Apple call center workers fear AI-powered surveillance cameras in their homes

The telescreens from 1984 have arrived! Just like in the Apple commercial.<p>Be aware that Albania is currently <i>not</i> a EU member [0], so none of the EU privacy laws apply (although per the linked NBC article, this proposal is illegal in Albania too [1], so I don&#x27;t know what that company thinks they&#x27;re doing).<p>BTW, this is technically a dupe from two days ago [2].<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Accession_of_Albania_to_the_European_Union" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Accession_of_Albania_to_the_Eu...</a><p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.idp.al&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2020&#x2F;12&#x2F;Rekomandim_nr_27_AMSSHT.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.idp.al&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2020&#x2F;12&#x2F;Rekomandim_nr_...</a> (Albanian-language pdf)<p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=28113304" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=28113304</a> (<i>&quot;Big Tech call center workers face pressure to accept home surveillance&quot;</i>)

Teleperformance is one of the worst companies I’ve ever come to know. Besides paying terribly (think less than 2 USD&#x2F;hr), they’ve stole wages by way of metric manipulation, denied vacation entitlements, restricted the amount of bathroom breaks, forced 10-13 hr days where you get 2 hours of lunch break (yay but actually they just don’t need you for that time but you’re stuck at work), trying to force people into wfh… you get the picture.<p>It makes you appreciate first world employment comforts because this is a company that will happily take any advantage it can.

Everyday I realize that the reason we&#x27;re hitting all these dystopian practices and rules is because tech is trying to scale things that don&#x27;t scale.

Everyone seems to have missed that Apple specifically ban contractors like Teleperformance from doing this.<p>[include] Apple spokesperson Nick Leahy said that the company “prohibits the use of video or photographic monitoring by our suppliers and have confirmed Teleperformance does not use video monitoring for any of their teams working with Apple.” Leahy said that Apple had audited Teleperformance in Colombia this year and did not find any “core violations of our strict standards.”

I understand that Apple isn’t directly responsible for this policy and a contracted firm is primarily responsible. However, this press couldn’t have came at a worse time when Apple is also facing negative PR resulting from their announcement of expanded protections for children.

This title is misleading at best - Apple call centre workers <i>may</i> fear AI-powered surveillance cameras, however Apple is not doing this, nor is the subcontractor on the Apple contract, as Apple has explicitly banned their subcontractors from doing this.

Might as well, the jig is up. Apple has shed their privacy facade, why not go all in on surveillance?

Is this called Proctoring? My son went to college and because of COVID they had his math class online. In order to take a test he needed a web camera to watch him and he had to show the room he was in was empty and they assigned a person to proctor him during the test to make sure he wasn&#x27;t cheating.<p>Now they are doing this with remote workers but using AI instead of people?

Now I&#x27;m <i>really</i> glad Hyundai bought Boston Dynamics :D<p>Plot of <i>I, Robot</i> foiled for a few more years...

“ Apple outsources some of its call center work around the world to Teleperformance, and employees say they are being pressured to sign a contract agreeing to the cameras, despite an Apple policy prohibiting it”

Isn&#x27;t this why many companies outsource. They can get away with these shenanigans whilst keeping a level of distance and feigned unawareness.

fear<p>I am in fear for my loved ones. I am hiding under my blanket.