Microsoft will patent the program "surveillance"
Microsoft is developing software that reminds us of “Big Brother”. This product will allow you to remotely monitor employee productivity, their physical shape and degree of compliance with professional requirements.
At the disposal of The Times was a Microsoft patent application for a computer system, in which employees will be connected to their PCs via wireless sensors that measure their metabolic parameters. By analyzing the heart rate, body temperature, body movements, facial expressions and blood pressure of workers, this system will allow managers to track their actions. The trade unions fear that a computer-based assessment of the physiological state of workers may become the basis for their dismissal.
The technology, which allows continuous monitoring of the worker, was previously applied only to pilots, firefighters and NASA astronauts. It is believed that the idea of introducing such a program in ordinary workplaces was proposed for the first time.
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Microsoft has applied for a US patent for a “unique tracking system” that will allow employees to connect with their computers. Wireless sensors will be able to read information about "heart rate, galvanic skin reflex, brain impulses, respiration rate, body temperature, body movements, facial expressions and blood pressure, as well as electromyogram," the application says.
In addition, the system will be able to “automatically detect frustration and stressful states of the user”, as well as “offer and provide appropriate support”. Physiological changes in the employee's body will correlate with his personal profile, which will be based on data on weight, age and health status. If the system registers an increased heart rate or facial expression, which indicates a state of stress and frustration, management will be made aware that the employee needs help.
The Informational Commissioner, human rights defenders and lawyers specializing in the protection of privacy, subjected the system with its potential to severe criticism, considering that it "raises the idea of tracking a person in the workplace to a new level." King Matrix Chambers ’royal lawyer and an expert on data protection law, Hugh Tomlinson, told The Times:“ This system involves an invasion of all possible aspects of the lives of employees. This raises very serious privacy concerns. ”
Peter Skyte, a spokesman for Unite, said: “This system takes the idea of tracking people in the workplace to a new level. The scale of the invasion of privacy is also growing, but the essence remains old: the system tracks not so much the result as the process. ” The Information Commissioner office expressed the opinion that "such a level of invasion of privacy is justified only in exceptional cases."
The US Patent Office last night confirmed that the application was published in December, 18 months after filing. Lawyers specializing in patents believe that the application can be approved within a year.
Microsoft last night refused to comment on this application, saying the following: “We have more than seven thousand patents worldwide, and we are proud of the quality of these patents and the innovations they represent. As a rule, we do not comment on patent applications that are in the processing stage, as the claims of the invention reflected in them may change during the approval process. ”
“The news is taken from technology.timesonline.co.uk ”
At the disposal of The Times was a Microsoft patent application for a computer system, in which employees will be connected to their PCs via wireless sensors that measure their metabolic parameters. By analyzing the heart rate, body temperature, body movements, facial expressions and blood pressure of workers, this system will allow managers to track their actions. The trade unions fear that a computer-based assessment of the physiological state of workers may become the basis for their dismissal.
The technology, which allows continuous monitoring of the worker, was previously applied only to pilots, firefighters and NASA astronauts. It is believed that the idea of introducing such a program in ordinary workplaces was proposed for the first time.
')
Microsoft has applied for a US patent for a “unique tracking system” that will allow employees to connect with their computers. Wireless sensors will be able to read information about "heart rate, galvanic skin reflex, brain impulses, respiration rate, body temperature, body movements, facial expressions and blood pressure, as well as electromyogram," the application says.
In addition, the system will be able to “automatically detect frustration and stressful states of the user”, as well as “offer and provide appropriate support”. Physiological changes in the employee's body will correlate with his personal profile, which will be based on data on weight, age and health status. If the system registers an increased heart rate or facial expression, which indicates a state of stress and frustration, management will be made aware that the employee needs help.
The Informational Commissioner, human rights defenders and lawyers specializing in the protection of privacy, subjected the system with its potential to severe criticism, considering that it "raises the idea of tracking a person in the workplace to a new level." King Matrix Chambers ’royal lawyer and an expert on data protection law, Hugh Tomlinson, told The Times:“ This system involves an invasion of all possible aspects of the lives of employees. This raises very serious privacy concerns. ”
Peter Skyte, a spokesman for Unite, said: “This system takes the idea of tracking people in the workplace to a new level. The scale of the invasion of privacy is also growing, but the essence remains old: the system tracks not so much the result as the process. ” The Information Commissioner office expressed the opinion that "such a level of invasion of privacy is justified only in exceptional cases."
The US Patent Office last night confirmed that the application was published in December, 18 months after filing. Lawyers specializing in patents believe that the application can be approved within a year.
Microsoft last night refused to comment on this application, saying the following: “We have more than seven thousand patents worldwide, and we are proud of the quality of these patents and the innovations they represent. As a rule, we do not comment on patent applications that are in the processing stage, as the claims of the invention reflected in them may change during the approval process. ”
“The news is taken from technology.timesonline.co.uk ”
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/18923/
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