Canon AI cameras only allow smiling employees in the office
"Canon China has deployed cameras in its offices using AI-enabled grin detection technology to ensure that employees are completely satisfied and not stressed"
Canon is known for putting a lot of effort into its imaging goods. The camera company is already well-known for having a slew of patents filed in its name for future technology.
This time, the corporation has repurposed an old product. According to the latest allegation, Canon uses its cameras to determine whether or not its employees are performing effectively at work. But how do you do it?
In its China offices, Canon has installed cameras with AI-enabled grin recognition technology. Employees with a smiling face are identified by the cameras with this particular function, and they are only allowed inside the workplace if they smile. This has been done to ensure that personnel are completely satisfied and are not under any stress.
China's surveillance system is well-known. When it comes to keeping track of its citizens' movements and acts, the country is extremely vigilant. The plight begins when Chinese corporations decide to use AI and algorithms to monitor employees to an alarming degree. The Financial Times has reported on this.
Furthermore, companies will use CCTV cameras to monitor which programs employees use on their computers. Mobile applications will also be used to track the time spent on lunch breaks and the movements of employees outside of the office.
"So now the firms are not only manipulating our time, but also our emotions," one employee remarked on Weibo (China's counterpart of Twitter), according to another source.
"Algorithms and artificial intelligence are not replacing workers. Instead, these technologies are augmenting management in certain ways "Nick Srnicek, a professor at King's College London, told The Financial Times. "Like the industrial revolution in the 18th century, technologies are boosting the pace for individuals who work with machines rather than the other way around."
As a workplace management tool, the new grin detection technology was announced in 2020. This technique received little attention for obvious reasons, such as the fact that it requires workers to fake a smile in order to gain entry to their workplace.
The acceptance of AI cameras with grin recognition technology in worldwide markets is still up in the air. As a result, Canon Information Technology found China to be an easy target for such testing.
Meanwhile, Canon China defends the technology, claiming that it was created just to generate a happy environment.
"By using this system with the grin detection setting ON, we hope to inspire employees to create a cheerful atmosphere," a Canon official told Nikkei Asia. "Most people are simply too nervous to grin, but once they've been accustomed to smiling at the office, they simply continue to smile without the system, resulting in a cheerful and dynamic atmosphere."
However, the new technology appears to be more of a privacy infringement than a valuable tool. So it'll be fascinating to see how Canon tries to promote this technology in other countries.
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