vox--2020-05-11--Have the urge to redecorate your home? You’re not alone.

It was only when , by order of the government , I was forced to stare all day long at the Ikea shelves on my living room floor that I figured I should probably get around to hanging them up .
The hanging-up part took only a few minutes , though , and the achievement of having finally done so did not dramatically improve my mood or life .
So I went on Etsy and bought a framed painting of a cat in hopes that might work instead .
( Results TBD . )
Sheltering in place is a public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recipe for becoming increasingly dissatisfied with what one ’ s shelter looks like .
Almost everyone I know has experienced this kind of domestic restlessness : A friend has poured herself into refurbishing her wooden furniture ; a co-worker created an impromptu accent wall using Drew Barrymore ’ s peel-and-stick wallpaper collection from Walmart .
My editor ’ s boyfriend was suddenly overcome with a desire to paint one of his tables red , despite never having shown interest in either painting nor the color red .
( He has not , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
Call it pandecorating : Amateur interior design has turned into one of quarantine ’ s most popular ( and obvious ) hobbies .
If you ’ re lucky enough to be spending this time at home — though the coronavirus is not a vacation for anybody , and it is far worse for health care providers and other essential workers — and if you have the luxury of time , space , and money to do it , making your space feel a little bit better is among the more low-effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some people are rearranging their furniture , as the New York Times suggests , or redecorating , per the Wall Street Journal .
( Sample advice : “ Dust off that task lamp in the attic and bring in tabletop lights from a decidedly guest-less guest room , ” as if everyone has attics and guest rooms ) .
Others are turning their homes into pretend Airbnbs with Vox ’ s helpful advice , or embarking on DIY projects they wouldn ’ t normally have the time for .
This is what Gracie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Virginia , did after temporarily moving back in with her parents , who owned an old wooden playhouse that her dad built in the early 2000s .
It had fallen into disrepair after she and her sister grew up , so on March 24 , she went to Lowe ’ s .
Stephenson , who had seen people online buying inflatable hot tubs on Amazon , realized she could transform the playhouse into an outdoor jacuzzi .
Her father had always been a natural carpenter , and she was able to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him ( as well as a few YouTube videos ) to begin the process of power-washing , replacing stairs , installing support beams , and staining and painting the wood .
On April 17 , Stephenson posted a TikTok video of the transformation , complete with decorative plants , string lights , and a protective rug , which quickly went viral .
Commenters have said they ’ ve been inspired by her project , and now she ’ s starting on a new one : transforming her parents ’ garage into a hangout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are empty right now , ” Stephenson says , “ but you go to a home-improvement store and there ’ s so many people out , because they all just don ’ t have anything to do.
” Hardware stores across the country have indeed enjoyed a spike in business .
With many of them turning to curbside pickup to limit human-to-human contact , owners say customers are buying items like paint , fertilizer , bird seed , and kids ’ crafting supplies to keep busy at home .
Data from Foursquare also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was up 26 percent between February 19 and March 20 .
“ Consumers are also diverting funds away from travel and entertainment to focus on spring home improvement projects , ” James Bohnaker , associate director and economist at IHS Markit , told Newsday .
Even for people without backyards , gardening has become a way to spruce up indoor and outdoor spaces .
“ What all gardeners know , and the rest of you may discover , is that if you have even the smallest space , a pot on a window @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wee yard , there is no balm to the soul greater than planting seeds , ” Charlotte Mendelson wrote in the New Yorker on growing flowers during the pandemic .
Another hot quarantine item : peel-and-stick wallpaper .
Google searches for the product are currently at their highest ever after rising rapidly at the end of March .
Chasing Paper , a removable wallpaper company , says its web traffic has increased by 50 percent , while its online revenue is up 30 percent as of early May .
After a decade of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Maximalism is back , ” says Danielle Blundell , home director at Apartment Therapy .
“ Everyone is looking around their four walls , figuring out how to add a little more excitement to their design schemes.
” Removable wallpaper offers the ability to create a fun accent wall or surface , one you can do yourself .
And as fewer young people can afford to buy homes — we even rent our furniture now !
— wallpaper that can be easily taken down is friendlier to both design-conscious renters and landlords @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to paint a peach-pink arch on the wall over her bar cart , inspired by the work of New Orleans-based designer Liz Kamarul .
She used the pencil-and-string method to sketch the borders , and even though she ’ s renting , she says that ’ s the beauty of paint-based projects : “ It can all be painted back , and still get you your security deposit !
” Other people Blundell ’ s seen on Instagram have painted the outsides of their doorways and added squiggles or stripes to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re giving your room charm and sort of faking the look of architecture without it being there , ” she adds .
During our conversation , I found myself overwhelmed with the desire to likely destroy my walls with a paintbrush and my extremely limited artistic ability , so I asked how you can know when you ’ re stepping into potentially dangerous territory .
Blundell says the most common mistake novice crafters make when attempting a home project is skipping the preparatory phase : “ In this Instagrammable age of instant gratification @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be done now , ” she told me .
“ But prep work is really important , and any time you paint , you really do have to clean the walls and make sure that your surfaces are primed to take paint on .
[ Take ] the time to plan and know what you ’ re going to do , actually measure and trace things out — the pros do it for a reason .
Good work does take time.
” ( Meanwhile , anything involving electrical lines , like light fixtures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left to the professionals . )
Even the experts , though , are feeling the oh-my-god-I-can ’ t-look-at-this-room-anymore malaise .
Emma Crespo , an 18-year-old artist , was quarantining at her parent ’ s house in Massachusetts , surrounded by the roses and planets she ’ d painted on her bedroom walls a few years ago .
“ I came back to my house and I looked at my walls and I hated it , ” she laughs .
“ Seeing it every day for like two weeks and not being able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something else.
” Instead of simply covering them up , Crespo decided to take advantage of the opportunity to transform the space into her “ dream room.
” She updated her TikTok every day with a different project : a series of wall paintings first , then an Instagram-ready backdrop made of CDs , then tie-dyed sheets .
Within a few days she ’ d garnered nearly 500,000 followers .
( Perhaps unsurprisingly , searches for “ tie dye ” are also at their all-time highest . )
Projects like these — hot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gorgeous wall arches — are , of course , on the more elaborate end of the quarantine home-project spectrum .
But even the little things , like growing basil on a windowsill , moving a couch to the other side of a room , or buying a cat painting on Etsy , can fulfill the parts of us that are begging for novelty .
It is impossible to be stuck inside a space and resist the human itch to make it more pleasant .
It is , to use the therapy cliché , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a time when , to use the pandemic cliché , we are experiencing an unprecedented crisis .
It ’ s not dissimilar to the experience of playing Animal Crossing , that other extremely popular quarantine pastime that ’ s since become its own coronavirus cliché .
Often heralded as “ the game we need now ” because it requires zero skill and involves no scary things , Animal Crossing is essentially virtual homemaking .
Its sole objective is to design an island cute enough to entice other animals to come live there , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can quickly succumb to aesthetic restlessness .
I ’ ve razed and completely redone my island countless times over the 100 hours I ’ ve logged in the game , and with each viral image of someone else ’ s impossibly sophisticated island I question the quality of my own .
This is possibly even more pathetic than the fact that I have spent the equivalent of five straight days playing a game for 10-year-olds .
A solid strategy for ignoring the horribleness of it all , though , is pretending like it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time at home to make your space look cozy is far nicer than the truth of the situation , which is that you have been stuck there so long that to occupy the same room for even one more second might feel unbearable .
Here are my new shelves .
Here is her new Drew Barrymore removable wallpaper .
Here is her new hot tub hangout area , which nobody else is allowed to sit in for probably a few months and maybe more .
But at least it looks nice online .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

It was only when, by order of the government, I was forced to stare all day long at the Ikea shelves on my living room floor that I figured I should probably get around to hanging them up. The hanging-up part took only a few minutes, though, and the achievement of having finally done so did not dramatically improve my mood or life. So I went on Etsy and bought a framed painting of a cat in hopes that might work instead. (Results TBD.)
Sheltering in place is a public good, but it’s also a recipe for becoming increasingly dissatisfied with what one’s shelter looks like. Almost everyone I know has experienced this kind of domestic restlessness: A friend has poured herself into refurbishing her wooden furniture; a co-worker created an impromptu accent wall using Drew Barrymore’s peel-and-stick wallpaper collection from Walmart. My editor’s boyfriend was suddenly overcome with a desire to paint one of his tables red, despite never having shown interest in either painting nor the color red. (He has not, as of press time, done so.)
Call it pandecorating: Amateur interior design has turned into one of quarantine’s most popular (and obvious) hobbies. If you’re lucky enough to be spending this time at home — though the coronavirus is not a vacation for anybody, and it is far worse for health care providers and other essential workers — and if you have the luxury of time, space, and money to do it, making your space feel a little bit better is among the more low-effort yet “productive” pandemic tasks.
Some people are rearranging their furniture, as the New York Times suggests, or redecorating, per the Wall Street Journal. (Sample advice: “Dust off that task lamp in the attic and bring in tabletop lights from a decidedly guest-less guest room,” as if everyone has attics and guest rooms). Others are turning their homes into pretend Airbnbs with Vox’s helpful advice, or embarking on DIY projects they wouldn’t normally have the time for.
This is what Gracie Stephenson, a 23-year-old photographer in Richmond, Virginia, did after temporarily moving back in with her parents, who owned an old wooden playhouse that her dad built in the early 2000s. It had fallen into disrepair after she and her sister grew up, so on March 24, she went to Lowe’s.
Stephenson, who had seen people online buying inflatable hot tubs on Amazon, realized she could transform the playhouse into an outdoor jacuzzi. Her father had always been a natural carpenter, and she was able to use tips she’d picked up from him (as well as a few YouTube videos) to begin the process of power-washing, replacing stairs, installing support beams, and staining and painting the wood.
On April 17, Stephenson posted a TikTok video of the transformation, complete with decorative plants, string lights, and a protective rug, which quickly went viral. Commenters have said they’ve been inspired by her project, and now she’s starting on a new one: transforming her parents’ garage into a hangout spot.
“Most of the stores are empty right now,” Stephenson says, “but you go to a home-improvement store and there’s so many people out, because they all just don’t have anything to do.”
Hardware stores across the country have indeed enjoyed a spike in business. With many of them turning to curbside pickup to limit human-to-human contact, owners say customers are buying items like paint, fertilizer, bird seed, and kids’ crafting supplies to keep busy at home. Data from Foursquare also showed that foot traffic to hardware stores was up 26 percent between February 19 and March 20. “Consumers are also diverting funds away from travel and entertainment to focus on spring home improvement projects,” James Bohnaker, associate director and economist at IHS Markit, told Newsday.
Even for people without backyards, gardening has become a way to spruce up indoor and outdoor spaces. “What all gardeners know, and the rest of you may discover, is that if you have even the smallest space, a pot on a window ledge, a front step, a wee yard, there is no balm to the soul greater than planting seeds,” Charlotte Mendelson wrote in the New Yorker on growing flowers during the pandemic.
Another hot quarantine item: peel-and-stick wallpaper. Google searches for the product are currently at their highest ever after rising rapidly at the end of March. Chasing Paper, a removable wallpaper company, says its web traffic has increased by 50 percent, while its online revenue is up 30 percent as of early May.
After a decade of mid-century modern furniture and Swedish minimalism, “Maximalism is back,” says Danielle Blundell, home director at Apartment Therapy. “Everyone is looking around their four walls, figuring out how to add a little more excitement to their design schemes.” Removable wallpaper offers the ability to create a fun accent wall or surface, one you can do yourself. And as fewer young people can afford to buy homes — we even rent our furniture now! — wallpaper that can be easily taken down is friendlier to both design-conscious renters and landlords.
Blundell herself has used quarantine as time to paint a peach-pink arch on the wall over her bar cart, inspired by the work of New Orleans-based designer Liz Kamarul. She used the pencil-and-string method to sketch the borders, and even though she’s renting, she says that’s the beauty of paint-based projects: “It can all be painted back, and still get you your security deposit!”
Other people Blundell’s seen on Instagram have painted the outsides of their doorways and added squiggles or stripes to the corners of rooms. “They’re giving your room charm and sort of faking the look of architecture without it being there,” she adds.
During our conversation, I found myself overwhelmed with the desire to likely destroy my walls with a paintbrush and my extremely limited artistic ability, so I asked how you can know when you’re stepping into potentially dangerous territory.
Blundell says the most common mistake novice crafters make when attempting a home project is skipping the preparatory phase: “In this Instagrammable age of instant gratification, you just want the project to be done now,” she told me. “But prep work is really important, and any time you paint, you really do have to clean the walls and make sure that your surfaces are primed to take paint on. [Take] the time to plan and know what you’re going to do, actually measure and trace things out — the pros do it for a reason. Good work does take time.” (Meanwhile, anything involving electrical lines, like light fixtures or even moving walls, should be left to the professionals.)
Even the experts, though, are feeling the oh-my-god-I-can’t-look-at-this-room-anymore malaise. Emma Crespo, an 18-year-old artist, was quarantining at her parent’s house in Massachusetts, surrounded by the roses and planets she’d painted on her bedroom walls a few years ago. “I came back to my house and I looked at my walls and I hated it,” she laughs. “Seeing it every day for like two weeks and not being able to leave made me really want to do something else.”
Instead of simply covering them up, Crespo decided to take advantage of the opportunity to transform the space into her “dream room.” She updated her TikTok every day with a different project: a series of wall paintings first, then an Instagram-ready backdrop made of CDs, then tie-dyed sheets. Within a few days she’d garnered nearly 500,000 followers. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, searches for “tie dye” are also at their all-time highest.)
Projects like these — hot tub clubhouses, dream rooms, or gorgeous wall arches — are, of course, on the more elaborate end of the quarantine home-project spectrum. But even the little things, like growing basil on a windowsill, moving a couch to the other side of a room, or buying a cat painting on Etsy, can fulfill the parts of us that are begging for novelty. It is impossible to be stuck inside a space and resist the human itch to make it more pleasant. It is, to use the therapy cliché, the one thing you can control in a time when, to use the pandemic cliché, we are experiencing an unprecedented crisis.
It’s not dissimilar to the experience of playing Animal Crossing, that other extremely popular quarantine pastime that’s since become its own coronavirus cliché. Often heralded as “the game we need now” because it requires zero skill and involves no scary things, Animal Crossing is essentially virtual homemaking. Its sole objective is to design an island cute enough to entice other animals to come live there, but just like real life, players can quickly succumb to aesthetic restlessness. I’ve razed and completely redone my island countless times over the 100 hours I’ve logged in the game, and with each viral image of someone else’s impossibly sophisticated island I question the quality of my own. This is possibly even more pathetic than the fact that I have spent the equivalent of five straight days playing a game for 10-year-olds.
A solid strategy for ignoring the horribleness of it all, though, is pretending like it’s a choice. Using your time at home to make your space look cozy is far nicer than the truth of the situation, which is that you have been stuck there so long that to occupy the same room for even one more second might feel unbearable. Here are my new shelves. Here is her new Drew Barrymore removable wallpaper. Here is her new hot tub hangout area, which nobody else is allowed to sit in for probably a few months and maybe more. But at least it looks nice online.


vox--2020-05-11--Coronavirus is exacerbating America’s hunger crisis

The images of thousands of cars , lined up bumper-to-bumper on otherwise-empty freeways , capture the shocking scale of the nation ’ s current hunger crisis .
In San Antonio , Texas , 10,000 people waited for hours to receive meal boxes from a regional food bank in April .
In Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , hundreds of families have been showing up for weekly food pick-ups at the PPG Paints Arena .
And in Sunrise , Florida , cars stretched for nearly two miles , while people waited at a Feeding South Florida food bank site .
The demand at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in recent weeks — increasing by as much as 600 percent at some — underscoring just how expansive the effects of the economic downturn have been : As of early May , more than 30 million people had filed for unemployment in just six weeks .
That means growing food insecurity in a nation where millions of people were already struggling to get sufficient food each month .
According to a 2014 Washington Post report , roughly 46 million people — or 1 in 7 US residents — depended on food banks or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus pandemic .
And in 2019 , about 38 million people used the US Department of Agriculture ’ s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ) , according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities .
These numbers are now seeing a major uptick .
“ The need in our state has gone from 800,000 Washingtonians before Covid to 1.6 million people , ” says Christina Wong , the public policy director at Northwest Harvest , a food bank that serves Washington state .
States including Texas , New York , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or more , Yahoo News reports .
It ’ s a trend apparent across the country — and yet another one that reveals the vast holes in the government safety net .
With SNAP unable to cover the overwhelming needs that have emerged , food banks ( which have dubious corporate ties of their own ) have stepped in to help support those who fall through .
“ Food banks are the safety net under the safety net , ” Andy Fisher , food security expert and author of Big Hunger , tells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough money before the crisis — and it definitely isn ’ t now One of the main problems this crisis has emphasized is just how tenuous America ’ s social safety net really is — and this is certainly the case with SNAP .
Even before the crisis , the amount SNAP was providing to individuals and families receiving benefits was often not enough to cover a month ’ s worth of groceries .
This shortage is by design : the help is intended to be “ supplemental ” in nature .
Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have had to turn to food banks in the past to make up the difference .
According to a 2016 study from the USDA , almost a third of SNAP recipient families visited a food bank every month .
Currently , even more must do so .
“ The biggest weakness in SNAP is the amount of benefits — the degree to which they are inadequate , ” says Ellen Vollinger , the legal director at the Food Research and Action Center .
“ It ’ s why food banks report that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Like other safety net programs , SNAP limits the number of people who can participate in it based on criteria like income and work requirements .
To qualify , individuals and families ’ gross monthly income needs to be at 130 percent of the poverty line or below , coming out to $ 1,354 for an individual and $ 2,790 for a family of four .
“ Able-bodied ” individuals without dependents between the ages of 18 and 49 also need to either participate in a job training program or work 20 hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to utilize the program for more than three months , every three years .
There is currently a waiver on the three month time limit previously put on these benefits , in light of the ongoing pandemic .
And while the Trump administration has tried to make such restrictions even more stringent , these rule changes remain tied up in court .
Because of its limits on benefits and eligibility , SNAP ends up being insufficient to address the needs of some households , while cutting others out completely .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a network of 200 food banks across the country , these nonprofits serve as the only recourse for many families who can ’ t afford food — but don ’ t qualify for SNAP .
Benefits vary based on income and household size ; according to CBPP , individuals received an average of $ 127 per month in 2018 and households overall received an average of $ 256 per month .
The maximum amount individuals can currently receive is $ 194 per month , and the maximum amount a family of four can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On average , people on SNAP in 2018 had just $ 1.40 to spend per meal , CBPP estimates .
Currently , because of a provision lawmakers approved in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act , states are working on automatically providing the maximum benefit to all individuals and families as one way to address income shortfalls they may be experiencing .
Experts tell Vox that SNAP benefits overall have not kept pace with increased living costs — and that this gap is even more evident during the pandemic , when individuals may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are being told to stockpile groceries for longer periods of time .
“ It ’ s real hard by the end of the month , ” Joseph , a 59-year-old SNAP recipient in Baltimore , Maryland , told Vox .
“ By the time the check comes , it goes .
...
I ’ m usually always broke.
” In 80 percent of cases , the SNAP benefits households receive are spent in two weeks .
“ We and many economists and policymakers recommend raising SNAP benefits and modestly expanding eligibility to address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows solid signs of recovering from the downturn , ” CBPP senior fellow Dottie Rosenbaum writes in a blog post .
During the pandemic , applications for SNAP have gone more smoothly for many people than similar processes for unemployment insurance , though there have still been delays .
Typically , states have to let people know if they qualify for the program within 30 days , and send them an Electronic Benefit Transfer card — which can be used to buy groceries — within seven to 10 days .
But , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many places are seeing a logjam .
Jennifer , a SNAP applicant in Newark , New Jersey , who ’ d been recently laid off , told Vox she was increasingly anxious while waiting for her EBT card , as she also tried to apply for unemployment .
“ In the richest country in the world , are we only going to hand out 1,200 [ dollars ] and assure everything is going to be ok ?
It is unfair , ” she said .
Food banks are completely slammed right now Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ households affected by the economic downturn — and doesn ’ t provide enough money even for those who can use it — food banks are now trying to fill in a much bigger gap than they usually have to deal with .
As millions of people grapple with unemployment and business closures , they ’ re using food banks in order to address shortfalls .
“ What ’ s been so challenging for food banks is that we ’ ve had this really dramatic and heartbreaking increase in need , ” says Leslie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Silicon Valley .
“ 50 percent of people haven ’ t gotten help before.
” Those increases have been staggering at many organizations .
Bacho says the group is serving roughly 100,000 more people than before the pandemic .
Eric Cooper , president of the San Antonio Food Bank , notes the organization ’ s sites went from serving 60,000 people a week to 120,000 a week .
And Anna Kurian , senior communications director at the North Texas Food Banks , says they ’ ve distributed 6 million pounds of food in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million pounds in the prior two months .
Such huge amounts of need mean food banks have had to significantly increase the supply of food they have , and purchase much more than they normally would — leading to a massive uptick in their costs .
Wong , of Northwest Harvest , estimates that the food bank went from purchasing 10 percent of its food to 90 percent .
This additional cost is putting pressure on food bank budgets , and for some , an uptick in donations isn ’ t enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see a shortfall of $ 1.4 billion in the next six months , according to the New York Times .
What policy changes would help There are several proposals in Congress aimed at improving the existing SNAP program — by making it more comprehensive and flexible .
They likely face a roadblock from Republicans , who have expressed little interest in them , and even if they do make it into the next stimulus , that bill could be weeks away .
If approved , though , these proposals could provide more comprehensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demand food banks are encountering .
Boosting SNAP also has noticeable economic impacts , since this money not only helps people afford food they need , the spending goes right back to retailers , and has a multiplier effect as a result .
Moody ’ s Analytics has found that every additional dollar of SNAP funding that people can access translates to a $ 1.70 boost in the economy .
The changes lawmakers are pushing include a 15 percent expansion in the maximum SNAP benefit , which would be a direct and quick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people .
“ During the Great Recession , Congress made SNAP more generous [ using the Recovery Act of 2009 ] , ” says Duke University public policy professor Anna Gassman-Pines .
“ The evidence is that this helped a lot of people weather the recession and the same thing could be done now.
” That 13.6 percent increase on the maximum monthly benefit in 2009 was found to have a tangible effect on reducing food insecurity for households near the poverty line .
According to FRAC , data also shows that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t use them up until later in the month .
There ’ s a push , too , for more flexibility around how SNAP benefits can be used .
Only a few states enable recipients to use SNAP at restaurants , or for online delivery , for example .
Expanding both of these options could greatly widen how the program can help families during the pandemic , especially when shopping in person at stores can prove challenging for people who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus .
Democrats have made the expansion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stimulus package , though they ’ ve yet to pick up Republican support .
If they can , it could prove to be one of the quickest ways to get stimulus help directly to people who sorely need it .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

The images of thousands of cars, lined up bumper-to-bumper on otherwise-empty freeways, capture the shocking scale of the nation’s hunger crisis.
In San Antonio, Texas, 10,000 people waited for hours to receive meal boxes from a regional food bank in April. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hundreds of families have been showing up for weekly food pickups at the PPG Paints Arena. And in Sunrise, Florida, cars stretched for nearly two miles, while people waited at a Feeding South Florida food bank site.
The demand at food banks across the country has skyrocketed in recent weeks — increasing by as much as 600 percent at some — underscoring just how expansive the effects of the economic downturn have been: As of early May, more than 30 million people had filed for unemployment in just six weeks.
Hundreds of cars wait to receive food from the Greater Community Food Bank in Duquesne. Collection begins at noon. @PghFoodBank @PittsburghPG pic.twitter.com/94YFaO7dqX — Andrew Rush (@andrewrush) March 30, 2020
That means growing food insecurity in a nation where millions of people were already struggling to get sufficient food each month.
According to a 2014 Washington Post report, roughly 46 million people — or one in seven US residents — depended on food banks or meal service programs annually prior to the coronavirus pandemic. And in 2019, about 38 million people used the US Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
These numbers are now seeing a major uptick.
“The need in our state has gone from 800,000 Washingtonians before Covid to 1.6 million people,” says Christina Wong, the public policy director at Northwest Harvest, a food bank that serves Washington state. States including Texas, New York, and Louisiana have seen applications for SNAP double or more, Yahoo News reports.
It’s a trend apparent across the country — and yet another one that reveals the vast holes in the government safety net. With SNAP unable to cover the overwhelming needs that have emerged, food banks (which have dubious corporate ties of their own) have stepped in to help support those who fall through.
“Food banks are the safety net under the safety net,” Andy Fisher, a food security expert and author of Big Hunger, tells Vox.
SNAP wasn’t providing enough money before the crisis — and it definitely isn’t now
One of the main problems this crisis has emphasized is just how tenuous America’s social safety net really is — and this is certainly the case with SNAP.
Even before the crisis, the amount SNAP was providing to individuals and families receiving benefits was often not enough to cover a month’s worth of groceries. This shortage is by design: the help is intended to be “supplemental” in nature. Because of this, however, many people have had to turn to food banks in the past to make up the difference. According to a 2016 study from the USDA, almost a third of SNAP recipient families visited a food bank every month. Currently, even more must do so.
“The biggest weakness in SNAP is the amount of benefits — the degree to which they are inadequate,” says Ellen Vollinger, the legal director at the Food Research and Action Center. “It’s why food banks report that they serve a lot of SNAP customers.”
Like other safety net programs, SNAP limits the number of people who can participate in it based on criteria like income and work requirements. To qualify, individuals’ and families’ gross monthly income needs to be at 130 percent of the poverty line or below, coming out to $1,354 for an individual and $2,790 for a family of four.
“Able-bodied” individuals without dependents between the ages of 18 and 49 also need to either participate in a job training program or work 20 hours a week, on average, in order to use the program for more than three months, every three years. There is currently a waiver on the three-month limit previously put on these benefits, in light of the ongoing pandemic. And while the Trump administration has tried to make such restrictions even more stringent, these rule changes remain tied up in court.
Because of its limits on benefits and eligibility, SNAP ends up being insufficient to address the needs of some households, while cutting out others completely. According to a 2018 study from Feeding America, a network of 200 food banks across the country, these nonprofits serve as the only recourse for many families who can’t afford food — but don’t qualify for SNAP.
Benefits vary based on income and household size; according to CBPP, individuals received an average of $127 per month in 2018, and households overall received an average of $256 per month. The maximum amount individuals can currently receive is $194 per month, and the maximum amount a family of four can receive is $646 per month. On average, people on SNAP in 2018 had just $1.40 to spend per meal, CBPP estimates.
Currently, because of a provision lawmakers approved in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, states are working on automatically providing the maximum benefit to all individuals and families as one way to address income shortfalls they may be experiencing.
Experts tell Vox that SNAP benefits overall have not kept pace with increased living costs — and that this gap is even more evident during the pandemic, when individuals may be relying on SNAP more and people are being told to stockpile groceries for longer periods.
“It’s real hard by the end of the month,” Joseph, a 59-year-old SNAP recipient in Baltimore, Maryland, told Vox. “By the time the check comes, it goes. ... I’m usually always broke.” In 80 percent of cases, the SNAP benefits households receive are spent in two weeks.
“We and many economists and policymakers recommend raising SNAP benefits and modestly expanding eligibility to address the effects of COVID-19 until the economy shows solid signs of recovering from the downturn,” CBPP senior fellow Dottie Rosenbaum writes in a blog post.
During the pandemic, applications for SNAP have gone more smoothly for many people than similar processes for unemployment insurance, though there have still been delays. Typically, states have to let people know if they qualify for the program within 30 days, and send them an Electronic Benefit Transfer card — which can be used to buy groceries — within seven to 10 days. But, as with other overwhelmed safety net programs, many places are seeing a logjam.
Jennifer, a SNAP applicant in Newark, New Jersey who’d been recently laid off, told Vox she was increasingly anxious while waiting for her EBT card, as she also tried to apply for unemployment. “In the richest country in the world, are we only going to hand out 1,200 [dollars] and assume everything is going to be okay? It is unfair,” she said.
Food banks are completely slammed right now
Because SNAP isn’t accessible to all households affected by the economic downturn — and doesn’t provide enough money even for those who can use it — food banks are now trying to fill in a much bigger gap than they usually have to deal with. As millions of people grapple with unemployment and business closures, they’re using food banks in order to address shortfalls.
“What’s been so challenging for food banks is that we’ve had this really dramatic and heartbreaking increase in need,” says Leslie Bacho, CEO of Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. “Fifty percent of people haven’t gotten help before.”
Those increases have been staggering at many organizations. Bacho says the group is serving roughly 100,000 more people than before the pandemic. Eric Cooper, president of the San Antonio Food Bank, notes the organization’s sites went from serving 60,000 people a week to 120,000 a week. And Anna Kurian, senior communications director at the North Texas Food Banks, says they’ve distributed 6 million pounds of food in about a month, compared to 1.5 million pounds in the prior two months.
Such huge amounts of need mean food banks have had to significantly increase the supply of food they have, and purchase much more than they normally would — leading to a massive uptick in their costs.
Wong, of Northwest Harvest, estimates that the food bank went from purchasing 10 percent of its food to 90 percent. This additional cost is putting pressure on food bank budgets, and for some, an uptick in donations isn’t enough to cover it. Feeding America expects to see a shortfall of $1.4 billion in the next six months, according to the New York Times.
What policy changes would help
There are several proposals in Congress aimed at improving the existing SNAP program — by making it more comprehensive and flexible. They likely face a roadblock from Republicans, who have expressed little interest in them, and even if they do make it into the next stimulus, that bill could be weeks away. If approved, though, these proposals could provide more comprehensive food aid and relieve some of the demand food banks are encountering.
Boosting SNAP also has noticeable economic impacts, since this money not only helps people afford food they need, but the spending goes right back to retailers, and has a multiplier effect as a result. Moody’s Analytics has found that every additional dollar of SNAP funding that people can access translates to a $1.70 boost in the economy.
The changes lawmakers are pushing include a 15 percent expansion in the maximum SNAP benefit, which would be a direct and quick way to offer more support to millions of people.
“During the Great Recession, Congress made SNAP more generous” using the Recovery Act of 2009, says Duke University public policy professor Anna Gassman-Pines. “The evidence is that this helped a lot of people weather the recession and the same thing could be done now.”
That 13.6 percent increase on the maximum monthly benefit in 2009 was found to have a tangible effect on reducing food insecurity for households near the poverty line. According to FRAC, data also shows that families receiving the expanded benefit didn’t use them up until later in the month.
There’s a push, too, for more flexibility around how SNAP benefits can be used. Only a few states enable recipients to use SNAP at restaurants, or for online delivery, for example. Expanding both of these options could greatly widen how the program can help families during the pandemic, especially when shopping in person at stores can prove challenging for people who are more vulnerable to the coronavirus.
Democrats have made the expansion of SNAP a key priority for the upcoming stimulus package, though they’ve yet to pick up Republican support. If they can, it could prove to be one of the quickest ways to get stimulus help directly to people who sorely need it.


vox--2020-05-11--Beware of these futuristic background checks

Unemployment in May reached its highest levels since the Great Depression , but companies like Postmates and Uber have continued to hire new workers during the pandemic .
If you ’ re interested in this kind of gig , however , there ’ s a good chance you ’ ll need to pass an AI-powered background check from a company like Checkr .
This might not be as easy as it sounds .
Checkr is on the forefront of a new and potentially problematic kind of hiring , one that ’ s powered by still-emerging technology .
Those hoping to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and others using AI to do background checks aren ’ t addressing errors and mistakes on their criminal records reports .
In these cases , a glitch in the system can cost someone a job .
But this isn ’ t exactly a new problem .
In recent years , Checkr has faced a slew of lawsuits for making mistakes that have cost people much-desired opportunities to work , according to legal records .
One complaint from a man hoping to drive for Uber alleged that he was wrongly linked to a murder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a similar name .
Another person hoping to work for the ride-share giant complained that he was erroneously reported to have committed several misdemeanors — including the possession of a controlled substance — crimes that belonged to another person with the same name .
Still , Checkr is one of many companies automating aspects of the hiring process and cutting down on costs .
They ’ re using artificial intelligence to scan through resumes , analyze facial expressions during video job interviews , compare criminal records , and even judge applicants ’ social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where the companies still hiring are likely already seeing a surge in applications and eager to find ways to streamline the recruiting process , technology that makes hiring quicker and easier sounds appealing .
But experts have expressed skepticism about the role that AI can actually play in hiring .
The technology doesn ’ t always work and can exacerbate bias and privacy problems .
Inevitably , it also raises bigger questions of how powerful AI should become .
AI can help companies study your criminal record When you ’ re being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies typically use personal information , provided by you , to learn more about your criminal record and other information about your identity .
That can involve collating all types of data , including but not limited to information from sex offender registries , global watch lists , state criminal records databases , and the Public Access to Court Electronic Records ( PACER ) system .
Sometimes , a background check provider will need to consult a courthouse to search for more records , a process that might not be possible right now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , using artificial intelligence to speed up the process of analyzing these records has been pioneered by Checkr , though other startups , like UK-based Onfido and Israeli-based Intelligo , have worked or are working on similar systems .
Meanwhile , more traditional background check companies are also making use of AI .
GoodHire , for instance , has used machine learning to verify the identity of people completing an online background check .
Checkr has become a favorite of gig economy firms , including Uber , Instacart , Shipt , Postmates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Checkr argues that AI can ultimately drive down the cost of bringing on a new hire by helping process background-checks in two ways .
First , the technology helps verify that a given criminal record belongs to the person whose background is being checked .
Second , the AI assists in comparing the names of criminal charges that have different names in different places .
What might be reported as “ petty theft ” in one locale could be reported as “ petit larceny ” somewhere else .
But as lawsuits against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mistakes , even with the use of AI .
Many of these complaints allege that the company matched people to criminal records belonging to others with the same or similar names .
“ The threshold question is , did we even match the right person , ” explains Aaron Rieke , the managing director of the digital rights group Upturn .
“ If you have a common name , that ’ s a non-trivial thing to do , and the last 20 years are rife with database matching problems just at that very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say out-of-context or outdated records also end up getting included in their reports .
Checkr did not comment on the lawsuits specifically , but Kristen Faris , the company ’ s industry strategy vice president , told Recode that humans are involved in both the review and quality assurance process to ensure the accuracy of the reports .
“ In the traditional world , where you ’ re using offshore labor to apply this criteria , you have a much lower accuracy rate just because of the manual processes involved , ” Faris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media and anything else that ’ s public on the web Most background checks tend to focus on criminal records , but some services have started to include information about a person that ’ s available online , including their social media presence .
Some managers already look up social media activity of prospective hires , but companies like Good Egg sell social media background checks , while others like Intelligo can use AI to screen these platforms .
“ I think when people use their real name in public fora online @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be sucked into a background check process , ” Rieke , the digital rights advocate , said .
This is what happened to Kai Moore earlier this year , when their employer switched payroll systems and required employee background checks to be run again .
Moore expected a review of what ’ s typically included in this process : information about their criminal records and confirmation of their identity .
But what they didn ’ t expect was a 300-page report from Fama Technologies on their social media history , which included @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ Likes.
” Even more worrisome was how their online activity was graded .
A post Moore had “ Liked ” with the phrase “ Big Dick Energy ” was flagged for “ sexism ” and “ bigotry.
” Tweets they ’ d favorited about alcohol were flagged as “ bad , ” while one mentioning “ hell ” in discussing LGBTQ identity and religion was flagged for “ language.
” Moore ’ s employer assured them that their job was not at risk , but it also noted that Fama ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ consider , ” rather than an outright “ clear , ” for the position in which Moore had already been working .
And to Moore , this signified the absurdity and inaccuracy of artificial intelligence .
“ I think it ’ s really dangerous to give these kinds of algorithms so much authority , ” Moore told Recode .
“ It ’ s such a terrible algorithm .
It ’ s a keyword search.
” Fama founder and CEO Ben Mones told Recode that the company claims to be able to identify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as well as the risk that someone might commit insider trading or intellectual property theft .
Fama primarily analyzed Twitter activity in Moore ’ s case , but the technology can also pick up information about applicants from news sites and other webpages .
Since Moore ’ s report was performed , Fama has stopped labeling these posts as “ good ” or “ bad.
” Now , it simply flags content , leaving employers to make their own judgments .
Fama isn ’ t the only company that ’ s attempted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are looking for ways to report what prospective applicants share online , a process that some background check companies say they can expedite with the help of AI .
Faris , the Checkr VP , said her company has talked about offering social media screenings but has yet to see significant demand from its existing customer base .
It ’ s also unclear if social media companies themselves will tolerate this use of their data .
Predictim , a company that used AI to score potential babysitters based on their social media , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it was ultimately blocked by Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .
Predictim ’ s website is no longer active .
Fama , for one , has found a way around some social media companies ’ policies .
Twitter told Recode that it suspended Fama ’ s API access around the same time Moore ’ s story about their background check went viral .
Twitter said that its API policies ban the use of the platform for “ background checks or any form of extreme vetting , ” as well as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has some form of access to Twitter data for its services .
The use of artificial intelligence doesn ’ t mean your rights are forfeited Background check companies are generally considered credit reporting agencies , and there are state and federal laws that regulate how these agencies operate .
Chief among them is the Fair Credit Reporting Act , a law passed in 1970 to protect consumers that ’ s regulated by the Federal Trade Commission .
Just last month , the agency shared best practices for working with artificial intelligence and algorithms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act law requires potential employers to inform and get a person ’ s permission before running a background check .
If the employer thinks the results of the background check will factor into rejecting an applicant for a job , they have to let the applicant know and give them a chance to contest any information in the report .
If that happens , the credit reporting agency enlisted by the employer has to reinvestigate its findings .
There is no guarantee , however , that any corrections will be made in time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a particular position .
Background check companies can make significant errors , and those errors can impact whether or not someone is ultimately offered a job .
According to Ariel Nelson , an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center , these firms do have a legal obligation to have “ reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information.
” There ’ s still a pervasive problem of mistakes being included in background checks , Nelson explained , even when AI is not involved .
So when you find yourself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that your application could be subject to an AI-powered background check , especially if you ’ re looking for work in the gig economy .
You do have control over some aspects of this process .
You can make your social media accounts private or delete your data from these platforms entirely .
Basically , if you can see information about you online while you ’ re not logged into a platform , a future employer — or a hired AI — can probably see it , too .
Open Sourced is made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Unemployment in May reached its highest levels since the Great Depression, but companies like Postmates and Uber have continued to hire new workers during the pandemic. If you’re interested in this kind of gig, however, there’s a good chance you’ll need to pass an AI-powered background check from a company like Checkr. This might not be as easy as it sounds.
Checkr is on the forefront of a new and potentially problematic kind of hiring, one that’s powered by still-emerging technology. Those hoping to quickly get extra work complain that Checkr and others using AI to do background checks aren’t addressing errors and mistakes on their criminal records reports. In these cases, a glitch in the system can cost someone a job.
But this isn’t exactly a new problem. In recent years, Checkr has faced a slew of lawsuits for making mistakes that have cost people much-desired opportunities to work, according to legal records. One complaint from a man hoping to drive for Uber alleged that he was wrongly linked to a murder conviction that actually belonged to someone with a similar name. Another person hoping to work for the ride-share giant complained that he was erroneously reported to have committed several misdemeanors — including the possession of a controlled substance — crimes that belonged to another person with the same name.
Checkr is one of many companies automating aspects of the hiring process and cutting down on costs. Some of these companies are using artificial intelligence to scan through resumes, analyze facial expressions during video job interviews, compare criminal records, and even judge applicants’ social media behavior. And in a pandemic, where the companies still hiring are likely already seeing a surge in applications and eager to find ways to streamline the recruiting process, technology that makes hiring quicker and easier sounds appealing.
But experts have expressed skepticism about the role that AI can actually play in hiring. The technology doesn’t always work and can exacerbate bias and privacy problems. Inevitably, it also raises bigger questions of how powerful AI should become.
AI can help companies study your criminal record
When you’re being considered for a job, background check companies typically use personal information, provided by you, to learn more about your criminal record and other information about your identity. That can involve collating all types of data, including but not limited to information from sex offender registries, global watch lists, state criminal records databases, and the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. Sometimes, a background check provider will need to consult a courthouse to search for more records, a process that might not be possible right now due to pandemic-required closures.
In recent years, using artificial intelligence to speed up the process of analyzing these records has been pioneered by Checkr, though other startups, like UK-based Onfido and Israeli-based Intelligo, have worked or are working on similar systems. Meanwhile, more traditional background check companies are also making use of AI. GoodHire, for instance, has used machine learning to verify the identity of people completing an online background check.
Checkr has become a favorite of gig economy firms, including Uber, Instacart, Shipt, Postmates, and Lyft. On its website, Checkr argues that AI can ultimately drive down the cost of bringing on a new hire by helping process background-checks in two ways. First, the technology helps verify that a given criminal record belongs to the person whose background is being checked. Second, the AI assists in comparing the names of criminal charges that have different names in different places. What might be reported as “petty theft” in one locale could be reported as “petit larceny” somewhere else.
But as lawsuits against Checkr suggest, these services can make mistakes, even with the use of AI. Many of these complaints allege that the company matched people to criminal records belonging to others with the same or similar names.
Related Artificial intelligence will help determine if you get your next job
“The threshold question is, did we even match the right person,” explains Aaron Rieke, the managing director of the digital rights group Upturn. “If you have a common name, that’s a non-trivial thing to do, and the last 20 years are rife with database matching problems just at that very basic level.”
Other complaints against Checkr say out-of-context or outdated records also end up getting included in their reports.
Checkr did not comment on the lawsuits specifically, but Kristen Faris, the company’s industry strategy vice president, told Recode that humans are involved in both the review and quality assurance process to ensure the accuracy of the reports.
“In the traditional world, where you’re using offshore labor to apply this criteria, you have a much lower accuracy rate just because of the manual processes involved,” Faris said.
AI can also screen your social media and anything else that’s public on the web
Most background checks tend to focus on criminal records, but some services have started to include information about a person that’s available online, including their social media presence. Some managers already look up social media activity of prospective hires, but companies like Good Egg sell social media background checks, while others like Intelligo can use AI to screen these platforms.
“I think when people use their real name in public fora online, the reality is that that information could be sucked into a background check process,” Rieke, the digital rights advocate, said.
This is what happened to Kai Moore earlier this year, when their employer switched payroll systems and required employee background checks to be run again. Moore expected a review of what’s typically included in this process: information about their criminal records and confirmation of their identity. But what they didn’t expect was a 300-page report from Fama Technologies on their social media history, which included documentation of their tweets, retweets, and “Likes.”
Even more worrisome was how their online activity was graded. A post Moore had “Liked” with the phrase “Big Dick Energy” was flagged for “sexism” and “bigotry.” Tweets they’d favorited about alcohol were flagged as “bad,” while one mentioning “hell” in discussing LGBTQ identity and religion was flagged for “language.”
Moore’s employer assured them that their job was not at risk, but it also noted that Fama’s algorithms had ultimately deemed them a “consider,” rather than an outright “clear,” for the position in which Moore had already been working. And to Moore, this signified the absurdity and inaccuracy of artificial intelligence.
“I think it’s really dangerous to give these kinds of algorithms so much authority,” Moore told Recode. “It’s such a terrible algorithm. It’s a keyword search.”
Fama founder and CEO Ben Mones told Recode that the company claims to be able to identify problematic behavior, like sexism and bullying, as well as the risk that someone might commit insider trading or intellectual property theft. Fama primarily analyzed Twitter activity in Moore’s case, but the technology can also pick up information about applicants from news sites and other webpages. Since Moore’s report was performed, Fama has stopped labeling these posts as “good” or “bad.” Now, it simply flags content, leaving employers to make their own judgments.
Fama isn’t the only company that’s attempted such a business model. Other companies are looking for ways to report what prospective applicants share online, a process that some background check companies say they can expedite with the help of AI. Faris, the Checkr VP, said her company has talked about offering social media screenings but has yet to see significant demand from its existing customer base.
It’s also unclear if social media companies themselves will tolerate this use of their data. Predictim, a company that used AI to score potential babysitters based on their social media, attracted enough negative attention back in 2018 that it was ultimately blocked by Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Predictim’s website is no longer active.
Fama, for one, has found a way around some social media companies’ policies. Twitter told Recode that it suspended Fama’s API access around the same time Moore’s story about their background check went viral. Twitter said that its API policies ban the use of the platform for “background checks or any form of extreme vetting,” as well as “surveillance.” Fama maintains that it still has some form of access to Twitter data for its services.
The use of artificial intelligence doesn’t mean your rights are forfeited
Background check companies are generally considered credit reporting agencies, and there are state and federal laws that regulate how these agencies operate. Chief among them is the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a law passed in 1970 to protect consumers that’s regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. Just last month, the agency shared best practices for working with artificial intelligence and algorithms.
Currently, the Fair Credit Reporting Act law requires potential employers to inform and get a person’s permission before running a background check. If the employer thinks the results of the background check will factor into rejecting an applicant for a job, they have to let the applicant know and give them a chance to contest any information in the report. If that happens, the credit reporting agency enlisted by the employer has to reinvestigate its findings. There is no guarantee, however, that any corrections will be made in time for a person to remain in consideration for a particular position.
Background check companies can make significant errors, and those errors can impact whether or not someone is ultimately offered a job. According to Ariel Nelson, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, these firms do have a legal obligation to have “reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information.” There’s still a pervasive problem of mistakes being included in background checks, Nelson explained, even when AI is not involved.
So when you find yourself applying for a new job, consider that your application could be subject to an AI-powered background check, especially if you’re looking for work in the gig economy. You do have control over some aspects of this process. You can make your social media accounts private or delete your data from these platforms entirely. Basically, if you can see information about you online while you’re not logged into a platform, a future employer — or a hired AI — can probably see it, too.
Clarification: This post has been updated to clarify that Checkr has automated features, but the service does not use AI to scan through resumes, analyze facial expressions during video job interviews, or judge applicant’s social media behavior.
Open Sourced is made possible by the Omidyar Network. All Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists.