A Bloomberg report details how artificial intelligence systems employed by Amazon have hired and fired contract drivers.
Called “Flex,” Amazon uses AI to determine how many drivers are needed for deliveries. The app, installed on drivers’ smartphones, measures whether they delivered packages on time and followed customers’ special requests.
If a driver misses the mark, they are subjected to an automatic firing.
That’s exactly what happened to Stephen Normandin, 63, an Army veteran who Flex recently fired. He said algorithms tracked his every move as he delivered packages around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.
Normandin said Amazon unfairly punished him for things way beyond his control – such as locked apartment complexes. He said every job he’s “given 110%,” but the algorithm failed to see external factors that may affect deliveries.
“This really upset me because we’re talking about my reputation. They say I didn’t do the job when I know damn well I did,” he said.
At the world’s largest e-commerce retailer, algorithms are the boss, hiring and firing and monitoring hundreds of thousands of workers with hardly any human oversight.
Flex began operations in 2015 as a way for Amazon to get its packages out the same day to regional customers. – READ MORE
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