How comfortable are you being tracked by AI?

With today’s level of technology, things that we once thought were “science fiction” are now almost rather mundane everyday things. Pocket-sized devices that allow real-time communication in multiple formats with anyone around the world. The ability to self-publish and get your thoughts and share them with anyone, anywhere in the world. The ability for information (including both disinformation and misinformation) to be shared, reshared, and regulated (or not) with the masses. This stuff is barely even the tip of the needle on the iceberg.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is tracking “you” whether you know it or not. Rest assured it is not for nefarious purposes. At least as far as “they” tell you, anyway. Wink wink.

Depending on the application and environment, AI is being used to monitor people being people in an attempt to help make our lives more efficient, safer, and even in some cases easier.

Think about that device that almost everyone over the age of ten has in their pockets or purses these days – the mobile phone (aka phone) – and it doesn’t matter if that phone is “smart” or not. The fact that the phone is functioning is all that is needed. With a functioning phone, pinging off of cell towers, location can be determined by the “ancient” art of triangulation (Greene, n.d.). Now, that information (phone location) is fed to a machine learning (ML) AI algorithm which can then predict traffic congestion and flow, trip times, and more (Lau, 2020). This sort of tracking can help get you to work or school in a timelier manner because it watches for things like accidents or construction/closures that you may not be aware of, especially once you leave.

Getting more personal, AI can track your body’s physical movements, including posture (Posture AI, 2024), ergonomics (Petrat, 2021), gesture recognition (Intellias, 2023), and eye gaze (Dragonfly AI, 2024).

How comfortable are you with giving power to managers and administrators to use these tools with you as an employee?

Personally, I don’t mind. It doesn’t bother me. If I were in an office and had a manager sitting (or standing) beside me, they would be tracking me via “human intelligence.” I see this as nothing different. So long as there are notices that the observation (aka recording) is taking place (for those states where at least one person must be notified) and that management uses the information gleaned in a manner consistent with best management practices. Whether we like it or not, management is going to use technology to keep an eye on employees anyway. And management’s use of monitoring is on the rise (Doubleday, 2024). There is, thankfully of course, a federal law that addresses what employers can and cannot do regarding the electronic monitoring of employees and it’s the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) (The IT Team, 2023).

As long as I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing at work, I have nothing to hide. Furthermore, if management attempts to misuse the monitoring, due process and ultimately the ECPA should provide oversight and direction.

Potentially, the benefit of AI-assisted workforce support in the form of collaborative robots (or cobots), ergonomics efficiency training and suggestions, or just basic human-machine interaction (HMI) functions, outweigh the “what if” scenario of management’s abuse of the technology.

Of course, the sentiments of “you can always find another job,” or “you’re just paranoid,” or “if you’re not doing anything wrong you wouldn’t have something to hide” are, each in their own way, condescending and ill-thought-out responses to someone objecting to being monitored. If an employee doesn’t feel comfortable with the monitoring, good management should directly discuss the topic with the employee and seek a mutual understanding of how to proceed.

How comfortable would you be using these tools with students?

If in charge of a classroom of students where such AI monitoring techniques were going to be deployed, I would explain to the students directly (and parents for any minors if in academe) what the technology being used is, how it works, and why it is being used. And of course, field any questions that arise from that disclosure.

Personally, I feel that most pushback and resistance to the use of such technology comes from a place of misunderstanding. There may be some mistrust involved as well, but that mistrust is usually the result of an earlier misunderstanding more than a natural or inherent emotion. Past experiences can be powerful motivators both for or against anything. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a frequent reminder of this sort of phenomenon.

I would be fully comfortable in using AI monitoring of students of any age to optimize and benefit the students by gathering information that can be used to not only help with the explicit lesson materials but also with any implicit lessons that may come about as a result of being in my classroom (social interactions, how to study, confidence and self-esteem boosting, etc.).

However, if the student or parent was insistent on NOT allowing the AI to help after a meaningful, and honest discussion, I would attempt to comply with the student/parent’s wishes and exempt them from the AI-supported instruction. Although in private, I would continue to show them how they are performing versus the aggregate of their class cohort and if they were falling behind, hopefully, that would open an opportunity to renegotiate the situation.

Ultimately, AI, like any technology, can be misused and abused. The key is to be an intelligent enough human, to use the tool (and at the end of the day, AI is just a tool) responsibly.

References

Doubleday, J. (2024, April 8). With ‘spying bosses’ on the rise, where do federal agencies stand on employee monitoring? Retrieved from Federal News Network: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-report/2024/04/with-spying-bosses-on-the-rise-where-do-federal-agencies-stand-on-employee-monitoring/

Dragonfly AI. (2024). Eye Tracking Technology and AI – What Is It and How Does It Work? Retrieved from Dragonfly AI: https://dragonflyai.co/resources/blog/eye-tracking-technology-and-ai

Greene, S. (n.d.). Cell Phone Triangulation – The Basics. Retrieved from HG Experts: https://www.hgexperts.com/expert-witness-articles/cell-phone-triangulation-the-basics-36172

Intellias. (2023, November 22). Hand Tracking and Gesture Recognition Using AI: Applications and Challenges. Retrieved from Intellias: https://intellias.com/hand-tracking-and-gesture-recognition-using-ai-applications-and-challenges/

Lau, J. (2020, September 3). Google Maps 101: How AI helps predict traffic and determine routes. Retrieved from Blog @ Google: https://blog.google/products/maps/google-maps-101-how-ai-helps-predict-traffic-and-determine-routes/

Petrat, D. (2021). Artificial intelligence in human factors and ergonomics: an overview of the current state of research. Discover Artificial Intelligence, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44163-021-00001-5

Posture AI. (2024). My Posture. Retrieved from Posture AI: https://myposture.ai/

The IT Team. (2023, July 17). Is it legal to have security cameras in offices in the United States? | Video Surveillance Laws Explained. Retrieved from Pine Cove Consulting : https://marketing.pinecc.com/blog/is-it-legal-to-have-security-cameras-in-offices-in-the-united-states-video-surveillance-laws-explained