AI workplace surveillance raises concerns over employee rights
The growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor employees is raising concerns over workplace privacy, performance assessments and unequal benefits from the technology.
Workers across different industries are facing increased scrutiny, with automated systems tracking their behaviour and evaluating their performance.
In the UK, Co-op Legal Services has introduced AI technology that records and analyses phone calls between employees and customers seeking advice on probate, wills and estates.
The system assigns percentage scores to these interactions.
A Co-op employee described the monitoring system as oppressive, telling The Guardian that workers felt they were constantly being watched.
The company rejected the criticism and said its probate advisers were highly engaged.
Concerns over workplace surveillance have also prompted legislative action in the United States.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed laws restricting certain forms of employee monitoring, including systems that track workers’ movements, bathroom breaks and emotional states.
Similar concerns have emerged at Amazon warehouses, where workers have reported being timed during bathroom breaks.
Nurses at California-based hospital chain Kaiser Permanente have also raised concerns about automated systems evaluating their tone of voice during patient interactions.
Women face unequal opportunities in AI industry
The growing AI industry has also raised questions about the distribution of economic opportunities, particularly for women.
Research by LinkedIn found that men working in AI-related occupations earn a median of $45,000 more than women, partly reflecting differences in the roles they occupy.
Women working in the sector have also reported difficulties securing investment for their businesses.
Felicia Newhouse, founder of AI Powered Women, said unequal participation in the industry could eventually lead to a wider gap in decision-making power.
AI workers face uncertain pay and conditions
Concerns have also emerged over the working conditions of people performing data-related tasks for technology companies.
In Kenya, refugees working remotely on tasks for foreign technology firms have reported uncertainty over their earnings.
Their payments depend on a reward-based system that assesses the quality of their work, which some workers have described as unfair.
Workers have also expressed concern that AI could eventually replace the repetitive tasks they currently perform, further threatening their already limited employment opportunities.
These developments have intensified debate over who benefits from AI-driven growth and whether the technology’s economic gains are being shared fairly among workers.