At Amazon, Employees Are Now Fired By Artificial Intelligence

SCIENCE -THE FUTURE -TECH - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

By YEET MAGAZINE | Published 0456 GMT (1256 HKT) July 3, 2021

A striking survey by the Bloomberg agency on the automation of human resources within Amazon's Flex delivery program highlights certain drifts of management by artificial intelligence.

A few months ago, we reported installing cameras inside Amazon delivery vans . In recent days, a Bloomberg survey evokes the dismissals by robot drivers of the Amazon Flex program, inaugurated in 2015 to ensure deliveries within a few hours of its Prime Now service. The two things are not directly linked, but the first suggests ever more intrusive surveillance of workers, while the second confirms that “augmented management” (employee management aided, or even dictated, by artificial intelligence) is making its mark. funeral hole at the Gafam.

RECOMMENDED ARTICLE:

Artificial Intelligence: An Aid Or A Substitute Of Homo Sapiens

By Supreet Kaur Gujral | YEET MAGAZINE | Published 0456 GMT (1256 HKT) July 3, 2021 What will be the future with AI in its complete form? Artificial Intelligence transforms the science and technology for the betterment of Humans at large. As time passes, technology and innovation reshaped their fu…

YEET MAGAZINEYEET MAGAZINE

If we are to believe Bloomberg's findings, hiring, performance reports and layoffs are all human resources issues dealt with almost completely automatically by software developed for this purpose, based on learned algorithms. The drivers use an application provided by Amazon on their smartphone on a daily basis to indicate the time at which they start their tour, sign the documents presented to them by their employer, organize and optimize their deliveries and report any problems encountered. But that's not all, the system also aggregates in the profile of the drivers countless notations concerning their punctuality, the average time between two deliveries, the satisfaction expressed by the customers and until the state in which the boxes arrive.

So much data that is passed through the mill of these human resources software and can trigger the sending of warnings, blames and even notices of layoffs by email. Should the extreme automation of the employee-employer relationship be seen as a form of mistreatment at work? Not for Amazon. “We have invested heavily in technology and resources in order to provide drivers with visibility into their status and ability to continue delivering on Amazon's behalf, knowing that drivers can perfectly appeal during these procedures,” explains a spokesperson for the company at Bloomberg.

Many dysfunctions

Problem, this transparency touted by Amazon does not always exist from the point of view of the drivers. On Internet forums or in interviews given by some of them to Bloomberg, we see that the system is in fact rather opaque and that it is not uncommon for drivers not to understand the reason why their rating is falling. suddenly starts to drop. In some cases, dismissal notices are sent without further explanation, and the accounts of targeted drivers are automatically closed.

Neddra Lira's bad experience serves as an example.

This trouble-free delivery woman saw her rating severely impacted after having to turn back to the warehouse one day with a puncture. In the weeks that followed, she did everything she could to regain a correct rating and managed to return to “super” status in the app, just below the top grade (“fantastic”). Alas, that did not prevent the system from firing her soon after for “violation of the conditions of service” . She obviously appealed against this decision, but Amazon did not rehabilitate her.

Amazon Locker down, recipients unreachable, closed doors, etc.

There are many reasons why a delivery can fail and, often, the driver has nothing to do with it. However, if these events occur too often, the algorithms inexorably end up penalizing the latter. This is what says Stephen Normandin, another driver dismissed because his rating “fell below an acceptable level” .

The galley of selfies

Another problem often mentioned: malfunctions of protocols based on facial recognition. Since 2019, the multinational has asked its drivers to take a selfie every time they board a delivery van to start their tour.

Photo that is analyzed and compared to the one provided by the drivers when they register on the platform. A security taken by Amazon to prevent several people from being able to deliver to the same employee account, as is the case with Uber to verify the identity of drivers.

This is understandable insofar as the company wishes to protect itself in the event that its deliveries are made by people it does not know and if incidents occur (theft, road accidents, etc.).

But it turns out that the testimonies of ex-deliverers whose accounts were closed because the selfies provided “did not meet the prerequisites of the Amazon Flex program” , are legion. Weight loss, a bushy beard, a shaved mustache, tied hair, a change of glasses are all changes that image verification algorithms seem to have trouble appreciating. Photos taken in low light conditions, during morning or night tours, are also often a problem and can be a reason for suspension.

Pecuniary penalizing appeal procedures

As Bloomberg reports, drivers who believe they have been improperly dismissed by the system have 10 days to appeal and request to be reinstated. Until this procedure is initiated and the file examined, they cannot work. As a result, some unjustly dismissed drivers lose precious days of salary before resuming their tours for Amazon.

Last but not least , if the decision taken on appeal is unfavorable to them, they can request arbitration, which requires committing the sum of $ 200 and proves to be a deterrent for many.

Paid between $ 18 and $ 30 an hour, licensed Amazon Flex drivers are quickly replaced. There is no shortage of applicants, and the Amazon Flex app is downloaded several hundred thousand times each month in the United States, demonstrating a huge turnover in the teams. This is undoubtedly why Amazon is hardly moved by the bad publicity that the Bloomberg investigation may have given it.

“The leaders knew this was going to wreak havoc. These are things that they talked about in the meetings. The only question was to know how harmful the use of such automated systems could be ” , confesses a former software engineer who contributed to the development of these management tools assisted by artificial intelligence (humanity?).

Tech News

By YEET MAGAZINE | Updated 0246 GMT (1046 HKT) June 14, 2021

TECH

Artificial Intelligence: Microsoft Ready To Buy The Artificial Intelligence And Voice Technology Company Nuance Communications Inc. For $ 16 Billion

Microsoft is said to be on the verge of signing its largest acquisition since that of Linkedln in 2016. The transaction could be announced this week.

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE12 APR 2021 • 6 MIN READ

TECH

Smartphone Business During The Pandemic: How Table turns For Micromax In India, As Chinese Manufacturers Get Axed By The Popular Indian Cell Phone Brand.

By Salil Trivedi

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE25 MAR 2021 • 4 MIN READ

TECH

Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, Silicon Valley's biggest scam.

She was the youngest self-made billionaire in history. She was to become the next Steve Jobs - she had borrowed his turtlenecks from him. At just 30 years old, Elizabeth

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE14 MAR 2021 • 5 MIN READ

TECH

Tech News: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong received $1.78 million to cover “personal security” expenses in FY2020.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong received $1.78 million to cover “personal security” expenses in FY2020 as the 38-year-old tech CEO  prepared to take the cryptocurrency exchange operator public. Armstrong, who

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE27 FEB 2021 • 2 MIN READ

TECH

Trending: Could A Call With A Stranger Help You Concentrate? These App Makers Think So.

Apps that can make you money? It sounds too good to be true, but moneymaking apps do actually exist. While these apps won't make you rich, they can make an

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE27 FEB 2021 • 6 MIN READ

TECH

An artificial intelligence imagines the "real" traits of historical figures

An artificial intelligence uses deep fake to recreate  the "real" traits of historical paintings.When artificial intelligence brings great historical figures to life. When artificial intelligence brings great historical figures

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE25 FEB 2021 • 1 MIN READ

TECH

Apple's new iPhone and iPad designs are like nothing we've seen before

At present, the iPhone's rear camera is much more powerful than the front lens, but an extra screen could make it possible to use the back camera instead.

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE19 FEB 2021 • 6 MIN READ

TECH

REALME GETS REAL, LAUNCHES FLAGSHIP X2 PRO SMARTPHONE IN MALAYSIA

Snapdragon 855 Plus processor, quad-camera setup for RM2,399 Flagship smartphone also includes 50W super-fast charge (From left) realme Malaysia brand manager Tiffany Teh; realme Malaysia CEO Hunter Wang; Qualcomm

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE10 DEC 2019 • 7 MIN READ

TECH

Spotify goes to war with Apple

On March 13, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Commission that accused Apple of violating antitrust laws. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek summarizes the critique in a blog post, writing:

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE14 MAR 2019 • 6 MIN READ

TECH

This Dad Sold His App For $54 Million and Went Around The World!

What would you do if you became a multi-millionaire overnight? How about sell all your belongings and set off on an incredible adventure with your family in tow? That’s

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE22 JUN 2018 • 2 MIN READ

TECH

Apple to release three phones: Report

Apple to release three phones: Report In the increasingly competitive market for smartphones, Apple is working on releasing three new iPhones later this year, Bloomberg reported. One, code-named D33, will

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE27 FEB 2018 • 6 MIN READ

FASHION

Dolce & Gabbana is using drones to model its handbags at Milan Fashion Week.

By Alexandra Ma Dolce & Gabbana used quadcopter drones to model handbags on the runway. You can see some footage of the hi-tech fashion show below. Dolce & Gabbana's latest

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE26 FEB 2018 • 1 MIN READ

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Meet Harmony, the sexy sex robot that can snatch your boyfriend from you.

As experts believe that by 2050 men might be getting married to sex robots, here is Harmony, the frontrunner in the race to become the first commercial sexbot who has

• YEET MAGAZINE

YEET MAGAZINE5 DEC 2017 • 2 MIN READYEET MAGAZINE © 2021LATEST POSTS