Response to the White House OSTP's Request for Information on Automated Worker Surveillance and Management
home.coworker.org
"[T]hese products pose a variety of risks and harms for workers that extend beyond privacy, and go into economic well-being, health, including mental health."
  • The Rise of “Little Tech”: Small startups and SaaS vendors—often backed by Silicon Valley venture capital—are leading the charge in AI-powered workplace surveillance, embedding tracking tools into everyday HR and productivity software.
  • Global Surge, Local Collapse: While countries like Brazil, Mexico, and India have privacy laws on paper, enforcement is weak, allowing both domestic and foreign vendors to deploy invasive technologies unchecked.
  • Gig Workers as Guinea Pigs: Gig economy workers in sectors like delivery and rideshare are the frontline subjects of AI surveillance, subjected to real-time tracking, biometric scans, and even models that predict union activity.
  • Surveillance Disguised as Care: AI surveillance is increasingly framed as a tool for safety, wellness, and productivity—masking coercive oversight in the language of health and efficiency.
  • Privacy Theater: Many vendors offer copy-paste privacy notices while quietly retaining worker data indefinitely. In countries like Mexico and Colombia, some companies even conduct home visits and collect data on workers’ families.
  • Workers are Fighting Back: From sanitation workers in India to ride-hail drivers in Nigeria, workers are resisting algorithmic control—organizing protests, forming unions, and demanding AI transparency.
    • criss_cross@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      2 days ago

      I worked at one of those my first job out of college. The dude that started it was a used car salesman turned “serial entrepreneur”.

    • WanderingThoughts@europe.pubEnglish
      27·
      3 days ago

      Rich folks of course. They like to meddle with and control the lives of the social classes beneath them. It makes them feel powerful. Same reason it’s back to the office.

    • dissentiate@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      34·
      3 days ago

      The same people who publicly justify their lack of humanity with well rehearsed elevator pitches, all neatly wrapped up in vague altruism and social benefit jargon.

    • etchinghillside@reddthat.comEnglish
      16·
      3 days ago

      The type of people that get themselves in to Entrepreneurship for the sole reason of not specifically solving a problem they’re interested in but that just want to be seen as important “i can business” people so they over promises a layer of AI on top of random situations in hopes they can hold together a charade long enough to get VC interest and an exit.

  • PartyAt15thAndSummit@lemmy.zipEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    Reminder that any sort of workplace surveillance is outright illegal in some EU countries. It could even be considered a criminal act.

  • KeenFlame@feddit.nuEnglish
    15·
    2 days ago

    Yeah this is big brother still. It refers as much to a single entity as it does to an actual older sibling.

  • Colloidal@programming.devEnglish
    4·
    2 days ago

    While countries like Brazil, Mexico, and India have privacy laws on paper, enforcement is weak, allowing both domestic and foreign vendors to deploy invasive technologies unchecked.

    So they’re doing just as well as the US?

  • untakenusername@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    10·
    3 days ago

    big brother isn’t the future

    its a wonderful, wholesome, big family we can expect, everyone watching everyone else

    which isn’t much better ngl