Tech:NYC Digest: February 16

Tech:NYC Digest: February 16

February 16, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

In today’s digest, SCOTUS to consider hearing NYC schools vax mandate case, Mayor Adams announces his first preliminary budget, and the do’s and don’ts of AI-based hiring. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 3,274 

    • New positive cases, NYC: 1,044

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 1.7 percent (-0.2 percent)

  • NYC Hospitalizations: 1,215 (-115)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers with least one dose: 88.4 percent

    • Percentage of all New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 75.0 percent

Today’s latest: 

  • The Supreme Court announced today it will consider a request from some teachers and staff to block NYC’s school vaccination mandate, citing religious objections. (CNN)

    • Justice Sotomayor previously declined the request, but following the group’s unusual second appeal to Justice Gorsuch, the full Court will now consider the group’s request.

  • Mayor Adams today released a $98.5 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2023. The plan is $4 billion less than the city’s current budget and introduces budget cuts to many city agencies. (New York Times)

  • According to a recent CDC study, getting vaccinated against the coronavirus while pregnant can reduce the likelihood of newborn infants six months and younger from being hospitalized for COVID by 61 percent. (Axios) 

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul has extended the COVID-related state of emergency in New York through March 16, despite declining coronavirus cases. (The Journal News)

    • The governor said she would revisit case count and vaccination data on March 4 to make a decision on ending the mask requirements in schools effective March 7. (ABC New York)

  • Some vaccine scientists say the current strategy of making variant-specific vaccines is unsustainable, and it’s time to shift resources to developing a more universal coronavirus vaccine. (Washington Post)

In other reading:

  • Why Covid-19 vaccines are a freaking miracle (STAT News)

  • The future of outdoor dining in NYC will feature ‘roadway cafes,” but no more dining sheds (Gothamist)

  • How Tech Can (and Can’t) Help You Fight Soaring Energy Bills (New York Times)

An increasing number of companies are utilizing chatbots and AI-driven video interviews to screen applicants before they meet with a human recruiter. (Axios)

  • AI has long been used by recruiters for tasks like streamlining candidate searches and screening resumes for keywords, but AI-powered interviews take automation further into the hiring process. 

  • With some tools, candidates are evaluated not just on their answers to the interviewer's questions, but sometimes also on their facial expressions, intonation, and word choice.

Recruiters say automated interviews greatly extend the pool of prospective candidates and are intended to ensure uniform hiring processes by removing bias in interviews. But job candidates, perhaps unsurprisingly, have different reactions:

  • New research published in the Harvard Business Review said candidates found automated video interviews confusing, unnerving, impersonal, and emotionally and cognitively exhausting. 

  • "Because many job-seekers did not understand the technology that was being used, their default was to perform in a rigid way … They felt they had to behave like robots,” the authors wrote.

However, AI may be inevitable. Jack Altman, the co-founder and CEO of workforce management platform Lattice, told Protocol that AI-based automation tools aren’t currently part of his company’s products, but he does believe there's a big role for it — just not applied across the board:

  • “The thing that scares me would be if we got to a place where performance reviews, self-reflections, and feedback were all done by a robot. I wouldn't like that. It's not just about the feedback itself, it's about the process of thinking … about that stuff is really valuable,” he said.

In other reading: 

  • Your Body Knows You’re Burned Out (New York Times)

  • In 10 Years, ‘Remote Work’ Will Simply Be ‘Work’ (Bloomberg)

  • Hating Your Job Is Cool. But Is It a Labor Movement? (New York Times)

  • Passthrough, a New York City and Philadelphia-based SaaS for fund workflow, raised $5 million in seed funding. Positive Sum led the round and was joined by Okta Ventures, Great Oaks VC, and Company Ventures. (Passthrough)

  • Ro, a New York City-based digital healthcare company, raised $150 million in new venture funding. ShawSpring Partners led the round and was joined by fellow insiders General Catalyst, FirstMark Capital, TQ Ventures, SignalFire, BoxGroup, The Chernin Group, Initialized Capital, Altimeter Capital, Baupost Group, and Seven Seven Six. (TechCrunch)

  • Tropic, a New York City-based SaaS software procurement platform, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Insight Partners led the round. (TechCrunch)

  • Vivvi, a New York City-based on-site child care startup, raised $15 million in Series B funding. Tribeca Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Hither Creek Ventures, Conversion Venture Capital, CityRock Venture Partners, Able Partners, and Rethink Education. (Businesswire)

NYC Open Data Week 2022, a week-long festival of community events, returns March 5 – 13. Organized by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics and BetaNYC, the festival will feature both virtual and in-person events to celebrate the tenth anniversary of NYC’s Open Data Law and NYC’s civic tech community more broadly. Learn more here.The Transit Tech Lab is accepting applications for its 2022 program. The lab, which supports growth-stage companies with solutions for improving NYC’s public transit system, provides the opportunity to pilot their tools with the MTA and other leading transit agencies. Learn more and apply by March 25 here.Y Combinator is accepting applications for its Summer 2022 cohort. The program will be all-virtual with optional in-person opportunities, and accepted companies will receive $500K in total investments. Learn more and apply by March 31 here.Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) is accepting applications for its Summer 2022 program. Selected companies participate in a four-month program and receive $100K in investments, with the potential for follow-on funding from ERA’s Fund. Learn more and apply by April 25 here.The Microsoft TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools) Program is accepting applications for volunteers for its next cycle. The program pairs industry volunteers with high school teachers to help build computer science curricula for their students. Learn more and apply here.

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