Posted on 07/03/2021 5:45:17 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A Bloomberg report details how artificial intelligence systems employed by Amazon have hired and fired contract drivers.
Called "Flex," Amazon uses AI to determine how many drivers are needed for deliveries. The app, installed on drivers' smartphones, measures whether they delivered packages on time and followed customers' special requests.
If a driver misses the mark, they are subjected to an automatic firing.
That's exactly what happened to Stephen Normandin, 63, an Army veteran who Flex recently fired. He said algorithms tracked his every move as he delivered packages around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.
Normandin said Amazon unfairly punished him for things way beyond his control - such as locked apartment complexes. He said every job he's "given 110%," but the algorithm failed to see external factors that may affect deliveries.
"This really upset me because we're talking about my reputation. They say I didn't do the job when I know damn well I did," he said.
At the world's largest e-commerce retailer, algorithms are the boss, hiring and firing and monitoring hundreds of thousands of workers with hardly any human oversight.
Flex began operations in 2015 as a way for Amazon to get its packages out the same day to regional customers. Here's more from Bloomberg:
But the moment they sign on, Flex drivers discover algorithms are monitoring their every move. Did they get to the delivery station when they said they would? Did they complete their route in the prescribed window? Did they leave a package in full view of porch pirates instead of hidden behind a planter as requested? Amazon algorithms scan the gusher of incoming data for performance patterns and decide which drivers get more routes and which are deactivated. Human feedback is rare. Drivers occasionally receive automated emails, but mostly they're left to obsess about their ratings, which include four categories: Fantastic, Great, Fair, or At Risk. -Bloomberg
Bloomberg interviewed 15 Flex drivers who allege a robot wrongfully terminated them. They say there's no way to dispute their firing as Flex is entirely automated. One can appeal through arbitration, but that costs $200. Amazon knows delegating human resource work to machines is cheaper and more efficient.
But many of these drivers say the algorithms don't factor in real-world problems for failing to deliver a package on time, such as traffic, locked buildings, vehicle troubles, among other things. An Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg:
"We have invested heavily in technology and resources to provide drivers visibility into their standing and eligibility to continue delivering and investigate all driver appeals."
Being hired and fired by AI is the new dystopic reality the working-poor must face. Amazon has a huge PR problem in treating their workers, mostly exposed during the virus pandemic. Sooner or later, Amazon will run out of workers as its high churn rate has alarmed executives.
But don't worry, automated delivery vans and warehouses are coming and will eventually displace humans working for the company. later on this decade.
AI does the bulk of scheduling and manning for fulfillment centers everywhere at Amazon.
They’re learning from China’s use of ubiquitous surveillance and AI to calculate social credit scores.
Companies like Amazon are why revolutions happen.
Sirius Cybernetics executives were the first against the wall when the revolution came in that Douglas Adams book.
Yes!
At least we still have Lotus Notes where I am.
I despise it.
I really hate to say this but people are a pain in the butt, to employ. I’m one of those guys that design automation.
Robots get sick but they don’t sue you, argue with you, or strike. Many tasks can and should be automated. Many cannot be.
The very real problem modern society has is what to do with all our redundant and non-productive people?
As we see in inner cities just throwing money at them doesn’t work. People need self respect. They need to feel needed.
There will always be bums and thugs, but that is a very small minority.
I don’t have an answer, but it is something all the world has to deal with.
American workers are the new slaves.
They will quit the firings when they start using driverless cars with robot delivery agents to take the packages from the delivery van to the robot recipient.
Yea, I’ve been downsized and let go a couple times. I never had an appeal either.
“It’s been a nice 18 years. Have a good life.”
Our elites will probably start a world war to get rid of the surplus population.
If buy conspiracy theories.
“Downsized” == we hired some people from India.
Local delivery drivers and truckers are not the only ones this sort of automated control is affecting. A majority of low-skill labor is coming under increasing techno-management. It’s not a positive development for the workers involved.
Rockford was as well with The House On Willis Avenue.
Amazon hasn’t subsisted on my dime for many, many years.
I’ve always thought teams of self organized people could work on city beautification, i.e. general clean up in exchange for decent food and shelter. Just pulling weeds along sidewalks helps.
Some more automation is going to start taking over a couple of jobs that were fairly hand labor intricate after a lot of development.
The transition should be graceful as most of the operators are closing in on retirement.
So what happens when there are no jobs for low IQ people?
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