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When we think about AI, often it’s the automated technology – the tasks that once took hours but can now be done in mere seconds – that first spring to mind.

But other aspects of AI can occur without us even realising, despite the technology having major consequences for our work and privacy. Worker surveillance is one of those aspects that’s happening every day, often without us knowing.

FSU member Matthew*, who works at CBA supporting projects with agile practices, sees first-hand the various ways in which employees’ actions are being monitored and recorded on a daily basis.

“Anyone that’s using a personal device to obtain access to the building, most of them will load the work app onto their phone, which also allows you to ensure your e-learning is up to date and you can record your absenteeism via the app as well.

“Meanwhile, you’ve also got Outlook and Teams on your phone. Every day when you open your emails, you get a notification that asks you to verify that you’re in Australia.

“It feels like every five minutes I get a notification that confirms I’m in Australia […] even during weekends, it’s always monitoring my location.

“Sometimes you don’t even need to log into a work app for it to record your location, which happened to me recently when I went on vacation.”

Location monitoring may be one thing – but what about monitoring the environment in which you’re working?

“The bank’s Navigate app allows the organisation to connect to any of my Bluetooth devices at home,” Matthew explained.

“And it’s essentially observing what you’re doing. For example, have I got my TV running in the background? Am I playing music? What am I actually connected to?

“At the same time, every time I step away from my computer, my Microsoft status changes to appear as ‘away’.”

Then there’s keystroking, which Matthew said now included the ability for Teams to record how much you participate during a meeting.

“Microsoft can do a report that informs you of the people who attended, the proportion of time that they were in that call contributing, and from that determine whether you’re being productive.”

With so many new big brother-like tools measuring a workforce’s productivity, Matthew said it was important for employers to remember that, while workers should be accountable, we are all human at the end of the day.

“AI will always be 100% productive, but people shouldn't be at 100% capacity,” he said.

“There needs to be time for people to pause, reflect and think about how we can do things differently – and then get AI to develop things that can make things more simplified.

“There also needs to be an element of trust, no matter what level you work.

“If managers start using AI to say to people that they’re not being productive, you’re not working at 100%, then I’d be concerned by that. It would take away the trust element and it probably wouldn’t be the best organisation to work for.”

There’s training... and then there’s training

One of the biggest barriers Matthew identified with how AI was being implemented at CBA was the inconsistent application of training.

“There's definitely a lot of encouragement to use AI, to get to know AI in your own time,” he said.

“I have attended as many of the training sessions that the group offers, but a lot of it is me learning in my own time and I now know where my limitations are.

“We need formal training. For those who are on the tools, talking to customers, in the contact centre and the branches, you need to take them out and train them.

“And don’t give them an e-learning module. It’s bigger than that.”

So what can we do about it?

The FSU is already leading the way when it comes to ethical adoption of AI – specifically, through our AI campaign that’s focused on achieving four pillars of a digital just transition.

Our roadmap calls for AI to be used in a way that:

• enhances the dignity of work
• shares the benefits with workers
• promotes transparency and accountability
• protects jobs and provides training.

When it comes to worker surveillance, the only people who are going to advocate for a more ethical and transparent adoption of AI that prioritises humans over productivity is finance workers themselves.

For example, CBA employees are seeking explicit protections and parameters with how AI can be used in the upcoming Enterprise Agreement, including regarding worker surveillance. Among other things, FSU members are demanding:

• Worker surveillance be limited to only circumstances where it is necessary to ensure the safety of workers and the public.
• Transparent employee data collection and retention which is only to the extent required by law or the employee’s benefit and a prohibition against the sale of employee data.

We know that the standards set by the CBA Enterprise Agreement carry significant influence across the rest of the finance sector, so the outcome of these negotiations are of great importance to all FSU members.

Matthew said now was the time to cement worker protections in enforceable agreements.

"While not every manager is using all these surveillance tools to measure productivity, the point is that the capacity exists for them to do so.

“We are aware that these tools are out there. I’ve seen it in my reports.

“What employers do with that information – and whether AI can generate more insights that humans couldn’t have done in the past – is the next step.”

*Not member’s real name