Do you hog office conversations? Or not talk enough? Does your voice squeal Do you sit very still at your desk all day? Or do you fidget under stress? Where do you go in the office? How much time do you spend there? To whom do you talk?
An employee badge can now measure all this and more, all with the goal of giving employers better information to evaluate performance. Think of it as biometrics meets the boss.
A Boston company has taken technology developed at MIT and turned it into special badges that hang around your neck on a lanyard. Each has two microphones doing real-time voice analysis, and each comes with sensors that follow where you are in the office, with motion detectors to record how much you move. The beacons tracking your movements are omitted from bathroom locations, to give you some privacy.
[...] Those concerned about their privacy might be alarmed by the arrival of such badges. But Humanyze says it doesn't record the content of what people say, just how they say it. And the boss doesn't get to look at individuals' personal data. It is also up to the employee to decide whether they want to participate.
"Those are things we hammer home," Waber said. "If you don't give people choice, if you don't aggregate instead of showing individual data, any benefit would be dwarfed by the negative reaction people will have of you coming in with this very sophisticated sensor."
[...] Waber said the company is careful not to divulge personal data to the employer, preferring instead to stick with broad analytics. Employees get to see their own data, but managers do not get to identify the employee with the specific data.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @07:10AM
Human resources finally fitted the cattle with cow bells?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @07:40AM
But Humanyze says it doesn't record the content of what people say, just how they say it.
Of course not. Trust us.
And the boss doesn't get to look at individuals' personal data.
Of course not. Trust us.
It is also up to the employee to decide whether they want to participate.
Of course it is. Not wearing one tells us everything we need to know to evaluate your performance, too.
This is for your own personal growth and to improve your employee experience (just like tracking cookies). Trust us.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday September 12 2016, @06:14PM
Both of those claims are probably true ... for now.
The camel's nose under the tent is one way of putting it. Other's say the thin wedge. Both metaphors capture certain features of the process. The "thin wedge" emphasizes that at first it's a minimal intrusion. The "camel's nose" emphasizes the intentionality of eventually getting the entire camel into the tent.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Hyperturtle on Monday September 12 2016, @09:14PM
I did not find in the article where the HR reps were OK with the tool being used to monitor their own behavior.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by lentilla on Monday September 12 2016, @07:50AM
The company is called "Humanyze"... seriously?
"Dehumanise" would be far more appropriate.
(Although; that being said; I'd be interested in seeing my own analysis - providing it was my own system. I'd never consent to it if someone else held the keys.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @08:23AM
Well, they named it with a mutilation of "Humanize" — I think it's an apt name.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:45AM
"humanyze" is to "human" as "analyze" is to "anal"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Monday September 12 2016, @01:41PM
> never consent to it if someone else held the keys
It can be awfully hard, as in lose-your-job-and-income hard, to say no. It's sad how hostile work environments have become, with every measure of productivity warped into dirt that can be used to justify a firing. Imbalance in power, and knowledge is power, is an ongoing problem in the workplace that so easily leads to abusive conditions. Several times I've had bosses encourage me to "show commitment" and be a "team player", and remarked to me that my car is pretty old, as if I didn't know that, by which they really meant I should reduce my freedom to leave, handing them more power over me by getting myself into a financial bind so that if I lose the job I get to experience being kicked out of my home and having my car repossessed because I can't pay the mortgage and car payment any more. Like you say, might as well hand them the keys to my home and car as do that. I have always refused to even pretend to go along with such schemes, and have ended up labeled as too independent and troublesome.
This badge is a horrible, naive idea that totally fails to account for the effects of transferring even more power from employees to bosses. The information it collects could be useful rather than harmful, if the bright-eyes who came up with the whole scheme devoted some time to alleviating this problem.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday September 12 2016, @02:36PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday September 12 2016, @06:17PM
They can't call it "DeHumanize" because trademarks aren't allowed to be descriptive. (Well, that used to be the rule. I'm not sure it's still enforced.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Gravis on Monday September 12 2016, @07:56AM
If you actually look at the damned thing, it's about the size of a smartphone... except it's thicker and likely heavier.
But Humanyze says it doesn't record the content of what people say, just how they say it.
i call bullshit. to do this, they would need either a custom DSP or use plenty of battery power all the time. a more likely scenario is that they record everything in a low bitrate and then use software to extract the information they want after the data is uploaded. companies will say anything to get your money and this is one of those things.
horseshit! humans are very clever and through a series of known events, associate data points with individuals. to believe someone won't is just fantasy.
of course it will because you a fucking spying on people, you asshat.
this Waber clown can shove that sensor right up his stupid ass because it's a fucking horrible idea.
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
(Score: 3, Insightful) by WillR on Monday September 12 2016, @04:28PM
horseshit! humans are very clever and through a series of known events, associate data points with individuals. to believe someone won't is just fantasy.
And even if they can't do it, they'll try anyway!
Are you getting called in to explain yourself to HR frequently? Maybe the boss thinks badge number #4596 is that fucking weasel WillR he's been trying to fire for the last 6 months, and keeps flagging every hint of an infraction he can find in your recording.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @04:36PM
I wonder what the broad analytics of that would look like . . .
(Score: 4, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Monday September 12 2016, @08:04AM
This Employee ID Badge Monitors and Listens to You at Work
No, it listens to someone else at work.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @08:13AM
You're fired.
(Score: 3, Funny) by janrinok on Monday September 12 2016, @08:21AM
Is he being fired for what he just said, or simply how he said it?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @08:26AM
His emphasized typing endangered the keyboard.
(Score: 1) by FunkyLich on Monday September 12 2016, @09:45AM
With doubleplus love from the department of love at Humanyze.
(Score: 2) by fritsd on Monday September 12 2016, @08:34AM
Wouldn't they notice it, that the janitor now wears an enormous amount of "bling" around his neck all day, looks very smug, and occasionally talks to himself in a relaxed, business-like tone?
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Monday September 12 2016, @08:46AM
It was a dig at the clickbait nature of the headline, but everyone seems to think I meant something else.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by fritsd on Monday September 12 2016, @01:34PM
Um.. yeah wonkeymonkey, now I don't understand what you meant anymore.
I thought you had the clever idea of "if my boss forces me to wear such a thing, I'll buy a plastic one at the fancy-fair, and borrow my real one to some trustworthy colleague to wear all day".
Might lead to disappointment if your employer is the emir of Dubai [businessinsider.com], or another morning person...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fritsd on Monday September 12 2016, @08:42AM
I'm shocked, shocked I say, that deHumanyze hasn't yet developed the functionality to pass a harmless but invigorating electric current through the esteemed employee's neck, whenever their rest/talk behaviour pattern falls outside 2 sigma of the company's optimal profile (as determined by management on the basis of a perfect balance between target profitability and maximum number of employee complaints and lawsuits).
(Score: 3, Touché) by Thexalon on Monday September 12 2016, @01:52PM
Drone fritsd reported as typing on site "soylentnews.org" instead of working. Bzzzzt!
*Now* you are shocked, shocked!
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by dry on Tuesday September 13 2016, @04:57AM
That's planned for the mark III version
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @09:25AM
The beacons tracking your movements are omitted from bathroom locations, to give you some privacy.
Apparently not the microphones...
Why would a company risk this? It sends their employee's voice data and movements to a cloud service. Both are massive security risks. Live tracking of everyone in the build provides the ability to find gaps in security coverage. Voice data leaks trade secrets.
Now I read the article. The proposed reasons are to see who communicates with whom so they can relocate the offices together. That could be analyzed through emails or simply asking people. They also talk about how top traders have a different emotional profile from other people. Who do we get to congratulate for being the first person to be fired for not quickly performing breathing exercises right after a stressful event? Lets fire everyone with high blood pressure and anyone with detectable sounds of irritable bowel syndrome too. It'll save on company insurance costs.
There's no way they can do some of the things they describe without keeping the audio streams. I expect they'll sell it to voice recognition companies too as those guys can always use more voice samples. I give it a year before they have an agreement with TV and radio stations to determine which employees are hearing which ads. That tech is already in use on cell phones. Constant voice analysis is a gold mine for targeted ads.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Monday September 12 2016, @10:46AM
Having a nervous breakdown? For one week only we have 50℅ reductions on lithium, Prozac and haloperidol. Get yours now while stocks last. Always read the label. Drink responsibly.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Insightful) by WillR on Monday September 12 2016, @04:09PM
(Score: 2) by Bogsnoticus on Tuesday September 13 2016, @04:09AM
But I always take my movements in bathroom locations.
To do otherwise would risk public indecency charges.
Genius by birth. Evil by choice.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday September 12 2016, @11:45AM
How are they useful? Because if your company uses them, they inform you that you should end your employment there as quickly as possible.
And that's true even if you are management, because it means that the higher-ups and/or HR are taking away your ability to manage your own team and replacing it with electronic spying on everybody.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @12:01PM
.. a citizen NOT wearing their badge is eligible for a drone strike. Thank you for your cooperation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 13 2016, @03:04AM
Why go to the effort of an expensive drone strike when they can just simply trip the explosive chip that everyone will have been forced to implant into their brains?
(Score: 5, Funny) by turgid on Monday September 12 2016, @12:18PM
Record numbers have been enrolling in sign language classes. The Society for the Deaf is celebrating at the solidarity shown by hitherto indifferent citizens.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Monday September 12 2016, @01:27PM
Record numbers have been enrolling in sign language classes.
That will get you fired too. FTFA : "Do you ........... not talk enough?"
I'm thinking there might be an up side to this if it makes the verbal diarrhea generators I can hear around me in this open plan office STFU.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Monday September 12 2016, @02:10PM
So it's not just me. :-)
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @01:44PM
Furbees will become popular again as a place to hang your badge.
(Score: 2) by Hyperturtle on Monday September 12 2016, @09:12PM
Where do you work where they didn't install cameras already? I thought this was to make sure they got the audio, too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 12 2016, @10:19PM
I've heard they're great under a burrito in the microwave.