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If you ride along a bike path in the U.K. city of Leeds and approach a street, the traffic light can automatically turn green for youor stay green if you’re already midway across. The city is one of a growing number testing technology that uses sensors, anonymous data, and AI to make it easier to cross streets. Made by a company called VivaCity (known as Viva in the U.S.), the sensors can detect cyclists and pedestrians from more than 200 feet away. In some cases, someone on a bike might not need to stop at the corner. Pedestrians can keep walking without breaking their stride. (Cities can choose to program traffic signals to give cyclists either a shorter wait or full priority.) Traditionally, most traffic signals force people who arent in cars to push a beg button and waitor risk their life to cross while the lights still red. If automated sensors exist, theyre typically just for cars. [Image: Viva] At the moment, a lot of traffic signals don’t detect cyclists, says Matt Shaw, head of product at VivaCity. If they’re really basic, they operate on a fixed time schedule, so it will just rotate 30 seconds at a time. Or they might have vehicle detection, so they know if a car’s approaching, but they don’t know if a cyclist is. Wires embedded in the pavement can detect metal, but often miss bikes. VivaCitys technology also analyzes direction, so the automatic walk sign isnt triggered if a pedestrian is just passing by without intending to cross. It also counts the number of people waiting, so cities can choose to use a formula to change the light faster if more people are waiting. Most traffic controllers now have no idea if it’s one pedestrian or a hundred, says Shaw. If you’re in New York City and somebody pushes the button, you’ve got no sense of how many people are waiting. [Image: Viva] Unlike standard traffic signals, Viva’s system also knows if someone in a wheelchair or an elderly person with a walker is still crossing. Being able to know if a pedestrians still on the road, and hold the green light for them, is pretty important, he says. (The data collection focuses on privacy; after the AI analyzes the video feed, it deletes it, leaving only the number of people and the path that theyre taking, not their identity. The data cant be used for enforcement.) In Leeds, the city hasnt yet gone as far as giving cyclists and pedestrians full priority at major intersections. But at certain crossings where bike paths or sidewalks meet a road, the sensors already prioritize people walking or biking. The tech is one piece of a bigger strategy to become a city where you dont need a car, as the city puts it. That also includes improving bus service and building a better network of bike routes and bike parking. Making streets easier to crossand shrinking the time that cyclists or pedestrians waithelps make it a little more likely that people will want to walk or bike. Some cities are using the underlying data without yet connecting to traffic controllers. In New York City, for example, the Department of Transportation has been using the sensors at some intersections to track trends over time, from the number of bikes or scooters to how fast theyre traveling and the paths that people take to cross the street. The technology can also track near misses, which lets cities flag dangerous intersections and design interventions, such as changing the timing of signals or banning turns on red at intersections where cyclists have repeated close calls with turning vehicles. You cant solve the problem if you dont understand where people are cycling, Shaw says.
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E-Commerce
Synchrony’s CEO, Brian Doubles, shares with Stephanie Mehta how a mindset of productive paranoia fosters a workplace where curiosity, collaboration, and creativity drives real change.
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E-Commerce
Companies ask job applicants for references all the time. Its a way to verify a potential hires history and skills, vet their candidacy, and assess character and cultural fit. So why cant the same thing be done in reversewhere you can ask past employees to assess the company youre applying to? Sure, theres Glassdoor. But short of salty ex-employees publicly dragging old employers on social mediaa relatively uncommon move, considering its deemed unprofessional and may result in legal retaliationthere are no real formalized processes to run references on a company youre applying to. A recent Reddit post presented the argument: Jobs be asking me for 3 references and I think I might start doing the same, it read. Let me talk to three happy employees please. The logic is simple: When booking a restaurant for date night, most double check the reviews for other diners’ experiences before making a reservation. Before pulling the trigger on a big purchase, many will scour the web for recommendations and product reviews, to ensure they are getting a good deal. Why shouldnt the same be available for job seekers? Well, some in the Reddit thread say theyve already put this into practice, in their own ways. When I get an offer, I always ask to come talk to the people who would be my peers/reports (since you usually already talk to the superiors in the interview), one Reddit user commented. Do people not normally do that? Another added: I did that for my last job. Got some actual good feedback and decided not to take it. But as some pointed out, current employees may not be the most helpful barometer. Dont speak to the happy ones, speak to the honest ones, one wrote. Or, perhaps candidates could see a stack of resignations with the reason for leaving highlighted, another suggested. After all, Glassdoor reviews exist for a reason. Currently, this sort of reverse reference check doesnt really exist, probably because of the mountain of potential legal issues around defamation. Companies could take retaliatory action against former employees who speak ill of them. (Besides, even the traditional model of companies asking candidates for references has come under more scrutiny and criticism in recent years.) But potential consequences aside, social media platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn have also become fair game for disgruntled ex-employees to publicly air their grievances. Some have even gone so far to film their exit interviews, published for the world (and potential future employees) to see. With company issues like culture rot, quiet cracking, and toxic workplaces putting off potential hires, the once-hidden realities of workplace culture are now being shared in the open. This shift in transparency could return some of the power to employees. Yet, at the same time, job openings are down, while the number of unemployed professionals are rising. Employees are being encouraged to cling onto jobs, even if they no longer enjoy the work. So those with offers on the table might be tempted to seize any available opportunity with both handsregardless if a reverse reference would produce red flags. For now, the next time you’re applying for a job, ask your hiring manager how many times this specific position has been vacant and filled. If its already cycled through three hires in the past year . . . it might be worth a quick stalk on LinkedIn to check if anyone knows something you dont.
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E-Commerce
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