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Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#21

Post by onion2k »

metacritic12 wrote: post #8

Yeah it has terrible optics, yet it's clearly going to be normalized and come. The question is who does it and what is the organization of it. If this company doesn't do it, the next will. In certain roles, AI micromanagement clearly will create higher performance. Add the marketplace of capitalism and it'll all compete away. There are certain roles, like artists, where this is the wrong solution wholly: monitoring w…

In these roles, these tools won't apply.

There will be companies that will apply them regardless, even in roles where they'll make things worse. The incentive for managers to show 'a bias for action' often results in managers doing any action that they can think of rather than the right action backed by data.

Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#23

Post by ratatoskrt »

metacritic12 wrote: post #8

Yeah it has terrible optics, yet it's clearly going to be normalized and come. The question is who does it and what is the organization of it. If this company doesn't do it, the next will. In certain roles, AI micromanagement clearly will create higher performance. Add the marketplace of capitalism and it'll all compete away. There are certain roles, like artists, where this is the wrong solution wholly: monitoring w…

In the US? Sure. In more developed parts of the world? Doubtful. European labor laws are already much, much stronger than their US counterparts, and most countries outright ban using cameras to monitor employees.

Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#24

Post by p_ing »

thatjoeoverthr wrote: post #9

Imagine the features you could add to this. Like a robot that walks around behind the workers and gives well-timed corrective communications with a whip.

The whip is for the programmers.

https://sierraclassicgaming.com/game/space-quest-iii/sq3_pro...

Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#25

Post by Imustaskforhelp »

Suzuran wrote: post #18
oulipo wrote: post #3

This kind of product is really shameful, and peak capitalism... looking at people as mere robots to serve your, disgusting

Nobody looks at people as robots. Robots are cheaper, do not require food or sleep, and do not have to be murdered when they attempt to unionize. Robots are far superior.

But then if everyone is out of their job and unemployed ? who will buy the stuff if noone has the money.

I think there is a balance.

Otherwise its going to be 1984 in more than one way (the spying part is already there) (it would also do of that the countries are ready to produce things as much but they won't and limit it to create that constant mood of war to make people not question them / make them weak.)

I think capitalism has fallen. Capitalism is a good system but to its degrees. If you push the accelerator too hard , you get fuedalism.

and we are at feudalism. I am not sure if we can undo this. Let this sink in, the american dream , all our thinkng that capitalism being good and communism being bad fundamentally doesn't matter because we have entered a system where the lines of division are so blurry that they are practically nonexistent.

Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#26

Post by danpalmer »

This sort of performance management is unfortunately necessary. The problem is that we need tools for it to be built by people who can empathise with those subjected to them, and who want to do the right thing, and not these sorts of folks who are too immature and inexperienced to get it right.

My previous company ran a warehouse and there was a clear bell curve of productivity. Most people were fine, some were excellent, but some were below the level that was realistically achievable. We did careful and considerate analysis and it helped improve productivity.

When done badly however you end up with management using productivity tracking as a lever to increase productivity across the curve. Amazon driver delivery quotas are a great example – people urinating in bottles is clearly a symptom of the quota being too high. Unfortunately software built naively to help bring up the bottom 10% can too easily be used to force up the productivity of the other 90%.

Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#28

Post by klkvsk »

Software can not abuse workers. Managers can, with our without software.

We've had automated KPI measuring tools since punch clocks. Nowadays it's OK in some companies to install remote access software to monitor employees' screens. It's nothing new. It's just collecting data. Question is, what will bosses do with this data, will they abuse or develop.

I have no hate towards those guys. No love also. It's just business.

Re: Tell HN: Y Combinator backing AI company to abuse factory workers

#29

Post by anonzzzies »

Suzuran wrote: post #18
oulipo wrote: post #3

This kind of product is really shameful, and peak capitalism... looking at people as mere robots to serve your, disgusting

Nobody looks at people as robots. Robots are cheaper, do not require food or sleep, and do not have to be murdered when they attempt to unionize. Robots are far superior.

Not yet for many tasks. Humans are more flexible, easier to replace (nothing to install etc) and one fte in this type of work is 10 years of robot. Hope it will change soon, but it's not there yet.
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