Interesting article from the Economist over the value that managers can bring into organizations, based on a study performed by Stephan Billinger and Stephen Rosenbaum*.

Based on the study:

• Managers bring value into an organization, as they promoted the collaboration within a group / achieved better results than a randomized control groups without managers;
• Manager incentives matter both for managers and for workers:
• Workers become suspicious of managers when incentives are included;
• Managers react positively to incentives, however incentives might exacerbate the agency problem and promote short-term behaviors (with the company and with its associates).

My conclusions:

• Managers within a proper framework add value to any organization;
• The incentives/rewards drive culture and behaviors, thus quintessential to a company success.

*Discretionary mechanisms and co-operation in hierarchies: An experimental study, Journal of Economic Psychology 74

Study on the reading list