Sophisticated AI tools and other technologies being used by corporations to monitor employees have critics sounding the alarm. Employers insist the practice boosts productivity, but unions say the largely unregulated use of surveillance is over-reaching.
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00:00Workplaces across the nation use surveillance to monitor the efficiency of their workers,
00:07like this industrial laundry.
00:10Prior to having any sort of counting system in place,
00:13the staff didn't know whether or not they were performing well or not.
00:16So at least the staff get a visual aspect to say,
00:18right, I'm in the range of where I need to be, I'm working at the right pace.
00:22Productivity is up 5%, but safety is one of the biggest benefits.
00:28The screens make sure workers take more breaks during hot weather
00:32and rotate through different roles.
00:35Unions are less convinced.
00:37There is no moment that they have at work where they are not subject to surveillance of some sort.
00:43Powerful new software can measure and analyse how staff work,
00:48but they don't count human interactions like thinking and talking.
00:52They reduce us down to just a series of numbers
00:55and the outputs that we can create that are measurable
00:58and it really doesn't put enough importance on the other types of outputs that we create as working people.
01:04As remote working has taken off, business groups say surveillance works.
01:09We're all on the clock here, but we need to make sure that we get the balance right.
01:14It can deter inappropriate behaviour and ensure compliance with laws,
01:19such as paying employees their correct hours.
01:22And in the end it's employers who are on the hook for any wrongdoing
01:27or mistakes that are made, accidents that occur, what's said and written within the workplace.
01:34An inquiry in New South Wales and an ongoing investigation in Victoria
01:39have found a range of apps and technologies
01:42are extending surveillance of workers into their cars and homes.
01:46Workers have always been watched.
01:49What's changed is the creep of workplace devices into the home
01:52and the unchecked analytical power of AI tools that are extending the reach of employers.