AI is watching: What to know about workplace surveillance

BRUSSELS, June 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – From Swedish retailer H&M being fined 35 million euros ($42 million) for recording employees' private data to Britain's Barclays bank accused of spying on its staff, workplace surveillance has come into the spotlight in recent months. On Wednesday, the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), the European Trade Union Confederation's research arm, said planned regulation by the European Union (EU) to improve privacy does not do enough to stop companies from snooping on their workers in the name of security and efficiency. As artificial intelligence (AI) technology becomes ever more accessible and sophisticated, here's why unions are worried: What kind of surveillance are we talking about? Employee monitoring today can involve software programmes for live monitoring, streaming and recording more than a dozen employees' computer screens at a time. Keystrokes, chat programmes, instant messaging and Skype dialogues may also be monitored and recorded in real time.