Uber manipulates drivers into working longer hours with psychological tricks

Uber is using a range of psychological tricks to encourage its drivers to work longer hours, often at times and locations that are less lucrative to them, according to a new report. The taxi app company manipulates drivers with app alerts and low-value rewards, with hundreds of social scientists and data scientists said to be involved in the experiment. According to the New York Times, Uber is trying to replicate techniques that make video games and TV addictive. These include achievement badges, an alert system that tells drivers they're close to hitting an earnings target when they try to log off and an algorithm called'forward dispatch', which enables drivers to book their next fare before completing their current one. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.