/* ---- Google Analytics Code Below */

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Employee Surveillance is Data

Not an unexpected thing.  Its another form of data and is naturally part of efficiency considerations.  Even its 'architecture',  like those mentioned in recent silo readings, can be important to the accuracy of decisions being made.  Data exists in work contexts, decisions use data, which includes how people (and AIs) use that data.

Employee Privacy in the U.S. at Stake as Corporate Surveillance Technology Monitors Workers' Every Move     CNBC   By Ellen Sheng

The advent of technologies that let businesses track, overhear, and monitor employees on company time is raising issues about corporate surveillance. Gartner estimated last year that 22% of organizations worldwide in various sectors use employee-movement data, 17% track work-computer-usage data, and 16% access Microsoft Outlook or other calendar-usage data. Products of interest include Amazon's recently patented ultrasonic bracelet, which can localize warehouse employees and monitor their interaction with inventory bins via sound pulses. Meanwhile, last year Walmart patented a system for eavesdropping on workers and customers, which tracks employee "performance metrics" to ensure employees are on the job by listening for certain noises. Some makers of monitoring technologies are developing deployment guidelines to allay employer and employee privacy concerns, but advocates fear worker privacy could be compromised without appropriate regulation.  ... " 

No comments: