AI Workplace Surveillance: Dystopian Bossware and the Erosion of Dignity
In an analysis by Lynn Parramore for the Institute for New Economic Thinking, shared on Naked Capitalism, the impact of AI-based workplace surveillance, often referred to as 'bossware,' on both blue-collar and white-collar employees is examined. This technology monitors screen activity, productivity, and emotional reactions through Emotional AI. Tools like 'Aware' assess engagement on platforms such as Slack, Teams, and Zoom, while task mining captures digital interactions. Although marketed as a means to enhance efficiency, this surveillance heightens anxiety and negatively affects health without boosting performance. It also reveals biases against women, older individuals, neurodiverse people, and minorities, potentially aiding in union suppression. Data breaches, like the WorkComposer incident revealing 21 million screenshots, increase vulnerability. The piece contrasts the EU's AI Act and GDPR with the US's inadequate protections, calling for stronger worker unions and a right to indeterminacy.
Key facts
- Lynn Parramore is Senior Research Analyst at the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
- Bossware includes tools that track behavior and systems that make automated decisions.
- AI monitoring systems like 'Aware' scan Slack, Teams, and Zoom for engagement and risk behavior.
- Emotional AI interprets facial expressions, eye movements, and posture to infer emotions.
- Researchers at the University of Western Ontario warn that AI cannot produce ground truth about human emotions.
- AI surveillance is biased against women, older employees, neurodiverse workers, and people of color.
- JPMorgan Chase tracks junior bankers' digital moves to catch 'overwork,' framing it as wellness.
- WorkComposer left over 21 million employee screenshots exposed in an unsecured Amazon S3 bucket.
- The EU Artificial Intelligence Act treats workplace AI as high-risk, requiring documentation and human oversight.
- The US lacks comprehensive laws for algorithmic management, relying on a patchwork of labor and privacy laws.
Entities
Artists
- Franz Kafka
Institutions
- Institute for New Economic Thinking
- Naked Capitalism
- JPMorgan Chase
- Amazon
- Boston University
- University of Western Ontario
- University of Bremen
- University of Modena
- Wells Fargo
- Starbucks
- Washington Center for Equitable Growth
- European Union
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Locations
- United States
- European Union
- California