# Microsoft Makes a Badge That Watches, California Town Bans Data Centers, & Uber Cuts 23% of HR Function

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/microsoft-makes-a-badge-that-watches-california-town-bans-data-centers-uber-cuts-23-of-hr-function
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/microsoft-makes-a-badge-that-watches-california-town-bans-data-centers-uber-cuts-23-of-hr-function.md
Podcast: [Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan](https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576)
Published: 2026-06-04T19:55:00+00:00
Episode link: https://futureofworkpodcast.libsyn.com/microsoft-makes-a-badge-that-watches-california-town-bans-data-centers-uber-cuts-23-of-hr-function
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/futureofworkpodcast/ai-badge-workplace-data-center-ban-uber-hr-layoffs-future-of-work-2026.mp3?dest-id=209072
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/episodes/microsoft-makes-a-badge-that-watches-california-town-bans-data-centers-uber-cuts-23-of-hr-function
Duration seconds: 1995

## Resource

June 4, 2026: Microsoft unveiled a wearable AI badge at Build 2026 that can see, hear, and act on your behalf. I break down the real productivity upside, and the chilling effect on human communication that the tech press isn't talking about. Then I take a critical look at Monterey Park's landmark vote to permanently ban data centers — 86% to 14%, the first in America. I understand why communities push back. I also think this particular decision is a mistake, and I'll tell you exactly why.Finally: Uber just cut 23% of its entire HR and recruiting function at record revenue, with 95% AI adoption across engineering — then said AI had nothing to do with it.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/episodes/microsoft-makes-a-badge-that-watches-california-town-bans-data-centers-uber-cuts-23-of-hr-function/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-ready-leadership-with-jacob-morgan-891576/microsoft-makes-a-badge-that-watches-california-town-bans-data-centers-uber-cuts-23-of-hr-function.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.