Now Amazon puts 'creepy' AI cameras in UK delivery vans
- Reference: 1653375186
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/05/24/ai_cameras_amazon/
- Source link:
The technology was [1]first deployed , with numerous errors that reportedly denied drivers' bonuses after malfunctions, in the US. Last year, the internet giant produced a corporate video detailing how the cameras monitor drivers' driving behavior for safety reasons. The same system is now [2]apparently being rolled out to vehicles in the UK.
Multiple camera lenses are placed under the front mirror. One is directed at the person behind the wheel, one is facing the road, and two are located on either side to provide a wider view. The cameras are monitored by software built by Netradyne, a computer-vision startup focused on driver safety. This code uses machine-learning algorithms to figure out what's going on in and around the vehicle.
[3]
Audio alerts are triggered by some behaviors, such as if a driver fails to brake at a stop sign or is driving too fast. Other actions are silently logged, such as if the driver doesn't wear a seat-belt or if a camera's view is blocked. Amazon reportedly records workers and calculates from their activities a score that affects their pay; drivers have [4]previously complained of having bonuses unfairly deducted for behavior the computer system wrongly classified as reckless.
[5]
[6]
An Amazon spokesperson previously told The Register the cameras were installed to encourage or help workers drive more safely and help folks keep track of their packages. But not everyone is pleased about the technology coming to Blighty. Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, a non-profit organization focused on privacy, said the cameras were creepy and should not be deployed.
"Plans for this excessive, intrusive, and creepy worker surveillance should be immediately stopped," Carlo told The Register in a statement.
[7]
"Amazon has a terrible track record of intensely monitoring their lowest wage earners using Orwellian, often highly inaccurate, spying technologies, and then using that data to their disadvantage. This kind of directed surveillance could actually risk distracting drivers, let alone demoralizing them. It is bad for workers' rights and awful for privacy in our country," she said.
[8]Amazon internal chat app that censored talk of unions and ethics may 'never launch at all'
[9]Workplace surveillance booming during pandemic, destroying trust in employers
[10]AI surveillance software increasingly used to make sure contract lawyers are doing their jobs at home
[11]Oh no, here we go again, groans the internet as AWS runs into IT problems. Briefly this time
Amazon uses all sorts of tactics to monitor its workers. Employees [12]previously told El Reg that being a warehouse worker during the COVID-19 pandemic was especially taxing. Increased rates of incoming orders forced staff to work faster at the cost of higher risks of workplace injuries. It's not surprising the biz is now increasingly surveilling workers outside the warehouse too.
Amazon did not respond to The Register 's request for comment. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/27/in_brief_ai/
[2] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/05/22/amazon-installs-ai-cameras-monitor-delivery-drivers/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yoysxp-OEdnmrxiazVwImAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/27/in_brief_ai/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yoysxp-OEdnmrxiazVwImAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yoysxp-OEdnmrxiazVwImAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yoysxp-OEdnmrxiazVwImAAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/05/amazon_chat_app/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/workplace_monitoring_report/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/20/in_brief_ai/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/15/aws_down/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/02/amazon_job_conditions/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Aren't they called pants?
Isn't there a law ....
.... that you can have any AI decision reviewed by human beings? In which case the footage that was used by the AI to make the decision would need to be available. And since this is not just limited to the 'bad' AI decisions I think ALL of the drivers should request ALL of the footage of their driving EVERY month that the AI is being used to make decisions concerning their pay. I'm sure it wouldn't take long before the big A decided that the cost of having to hand out exabytes of video each month would far exceed the 'savings' made by screwing their serfs out of small change.
Obv! ------------>
Edit: Yup, it's law in the UK! But it's under review by the UK Gummin't!
https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/10/right_to_contest_automated_ai_uk_consult/
Re: Isn't there a law ....
I wonder what would happen if someone built a small box to hang over the rear view mirror such that the cameras inside the mirror could no longer see the cab, but could still see the road ahead; a RPi hooked up to play an audio/video clip loop to said cameras/mics to make the inward facing bits see only what the driver wants to be seen; with a second mirror on the box to restore safety functionality; all powered off a simple cigarette lighter adapter to keep the RPi going?
Unplug the RPi & take the box with you just before returning to the depo, so nobody officially sees you doing it; restore the box to the mirror as soon as you're out of sight of the depo to cut off the company's ability to surveil you.
Or am I just channeling Mission: Impossible, 007, or Q again?
"Amazon did not respond to The Register's request for comment."
I'm not surprised.
What are they going to say?
"We are a devious, amoral bunch of control freaks, who are so in love with technology that we are prepared to treat all our workers as machines who can be treated like shit."
There is only one thing bigger than Bezos's ego and that is their lust for even greater profits.
It is bad for workers' rights and awful for privacy in our country," she said.
Drivers and workers have no rights. Amazon has Rights. Drivers and workers deserve Wrongs. They are paid what they deserve.
The camera has shown it, they do not deserve anything. Drivers are not always at the wheel... what are they doing? That package takes only 15 seconds. Leaving the car not driving for 25 seconds? Fail! That is a £5 penalty. Looking left instead of right? That'll cost you another fiver.
You, the slave driver should be happy to be working for the Great Amazon! Have some respect for the Mighty! We, Amazon, are entitled to your worship and you should pay us for the privilege.
Bad Behaviour
It may be creepy, but have you seen delivery van driver behaviour on the UK's roads?
The police forces have given up patrolling and responding to anything that is (partly) covered by insurance, so nobody is worried about getting caught, and even if they are caught by the public they're not worried about the police doing anything.
So now we have private enterprise doing something.
Re: Bad Behaviour
It may be creepy, but have you seen delivery van driver behaviour on the UK's roads?
If you think Amazon, Hermes, etc are bad, you clearly haven't noticed Uber Eats/Deliveroo/Just Eat/etc on their electric scooters.
Re: Bad Behaviour
Well, one thing I haven't noticed is any deaths or serious injuries caused by people on electric scooters - unlike the thousands every year caused my drivers of motor vehicles.
Re: Bad Behaviour
4 wheels vs 2 wheels is another argument... :O :O
Re: Bad Behaviour
Uber Eats/Deliveroo/Just Eat/etc on their electric scooters are different, they have to get **hot food** reliably there...
"The police forces have given up patrolling"
So maybe it's time to put cameras into police cars to ensure they are at work and willingly to work?
Re: Bad Behaviour
We have private enterprise fixing the problem caused by private enterprise setting unreachable targets (see: drivers peeing in bottles) by invading employees' privacy all day. Yay us! Go team private enterprise!
Getting on the wrong side
> was first deployed ... in the US
> The same system is now apparently being rolled out to vehicles in the UK.
I do hope the camera developers realise that in the UK people drive on the left side of the road (well: usually)
So not only will the driver's seat always look empty, but there could be an awful lot of "reckless" driving on completely the wrong side of the road.
"numerous errors that reportedly denied drivers' bonuses"
Oh No! Those terrible, terrible errors!! That's definitely not what these cameras are for.
re: It's not surprising......
....the biz is now increasingly surveilling workers outside the warehouse too.
Indeed. Extensive research has proved that Amazon customers couldn't give a fuck about the people providing their next day deliveries.
"This code uses machine-learning algorithms to figure out what's going on in and around the vehicle."
So the answers are fictional and there's no way to see how they were made.
Does Besos have a camera
above his desk, does it impact his pay if he does not work hard enough ?
The job did not suck enough so Netradyne got on the case.
https://www.netradyne.com
Their website says it all. Total surveillance. You will be controlled human. Take your soma.
surely there needs to be a privacy shield for when the drivers pee in their water bottles?