Emotion-tracking AI on the job: Workers fear being watched – and misunderstood

Bebo@literature.cafe to Technology@beehaw.org – 120 points –
Emotion-tracking AI on the job: Workers fear being watched – and misunderstood
theconversation.com

Emotion artificial intelligence uses biological signals such as vocal tone, facial expressions and data from wearable devices as well as text and how people use their computers, to detect and predict how someone is feeling. It can be used in the workplace, for hiring, etc. Loss of privacy is just the beginning. Workers are worried about biased AI and the need to perform the ‘right’ expressions and body language for the algorithms.

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how could someone view this as anything other than dystopian?

It's easy if you're a sociopath.

Which is what the twenty-first century might be selecting for. They're the only ones that seem like they're doing okay right now.

I'd argue that the 20th century already selected for that and we are reaping the "rewards" as we speak.

There are a lot of lonely people without social support groups or who otherwise may not be willing or able to seek help when they need it. Having an AI that is in a position to go "hey, are you alright?" Could be a boon for those folks.

There are also situations where a worker could be a problem or even a danger to their co-workers, and having an AI that's able to pay attention and potentially intervene in those situations could help prevent trauma from happening in the first place.

I'm not saying this is what it'll be used for, just answering your question about how it could be viewed in a non-dystopian way.

Having an AI that is in a position to go "hey, are you alright?" Could be a boon for those folks.

Oh, thanks, I'm cured. Definitely well worth the constant breach of my privacy.

Is that not the first step toward providing aid? Would you rather the AI simply issue a prescription or something?

Anyway, as I said, I'm not saying this is how it goes. I'm just presenting a view that's non-dystopian, as was explicitly asked for. The AI could easily be operating under rules that would prevent it from telling anyone else of the trouble it had detected until you give it permission, if that would satisfy your privacy concerns.

I'd rather not have an "AI" invade my privacy in general.

The AI could easily be operating under rules that would prevent it from telling anyone else of the trouble it had detected until you give it permission, if that would satisfy your privacy concerns.

What? That's not how those "AIs" work at all. lol

I'm not talking about any specific currently-existing AI, I'm talking about a hypothetical one. It is indeed possible to set up an AI in such a way that it wouldn't tell anyone else what's going on. It's just a computer program, it can be set up however one wants it to be set up.

I'd rather have coworkers who give at least half a fuck. Just during work hours.