[dgacmu]

I'm going to concur with the observations that the title is sensationalist, though there is some really interesting thought fodder in this. A key thing that doesn't come through in the title is:

> After I tweeted out the pay-to-play screenshot (Fig 1), Uber wrote to me to explain that the screenshot refers to a study in Houston that is part of a research collaboration between Uber and two MIT economists. They added that, “Further, drivers have to opt-in to the offer and there is a disclaimer explaining that if they opt-in they will be part of an academic research project.”

In some ways, the questions that are raised are more about the underlying research ethics (did the authors get IRB review? One presumes, but it's not stated either way in tfa), than about Uber's actual behavior. Or perhaps the question is whether Uber should be participating -- or what conditions Uber is imposing on the study to ensure that the drivers that accept are not going to be harmed substantially.

[malandrew]

I talked to someone I know about this, and yes they got IRB review from MIT. It was 100% opt-in with informed consent and all the normal things required to do such a study ethically.