
The inside story of a failed Google acquisition, and a hospitalized employee - phonon
http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-military-contractor-google-x-employee-collapsed-on-the-job-2017-3
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DrScump
"For Joe and the rest of the flight-test crew, that meant 10- to 12-hour days
outdoors flying the drones, sometimes in freezing temperatures or while
standing in fields of two-inch-deep mud and cow excrement or, at other times,
dealing with the Central Valley's infamous 100-plus-degree heat."

I don't understand why takeoff aerodynamics under these extremes (and more
extreme, uh, extremes) couldn't have been simulated in a wind tunnel.

Also, couldn't simple ageism have been a factor as well?

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johan_larson
Why are people with poor performance reviews barred from transferring? You'd
think it would be encouraged; someone who struggles in one team may thrive in
another.

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skj
Because that would result in poor performers simply getting passed around ad
infinitum. There are companies where this is the de facto policy, and it's
pretty bad for all involved.

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johan_larson
Sure, but if that's the intent, it would be better to set a limit on the
number of successive poor performance reviews someone is allowed. Two? Three,
maybe?

People underperform for all sorts of reasons, and one of them is a skills
mismatch. The fix for that is to find a team where the worker's skillset fits
better. And a blanket ban on transfers prohibits this solution.

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anaganisk
I always fail to understand why silicon Valley is hell bent on AI for
everything, replacing dangerous jobs with machines is good but why everything
else? Are everyone supposed to be an engineer at Silicon Valley? I mean if all
jobs are replaced by machines, how would someone earn to buy or use Silicon
valley's "products". Prices are going up not down

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tdb7893
What prices are going up because of AI? Prices seem to be mainly going up in
places where AI has no effect (real estate, education, and medical expenses
seem to be the big ones)

