Say goodbye to saying ‘Hello’
Microsoft has filed a patent application for a monitoring system that collects data such as heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, and brain signals and interprets this into the worker’s stress, frustration and productivity levels. Microsoft claims that it will optimize management and production by allowing employers to view current reports of their employees and allowing coworkers to be alerted when their fellow employees need help. Yet the ethical implications are unnerving. A friendly conversation at your workstation could lead to a warning that your productivity was below average. Or if you’re having trouble at home and bring it to work, your coworkers could be notified.
I’m sure Microsoft only has the best intentions for this system, yet it sounds too close to Orwell’s “Thought Police.” Adversaries wouldn’t need to interpret your purchases on amazon or intercept wireless signals beaming your thoughts to a game console, they’d just need to be your coworker and in a company as big as Microsoft, you may find yourself with a lot of adversaries.
Note: While this article is marked in the “Current Event” category because of it’s recent posting in Scientific American and Techdirt, the patent was actually filed June 27, 2006.
Comment by esoteric
January 27, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
I am shocked and irked that Microsoft is actually developing this system. Microsoft already has a reputation for hiring bright people via their competitive application process and then confining those people to narrow positions in the company where their creative talents are underutilized. This story is just more evidence that upper management at Microsoft tends to think of its employees merely as tools to be used to deliver a product, and that those tools should be sharpened and kept in good working condition for maximum efficiency.
This dehumanizing perspective does little to inspire loyalty within a company, and may actually produce the opposite of the desired effect. People who are treated like machines in a punitive work environment are less likely to feel like their job matters, or be inspired to make a positive change or suggestion that benefits the company. Just look at the movie Office Space. It is far better to show your employees you care about them and put in the extra time and money to make them happy using old fashioned human to human contact. I argue that this small investment will be repaid in full when your employees thrive and maximize their own potential because they really want to—not because they fear they will be laid off if their serotonin levels drop too low.
So before anyone thinks about actually investing in Microsoft’s dehumanizing work efficiency system, they should ask themselves: Is this good for the company?
Comment by Maria Gudelis
July 19, 2008 @ 10:16 am
Holy Big Brother is here Batman! This does sound like George Orwell’s future is now! Our workplace becoming more of a ‘controlled environment’.
Makes me want to re-read my favorite book, Atlas Shrugged!
Cheers, Maria Gudelis
http://maria-gudelis.com