(PatriotPostNews.com) – Amazon employees in Missouri have accused Amazon of using “intrusive” AI technology to monitor their every move. Employees report feeling afraid to stop moving as well as fearful of getting caught talking to coworkers. One employee recounted seeing a manager’s laptop screen where individual employee physical activity was monitored. The AI showed a green light for employees actively working and a different light for employees who are stationary.
Employees receive discipline for actions that no one directly witnessed or actions that they may not have been aware of doing. Amazon employees have been fighting for workers’ rights, including basic amenities like a restroom with functional ventilation. Human resources has allegedly been caught using AI surveillance technology to discipline employees who pause to talk to one another. Employees believe that HR is deliberately preventing them from discussing issues in the workplace.
Despite the pressure to remain silent, Amazon employees have banded together to file an unfair labor practice charge. The charge alleges that Amazon is breaking labor law by using AI surveillance to prevent employees from unionizing. Employees alleged that Amazon workers are dealing with an “injury crisis.”
Wendy Taylor, a warehouse worker at one of Missouri’s Amazon fulfillment centers, went as far as saying working for Amazon has such intense employee surveillance that it feels like prison. She said people are afraid to make a wrong move or even talk to each other.
In a statement, Amazon downplayed the accusations and said that no “unlawful activity” by Amazon has been found.
In France, Amazon is facing a roughly $30 million lawsuit for what a French watchdog group has referred to as “excessive” surveillance. The group described a hostile environment where employees are forced to justify every break they take while working. The technology monitors employees so closely that even a brief pause to catch one’s breath may require justification.
Amazon denied all allegations, calling them “factually incorrect.”
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