- AI tools are increasingly used to monitor, evaluate and discipline workers often without transparency or consent.
- European unions have been more proactive in fighting excessive workplace surveillance from new technologies.
- US unions are now pushing harder for protections against harmful AI practices like invasive performance tracking.
- Worker participation in AI implementation can reduce downsides and discrimination risks while easing adoption.
- More government standards, union bargaining power and worker involvement are needed to govern AI and prevent harm.
The growing backlash against AI-enabled workplace surveillance reflects a classic failure of ethical technology governance. The rapid pace of AI innovation has again outpaced efforts to ensure fair and transparent algorithmic systems. Workers are right to feel violated by tech they don’t understand tracking their every move and determining their livelihoods through biased metrics.
This pattern of “innovation first, ask questions later” rewards companies racing to deploy AI without considering collateral damage. The entities building and profiting from these tools show little concern for their psychological impacts on people or the way they can silently encode discrimination.
The solution lies in a fundamental rethinking of incentives. Companies focused narrowly on optimization and efficiency will always view workers as numbers to be maximized, not humans with dignity and rights. Only through sustained public pressure and empowered labor representation can the well-being and autonomy of workers enter the equation when developing algorithms to manage them.
Europe’s more collectivist mindset understands this inherent power imbalance between capital interests and labor. The continent’s stronger information privacy laws also reflect higher concern for individuals’ data rights. The US must catch up fast in providing workers basic protections if it wants to avoid AI-fueled backlash while still realizing the technology’s benefits. Worker voice and participation are essential so that AI doesn’t just create compliant robots out of human employees.
Workers Push Back Against Constant AI Monitoring on the Job
New technologies like artificial intelligence are transforming workplaces in concerning ways. AI systems at call centers record and grade how workers handle calls, often failing them for minor deviations from rigid scripts. Corporate software spies on employees, flagging certain “forbidden” terms like “union” in emails and messages.
As surveillance and monitoring technologies become more advanced, many experts argue that protections for workers are dangerously lacking. “Workers are being constantly monitored, and AI tools can make unfair mistakes leading to pay cuts or firings,” said Professor Virginia Doellgast of Cornell University. “But workers often don’t even know what data is being collected or how it’s used.”
In Europe, unions have fought for years against intrusive workplace tracking. “This issue has yet to gain traction with North American unions,” said Professor Valerio De Stefano of York University. “European unions are more attuned to the surveillance risks of new technologies.”
At some German companies, unions have won strong safeguards that could serve as models elsewhere. At Deutsche Telekom, algorithms cannot fire people without human review, and individual worker data cannot be used for discipline. “In Europe, workers have more rights to information and participation on AI decisions,” Doellgast explained. “In the non-unionized US workplace, workers have no rights or recourse.”
Now, some US unions are pushing harder for protections from harmful uses of AI. The Communication Workers union has required call centers to only record workers for training purposes, not evaluation. “Our goal isn’t to resist new technologies, but ensure their benefits are broadly shared,” said Dan Reynolds of CWA.
The AFL-CIO created a technology institute to address concerns like invasive performance monitoring. “You can have major negative impacts,” said Director Amanda Ballantyne. “Like at Amazon, where workers wear trackers monitoring every tiny movement.” After a recent strike, the Writers Guild won disclosure rules on studios’ AI content generation.
Germany requires companies to consult worker committees on adopting AI. At Deutsche Telekom, performance data is anonymized in groups of five to prevent misuse. Workers have won bans on using AI to collect sensitive personal information. “Worker input on AI often makes implementation smoother while reducing harm,” said De Stefano.
Yet significant risks remain. “These systems can be unreliable and discriminatory in hiring,” said De Stefano. They often reflect the biases of developers building tools optimized for a narrow white, male demographic.
Annette Bernhardt of UC Berkeley cited home care as a sector where AI scheduling tools are making workers’ lives harder. “We need strong standards around AI, support for unions bargaining on it, and most crucially, workers at the table from the very start,” said Bernhardt.
The US Chamber of Commerce argues AI can benefit workers through performance insights and safety protections. But spokesperson Michael Richards acknowledged “legitimate concerns,” saying employers recognize the need for “an inclusive dialogue about new technologies.”
As AI permeates more workplaces, potentially improving productivity but also introducing new stresses, one thing seems clear: workers deserve a voice in shaping the technologies they may one day need to shape them.
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