Emotion-tracking AI on the job

Let us blame AI now for guesssing what?  Thinking this is a management tool is absurd.  There is a reason we leave folks to manage their so called emotional state, or more properly, to set it aside by distancing from the disturbance.

It is that the source of disturbance is external and perception driven.  even knowing, an observer is naturally powerless to do much and normally should not.

at best we can track workers mood and perhaps identify a currently disturbed individual who may need interaction.  this is what perceptive managers do as a matter of course.  anything more is likely to be counter productive.

Now imagine tracking your at home employees orgasms.  We have a new crime to deal with here and it is disruptive as hell.  now it is a strong no go.

Emotion-tracking AI on the job: Workers fear being watched – and misunderstood

03-07-2024 • https://www.activistpost.com, By The Conversation

It is used in contexts both mundane, like entertainment, and high stakes, like the workplace, hiring and health care.

A wide range of industries already use emotion AI, including call centers, finance, banking, nursing and caregiving. Over 50% of large employers in the U.S. use emotion AI aiming to infer employees' internal states, a practice that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, call centers monitor what their operators say and their tone of voice.

Scholars have raised concerns about emotion AI's scientific validity and its reliance on contested theories about emotion. They have also highlighted emotion AI's potential for invading privacy and exhibiting racial, gender and disability bias.

Some employers use the technology as though it were flawless, while some scholars seek to reduce its bias and improve its validity, discredit it altogether or suggest banning emotion AI, at least until more is known about its implications.

I study the social implications of technology. I believe that it is crucial to examine emotion AI's implications for people subjected to it, such as workers – especially those marginalized by their race, gender or disability status.