public servants first spotted the new visitor in March prowling around Office Buildings in gatau Quebec they called it the little robot the federal government says there’s nothing to fear but one Union president has his suspicions he wonders whether it’s checking attendance folks say you know why is there a robot here doesn’t my employer trust that I’m here and doing my work properly why do why is this this robot strolling around he says employees feel watched and some called a robot as spy it’s part of the verbrick platform designed by global DWS co-founder Yaya sad says the robot cannot check attendance since it doesn’t even know who it’s looking at it’s not a spy because as I mentioned there’s no uh personally identifiable information that’s being captured he says the robot is part of an occupancy scanning solution that uses a 360° camera and AI the camera takes the picture analyzes and counts the number of people and then discards the image the government says the technology will help it fine-tune its office space needs public services and procurement Minister Jeanie Duo says a robots data will help build better workspaces as the federal government looks to cut its real estate holdings in half the robot can do more than check how many desks are filled it comes equipped with more than 20 different sensors sad says they take readings that can help make sure that employees are happy and healthy we measure temperature humidity air quality uh and different type of gases like Co CO2 nitrogen oxide and ren gas and different um readings coming in from a space like light and noise all these have impact on employee productivity but the union isn’t buying that R sees a link with a federal push to get employees in the office 3 days a week he faulted an earlier program that installed infrared and movement sensors on workstations and says the robot only adds to the distrust he called it invasive and insulting the robot monitors my coming and going my bathroom breaks my coffee breaks where I’m sitting we feel there’s a privacy breach son says there are exceptional cases where employers ask to save images but employee faces and bodies are blurred he says the data is stored on a server on Canadian soil while the March pilot program is now over the robot is set to return in July and October and the government says its tenure might be extended Arthur white crummy CBC News Ottawa
A little robot has been roaming around federal offices, counting employees. The government says it’s about optimizing workspaces, but it has left public servants feeling uneasy. CBC’s Arthur White-Crummey reports. Read more:
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