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Why “feeling uneasy”? The employer can have cameras installed there too, how is that different from this situation? Or is it just because it crawls on the groun

Why “feeling uneasy”? The employer can have cameras installed there too, how is that different from this situation? Or is it just because it crawls on the ground that suddenly it's considered bad? Don't get me wrong, though. I believe that employers should never monitor employees with anything that might violate their privacy, like cameras, screen recorders, or similar devices. They should only gather some stats instead, without individually identifying anyone. But obviously, this is not the case now, so why freak out over a robot?

everforward 2y ago
> But obviously, this is not the case now, so why freak out over a robot? A decay in trust; employees do not trust that counting people is all the robot does, or they don't trust that it won't change in the future without their knowledge. I don't entirely blame them; I would be equally doubtful that some "enterprising" soul won't come along and turn on the intrusive mode suddenly. The issue isn't the robot so much as the lack of trust, causing suspicion of things that would otherwise be reasonable.
- creer 2y ago
  Your observation is in the right direction. And it's an entire ecosystem of these mis-behaviors. - You know that someone in there will find "ingenious" ways to work around the goals or rules to be - in their mind - the good guy and go after some self-perceived bad guys. No matter that they will be the bad guys. - They will find plenty of people to support them. - There will be no repercussions. Perhaps promotion and a revision of the rules to make what they did acceptable. - All communication regarding the thing will be tone deaf. Very consciously so, because the communication itself will be about "managing" the perception and employee mood. Not making it match reality. - The manufacturers themselves are not stupid and know what they need to say and not say. We have arrived at modes of operation that make trust impossible. Where you have to always second guess what that other person's goals might be. That's a problem (on top of the other problems.)
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
If the hemisphere cameras in the corner would occasionally pop out of the ceiling a bit only to recede back in, it would catch the workers' eyes and they'd at least get distracted from their work; perhaps worse, they'd be reminded that they're being recorded. After maybe a dozen times a day over a few weeks a fair amount of people will be wanting them gone. More succinctly: out of sight, out of mind.
rhelz 2y ago
Its just obviously designed to be in-your-face. It signals that the overlords aren't merely indifferent to your happiness---they actively work to make your life as miserable as possible. Its not just run-of-the-mill, pointy-headed boss tone-deafness. No. They get that you are miserable, and they love it. The fact that it makes you feel infantilized and powerless is a feature, not a bug.

everforward 2y ago

> But obviously, this is not the case now, so why freak out over a robot? A decay in trust; employees do not trust that counting people is all the robot does, or they don't trust that it won't change in the future without their knowledge. I don't entirely blame them; I would be equally doubtful that some "enterprising" soul won't come along and turn on the intrusive mode suddenly. The issue isn't the robot so much as the lack of trust, causing suspicion of things that would otherwise be reasonable.

creer 2y ago
Your observation is in the right direction. And it's an entire ecosystem of these mis-behaviors. - You know that someone in there will find "ingenious" ways to work around the goals or rules to be - in their mind - the good guy and go after some self-perceived bad guys. No matter that they will be the bad guys. - They will find plenty of people to support them. - There will be no repercussions. Perhaps promotion and a revision of the rules to make what they did acceptable. - All communication regarding the thing will be tone deaf. Very consciously so, because the communication itself will be about "managing" the perception and employee mood. Not making it match reality. - The manufacturers themselves are not stupid and know what they need to say and not say. We have arrived at modes of operation that make trust impossible. Where you have to always second guess what that other person's goals might be. That's a problem (on top of the other problems.)

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago

If the hemisphere cameras in the corner would occasionally pop out of the ceiling a bit only to recede back in, it would catch the workers' eyes and they'd at least get distracted from their work; perhaps worse, they'd be reminded that they're being recorded. After maybe a dozen times a day over a few weeks a fair amount of people will be wanting them gone. More succinctly: out of sight, out of mind.

rhelz 2y ago

Its just obviously designed to be in-your-face. It signals that the overlords aren't merely indifferent to your happiness---they actively work to make your life as miserable as possible. Its not just run-of-the-mill, pointy-headed boss tone-deafness. No. They get that you are miserable, and they love it. The fact that it makes you feel infantilized and powerless is a feature, not a bug.