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Amazon driver quits, saying the final straw was the company's AI truck cameras

31 points by turtlegrids 6y ago

hedora 6y ago
Reminds me of the cab in in The Fifth Element.
itisit 6y ago
All these "AI-first" companies will continue to isolate, monitor, and direct the limited bits of human cognition and mobility required to get a particular job done. No harm in standing up for your emotional well-being and dignity until the particular job itself is fully automated or sent overseas.
neilv 6y ago
The headline I got was "Amazon driver quits, saying the final straw was the company's new AI-powered truck cameras that can sense when workers yawn or don't use a seatbelt". Which I think downplays the invasiveness and potential, and sounds like a direct-from-corporate-communications framing.
- Doxin 6y ago
  While that title does downplay the whole thing a fair bit, I think that even that is wildly unacceptable. The day my boss starts harassing me about how often I yawn is the day I leave for greener pastures. I've got better things to do than to worry about suppressing reflexes.
whoisjuan 6y ago
I’m against surveillance and draconian enforcement of rules. But in this case I understand Amazon. Can you blame them for wanting to make sure their drivers are not distracted and operating the trucks responsibly? They are in a logistics business. Distracted driving causes accidents and delays. A driver for them is equal parts an employee and a liability. Amazon gets all the heat in these topics simply because they nail to automate what has been a manual process so far. Monitoring trucks with video and GPS is something that many companies do and have been doing for years. Maybe the debate should be around how much monitoring is too much. Unfortunately for a company like Amazon there’s little choice here. They built a brand based on their reliability and customer service. Thousands of unmonitored truck drivers are something that could damage that trust.
- MikeUt 6y ago
  > Unfortunately for a company like Amazon there’s little choice here. They built a brand based on their reliability and customer service. Thousands of unmonitored truck drivers are something that could damage that trust. Every smallest remaining scrap of employee privacy or autonomy is "something that could damage that trust".
- Lammy 6y ago
  > A driver for them is equal parts an employee and a liability. This is the issue, yes. It is yet another symbol of the adversarial dehumanizing relationship inherent in “gig” work. If Amazon logistics workers weren’t constantly pushed to meet strict goals (to the point of skipping meals and bathroom breaks) there would be way fewer accidents to justify this surveillance system. This is another step in the wrong direction.
- masonic 6y ago
  The bigger safety issue is driving, (double) parking, and other driver actions. With the constant tracking and metrics gathering, drivers are incented to break traffic law and create safety hazards for others via actions like "double parking". Amazon wants to externalize the difficulties of modern urban delivery onto their drivers; package throughput would be greatly reduced if drivers obeyed driving and parking laws (and basic etiquette) in modern urban and suburban settings.
- itisit 6y ago
  That’s a very Amazonian view placing customer trust before employee rights... > Maybe the debate should be around how much monitoring is too much. Yes! This is the debate, and this kind of monitoring is too much.
- frombody 6y ago
  They built a brand on the backs of replacement workers that are not valuable to the company. Rather than employ people by giving them a living wage and respect, this has been replaced with poverty wages and shackles to prevent retaliation.
masonic 6y ago
Please use original source's link: https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ai-camera-delivery-tracking-tech-bezos-2021-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ai-camera-delivery-tr...
supertrope 6y ago
Amazon’s first CFO Joy Covey died after an Amazon delivery driver hit her.

31 points by turtlegrids 6y ago

Reminds me of the cab in in The Fifth Element.

All these "AI-first" companies will continue to isolate, monitor, and direct the limited bits of human cognition and mobility required to get a particular job done. No harm in standing up for your emotional well-being and dignity until the particular job itself is fully automated or sent overseas.

neilv 6y ago

The headline I got was "Amazon driver quits, saying the final straw was the company's new AI-powered truck cameras that can sense when workers yawn or don't use a seatbelt". Which I think downplays the invasiveness and potential, and sounds like a direct-from-corporate-communications framing.

Doxin 6y ago
While that title does downplay the whole thing a fair bit, I think that even that is wildly unacceptable. The day my boss starts harassing me about how often I yawn is the day I leave for greener pastures. I've got better things to do than to worry about suppressing reflexes.

whoisjuan 6y ago

I’m against surveillance and draconian enforcement of rules. But in this case I understand Amazon. Can you blame them for wanting to make sure their drivers are not distracted and operating the trucks responsibly? They are in a logistics business. Distracted driving causes accidents and delays. A driver for them is equal parts an employee and a liability. Amazon gets all the heat in these topics simply because they nail to automate what has been a manual process so far. Monitoring trucks with video and GPS is something that many companies do and have been doing for years. Maybe the debate should be around how much monitoring is too much. Unfortunately for a company like Amazon there’s little choice here. They built a brand based on their reliability and customer service. Thousands of unmonitored truck drivers are something that could damage that trust.

MikeUt 6y ago
> Unfortunately for a company like Amazon there’s little choice here. They built a brand based on their reliability and customer service. Thousands of unmonitored truck drivers are something that could damage that trust. Every smallest remaining scrap of employee privacy or autonomy is "something that could damage that trust".
Lammy 6y ago
> A driver for them is equal parts an employee and a liability. This is the issue, yes. It is yet another symbol of the adversarial dehumanizing relationship inherent in “gig” work. If Amazon logistics workers weren’t constantly pushed to meet strict goals (to the point of skipping meals and bathroom breaks) there would be way fewer accidents to justify this surveillance system. This is another step in the wrong direction.
masonic 6y ago
The bigger safety issue is driving, (double) parking, and other driver actions. With the constant tracking and metrics gathering, drivers are incented to break traffic law and create safety hazards for others via actions like "double parking". Amazon wants to externalize the difficulties of modern urban delivery onto their drivers; package throughput would be greatly reduced if drivers obeyed driving and parking laws (and basic etiquette) in modern urban and suburban settings.
itisit 6y ago
That’s a very Amazonian view placing customer trust before employee rights... > Maybe the debate should be around how much monitoring is too much. Yes! This is the debate, and this kind of monitoring is too much.
frombody 6y ago
They built a brand on the backs of replacement workers that are not valuable to the company. Rather than employ people by giving them a living wage and respect, this has been replaced with poverty wages and shackles to prevent retaliation.

masonic 6y ago

Please use original source's link: https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ai-camera-delivery-tracking-tech-bezos-2021-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ai-camera-delivery-tr...

supertrope 6y ago

Amazon’s first CFO Joy Covey died after an Amazon delivery driver hit her.