AI can also identify various behaviors such as bullying and harassment.

In the age of remote work, the familiar watercooler chat has transformed into an online platform. However, recent reports have raised concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) may be scanning these digital conversations.

Companies including Walmart, Delta Air Lines, T-Mobile, Chevron and Starbucks have reportedly installed surveillance software from startup ‘Aware’ to monitor employee discussions on messaging apps fox. European companies Nestlé and AstraZeneca are also believed to be part of this trend.

“Aware” creates software that checks platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams for keywords that indicate employee dissatisfaction and possible security issues. According to the company, it has evaluated massive amounts of data, analyzing up to 20 billion personal messages from more than 3 million employees. CNBC.

Jeff Schumann, CEO of Aware, explains that their AI can help companies understand employee sentiment in real time, eliminating the need for annual surveys.

Anonymous data from Aware analytics products allows companies to understand how different employee groups respond to changes or activities. AI can also identify various behaviors such as bullying and harassment. Importantly, analysis tools do not flag individual employee names, but individual tools can do this in extreme threat situations. Mr. Schumann said Walmart, T-Mobile, Chevron and Starbucks all use Aware’s technology for governance, risk and compliance management, which accounts for 80% of the company’s business.

In an interview conducted by Fox Business’s Lydia Hu, employee concerns about artificial intelligence invading work communications were clear. Some have expressed unease about what they see as a sneaky invasion of privacy, while others have criticized the reliability of AI systems. “I would feel, I don’t know, like they were just trying to get something out of me, get me into trouble or something. I don’t know, it would be very sneaky,” one interviewee said.

Another employee was skeptical, sharing: “I’ve seen AI firsthand and it has so many flaws and messes that I just don’t think it’s a useful investment of anyone’s time or money anyway. . And that’s not the case.” Truly create a trustworthy business atmosphere. “

On the other hand, some respondents showed less concern and accepted the surveillance practices. “I don’t think I have a problem with that because I’m very careful about what I do with company time, company property, etc.,” one respondent said, according to Fox Business.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/Fox News Technology/Major Companies –ai-snoop-employee-message-Report Disclosure

An AstraZeneca spokesperson mentioned that the company uses Aware’s eDiscovery product but does not use analytics to monitor mood or toxicity. Delta Air Lines, on the other hand, told CNBC it leverages Aware’s analytics and eDiscovery tools to track trends and sentiment and gather feedback from employees and stakeholders. Delta also uses these tools to maintain legal records on its social media platforms.

As more companies adopt a work-from-anywhere model, concerns about AI surveillance continue to grow. Popular communication platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, used by more than 100,000 organizations and with millions of monthly users, have become the focus of scrutiny of artificial intelligence.