The Rise of AI-Powered Emotional Surveillance in the Workplace
By
Ellen Cushing
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Summary
This article critically examines the rise of AI-powered emotion recognition software, specifically MorphCast, used in workplace surveillance. The author recounts their personal experience being analyzed by the software during a meeting, highlighting both the absurdity and the unsettling implications of such technology. The piece explores how companies are increasingly monitoring workers not just for productivity metrics but for emotional states like agreeability and engagement, raising serious concerns about privacy, consent, and the reliability of AI-driven emotional analysis. The article blends personal narrative with broader societal critique about the erosion of workplace privacy and the pseudoscientific nature of emotion AI.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe good news, for me at least, is that the computer thinks I have a nice personality.
MorphCast, you see, purports to glean insights into the depths and vagaries of human emotion using AI.
Companies are monitoring workers not just for productivity but for agreeability.
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