I think the author is painting this in the worst possible light.
The UX is a little misleading but I could see this being an effort by Uber to pre-commit drivers as a means of reducing surge pricing.
What makes this potentially unethical (in my mind) is where the price is set. If it's set at a point where Uber's models predict the average benefit to a driver is $0 then this is essentially shifting the risk to their employees.
The UX is a little misleading but I could see this being an effort by Uber to pre-commit drivers as a means of reducing surge pricing.
What makes this potentially unethical (in my mind) is where the price is set. If it's set at a point where Uber's models predict the average benefit to a driver is $0 then this is essentially shifting the risk to their employees.