An Amazon executive was grilled during a Senate inquiry regarding artificial intelligence. The global e-commerce giant clarified that it does not utilize AI for employee monitoring in Australia. This clarification came after the French data protection authority fined Amazon €32 million for excessive surveillance of employee performance. According to CNIL’s investigation, Amazon employed a system in which warehouse workers had to use a scanner to record their tasks in real-time, leading to the calculation of performance indicators. CNIL deemed this practice illegal as it could potentially require employees to justify every break or interruption.
Amazon’s head of public policy for Australia and New Zealand, Matt Levey, affirmed that the company does not use similar technology in Australia. He disagreed with CNIL’s findings, stating that their warehouse management systems are industry standard and essential for efficient operations and employee safety. While Amazon utilizes AI to optimize its operations, it is not used for assessing worker performance.
Levey also clarified that Amazon does not surveil union activities in Australian facilities and denied monitoring the activities of their Flex partners, delivery drivers who operate separately from the company’s workforce. The safety system installed in Flex drivers’ vehicles is designed to ensure their safety without recording personal information. Levey emphasized that the technology has privacy features to prevent intrusion. Please rewrite the following sentence: “The cat quickly ran across the yard.”
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