Public servants uneasy as government 'spy' robot prowls federal offices
Public servants in Gatineau are uneasy as a robot from the VirBrix platform optimizes workspaces by collecting data on air quality and light levels. Despite assurances, the Government Services Union expresses privacy concerns.
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Public servants in federal offices in Gatineau are feeling uneasy as a robot, part of the VirBrix platform, has been deployed to optimize workspaces. The robot, equipped with sensors and a camera, collects data on air quality, light levels, and more to create a better work environment. Despite the government's assurance that the robot cannot identify individuals, the Government Services Union expresses concerns about privacy and surveillance. The union president criticizes the robot as intrusive and insulting, suggesting it may be used to monitor employee attendance. The government, however, emphasizes that the robot aims to improve workspace efficiency and reduce costs. While the robot deletes most images and stores data anonymously on Canadian servers, some remain skeptical about the level of anonymity and the potential for employee identification. Researchers also question the quality of data collected and express doubts about the robot's ability to create a truly comfortable workplace without knowing individual preferences. As the government plans to increase its use of AI, concerns about privacy and employee trust persist among public servants.
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6 commentsDon't get me wrong, though. I believe that employers should never monitor employees with anything that might violate their privacy, like cameras, screen recorders, or similar devices. They should only gather some stats instead, without individually identifying anyone. But obviously, this is not the case now, so why freak out over a robot?
In "This perfect day" has just as much surveillance, but the people love it. Think how much you love your mobile phone. Big brother could only dream of having a camera and microphone so close to you 24/7.
China's social credit system sounds like another dystopian terror. But...how great would it be to be able to get back at the Bullies, Cat-callers, and assholes who can make you miserable with complete impunity.
You might very well like being able to fight back at them in a way which had a real, material effect on their whole life. After a while, you may even love it, especially if you were getting all kinds of perks and advantages from playing along.
Robots roaming around offices is just about the most Ham-Fisted way I can think of to get employees in line. Of course they will hate it, but even at that, it only can police what the robot sees. More filling and tastes horrible. They could achieve way better results with something which just thrilled their employees.
Other than the 360 degree cameras and the location data. Nope. Can't identify anyone using that information.
immediately there were questions about "does it give workers orders too?" and "what kind of records are being generated" and those were questions by mild paper reviewers.. not experienced labor attorneys. note: I posted this once here previously and tried to go back to find the citation, but it is currently TODO. This was a refereed paper in a large conference, so someone with better search skills might find it. I definitely recall seeing Walmart Labs on the title page
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