The world's largest e-commerce firm said the cameras, which
are developed by transportation technology company Netradyne, would improve
safety of both drivers and the communities in which they deliver.
But employees like Henry Search, a 22-year-old delivery
driver in Washington state, said they saw cameras capturing their work day as
an "invasion of privacy".
"We are out here working all day, trying our best
already," Search told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.
"The cameras are just another way to control us."
Privacy advocates warned that equipping Amazon's fleet of
about 30,000 delivery vehicles with AI cameras could set a dangerous precedent
for privacy.
"This appears to be the largest expansion of corporate
surveillance in human history," said Evan Greer, deputy director of tech
nonprofit Fight for the Future. "If this becomes the norm, we are talking
about the extinction of human privacy."
Amazon has come under scrutiny in the past for accidents
involving delivery drivers.
A company spokeswoman said in emailed comments that
"this technology will provide drivers real-time alerts to help them stay
safe when they are on the road."
In an instructional video about the cameras, Amazon's senior
manager for last-mile safety Karolina Haraldsdottir said cameras will record
100% of the time, but are not set up to livestream from inside of vans.
They will detect unsafe driving, including when drivers
appear distracted or drowsy, she explained, adding that the footage could be
used by the company's safety team, or in investigations of theft or accidents.
But Greer said that safety issues could be addressed by
slowing the pace of work. "The first thing they (Amazon) should do to
improve safety would be not have such outrageous delivery quotas that force
people into unsafe conditions," she said.
Another driver in Massachusetts, who asked not to use his
name to protect his identity, said he would welcome a camera displayed outside
his van to record evidence for any accident.
"But a camera on my face all the time, I don't see how
that keeps me safe - it's too much," he said in a phone interview, noting
that drivers already use an app called Mentor that tracks the location and
movements of the vehicle.
Data use
Haraldsdottir said that "only a limited set of
authorized people" would have access to driver footage from the cameras.
But some drivers worried Amazon might sell or share the
footage with third parties, or use the cameras to monitor their performance on
the job.
"The footage recorded could be shared with a future
possible employer who can then decide to reject you before even knowing
you," said one driver from Michigan who asked not to give his full name.
Although he enjoys doing deliveries for Amazon, he said he
is currently looking for other work because he does not want to be subjected to
surveillance.
Rights activists say Amazon already has an extensive
surveillance system in its warehouses to track workers' movements and boost
productivity, including navigation software, item scanners, wristbands, thermal
cameras and recorded footage.
"There are no laws in place to meaningfully limit what
Amazon can do with the footage they collect," said Greer, noting that
other surveillance products, such as the Ring doorbell camera system, can share
footage with police departments.
'Dystopia Prime'
Surveillance experts say that the privacy implications of
Amazon's camera network for delivery vans extend far beyond drivers.
Andrew Ferguson, a professor of law at D.C.'s American
University, said Amazon's private surveillance networks would further entrench
the snooping powers of government.
"While the inclination to use AI technology to enhance
driver safety is commendable, the failure to think about the privacy and
surveillance issues and equities is troubling," he said.
While police may not have direct access to the footage, authorities
will be able to access it in the course of an investigation, expanding the
reach of police surveillance, Ferguson explained.
Last June, Amazon announced a one-year moratorium on police
use of its facial recognition software, following criticism that the technology
reinforced racial bias.
"Amazon is quite literally building mobile surveillance
vans to film our neighborhoods, something that we would be rightly horrified
about if our government did it," Ferguson said. "I don't think we
want to join dystopia prime."
© Reuters
0 comments:
Post a Comment