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Amazon is Using AI-Equipped Cameras in Delivery Vans (cnbc.com) 86

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Amazon drivers at some U.S. facilities will soon have an extra set of eyes watching them when they hit the road to make their daily deliveries. From a report: The company recently began testing AI-equipped cameras in vehicles to monitor contracted delivery drivers while they're on the job, with the aim of improving safety. Amazon has deployed the cameras in Amazon-branded cargo vans used by a handful of companies that are part of its delivery service partner program, which are largely responsible for last-mile deliveries. The cameras could be rolled out to additional DSPs over time, and Amazon has already distributed an instructional video to DSPs, informing them of how the cameras work. Deborah Bass, an Amazon spokesperson, confirmed to CNBC that the company has begun using the AI-equipped cameras across its delivery fleet. Some details of Amazon's plans were previously reported by The Information. "We are investing in safety across our operations and recently started rolling out industry leading camera-based safety technology across our delivery fleet," Bass said in a statement. "This technology will provide drivers real-time alerts to help them stay safe when they are on the road."
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Amazon is Using AI-Equipped Cameras in Delivery Vans More

Amazon is Using AI-Equipped Cameras in Delivery Vans

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  • safety? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 04, 2021 @05:30PM (#61028608)

    This is not about safety

    It's about making sure couriers drop off packages so that customers can't keep asking for refunds because of porch pirates which are not really Amazon's responsibility.

    • It's about making sure couriers drop off packages so that customers can't keep asking for refunds because of porch pirates which are not really Amazon's responsibility.

      Many of the delivery notifications I get from Amazon include a photo of the package on my porch ...

    • This is not about safety

      It's about making sure couriers drop off packages so that customers can't keep asking for refunds because of porch pirates which are not really Amazon's responsibility.

      Bullshit. That is why they take pictures of your package on your doorstep and notify you via email immediately after delivery.

      This is about Control. This is about numbing society to an Orwelling dystopia. Death by 1,000 frogs boiling and all. THAT is what this is actually about.

      One would have thought Ring was enough of a clue.

      • Really? how does this bing about an Orwellian dystopia? Call me when they legitimize filming me inside my home. Private companies and individuals should have the right to record things that are in public. Talk about Orwell, you're telling me you want to deny my right to take video of public areas. Fuck off.

        • Really? how does this bing about an Orwellian dystopia? Call me when they legitimize filming me inside my home. Private companies and individuals should have the right to record things that are in public. Talk about Orwell, you're telling me you want to deny my right to take video of public areas. Fuck off.

          In a year or two, Amazon will boast and brag about their safety record at the expense of employee privacy, and every car insurance company on the planet will glob onto it. Enjoy your insurance-issued car "safety" system. Oh, you told them to fuck off? Here's your new 2x car insurance rate

          In X years, your homeowners insurance company will do the same. Enjoy your insurance-issued home "safety" system. Oh, you told them to fuck off? Here's your new 2x home insurance rate.

          In Y years, your employer will do th

          • In X years, your homeowners insurance company will do the same. Enjoy your insurance-issued home "safety" system. Oh, you told them to fuck off? Here's your new 2x home insurance rate.

            Recording someone inside their home is clearly within personal space. That should be pushed back on. The logic of your argument says that if we allow violence for self defense, eventually we'll legitimize actual offensive assault too. Privacy should not be expected in public or at a workplace while on the job. You're saying offices, warehouses, banks, and stores can't have cameras? The line of demarcation of being at home is very clear. Privacy at home or on personal property should be respected. The moment

    • I was regional IT support for a package delivery Company. Our Cameras were for safety, Safety of the package. Making sure a high value small carton product got received, scanned into the truck, and into the hands of the responsible party at the POD without being opened. When you ship Oxy, precious metals, jewelry or any high value item the driver is well aware of what is in the box. Y I get it you work like a dog making a few bucks per delivery and you are holding $10000 street value worth of OXY in one bo

    • Umm, yeah? So? You want them to fire workers when people's packages go missing? Or do you want workers to be tempted to steal your package instead of delivering it?

      I think most amazon and delivery workers would want this. Most workers making deliveries want proof that they did their job instead of being suspected because of someone else stealing it.

    • it actually is as there is no other recourse for obtaining the packages, amazon can insure their deliveries in a number of ways but law enforcement doesn't do any investigation with stolen packages or return them if they actually catch someone after people get angry and post ring footage online.

  • What can AI in a camera do in realtime to enhance safety?

    Let a driver know they are being followed? Tell a driver there is snow on the ground? Let authorities know who killed a driver after the fact?

    I can see value having a dashcam, but it seems to be a stretch to believe it's for safety. And I honestly have no idea how current "AI" tech can enhance safety to justify its cost.

    • Read the article... How about.. "You are following too close" or "Please come to a stop at stop signs"

      • So, items a driver would already know?

        • I don't see why anyone would be against this. Do you think these are for Jeff Bezos to wank off on? What's your problem here? What are the scenarios you're afraid of? You don't have a right to privacy while on the job, especially in areas visible to the public. You are probably the same person who said that you're not allowed to record polcie officers during a beat down.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by irving47 ( 73147 )

            I'll give you a scenario off the top of my head... Hearing about amazon warehouse workers that must get X packages per hour and are allotted Y minutes for breaks or whatever... When a hand scanner goes down it might take Z minutes to fix, and suddenly, they're written up for missing work time.... I've seen people post this scenario more than once. Just imagine what they'll do with analyzing every traffic stop you made, every turn... It's not new to want metrics on a driver's performance, I know, but I don't

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by irving47 ( 73147 )

        How it starts....

  • "We are investing in Safety" what a load of crap. Oh Oh you see this is for the safety of the driver. BullCrappy. The Seat Belt is for the safety of the driver who has a smart phone for those real-time alerts. I was regional IT support for a package delivery Company. Our Cameras were for safety, Safety of the package. Making sure a high value small carton product got received, scanned into the truck, and into the hands of the responsible party at the POD without being opened. When you ship Oxy, precious

  • Weak Slashdot article (Score:5, Informative)

    by Joe2020 ( 6760092 ) on Thursday February 04, 2021 @06:05PM (#61028728)

    The summary by Slashdot is pretty weak. The original article makes some very interesting points right at the top and should have been included here on Slashdot as well:

    - The cameras record drivers “100% of the time” while they’re on their route and flag a series of safety infractions, including failure to stop at a stop sign, speeding and distracted driving.

    - Amazon says the cameras will help it improve safety in its delivery network, but drivers and experts have raised concerns about the potential for heightened employee surveillance and a lack of privacy.

    Further into the article one finds statements such as:

    The cameras could help improve safety, but privacy advocates and several DSP drivers said they’re concerned about potential privacy tradeoffs. The drivers, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from Amazon, described the cameras as “unnerving,” “Big Brother” and “a punishment system.”

    The camera, called Driveri, has four lenses that capture the road, the driver, and both sides of the vehicle.

    When the camera detects that an employee is engaging in unsafe driving behavior, it triggers the camera to upload footage to a “secure portal” that’s accessible by Amazon and the DSP.

    • Is it any different than having a camera system in a warehouse where workers would be seen? Curious why people seem accepting of those but these would be so different?

      • People aren't accepting those cameras, but they are forced to. It's as simple as that. If people had a choice then most would want them gone.

        As a business does Amazon not need these cameras for the reasons they've mentioned. Their drivers don't need to drive saver than any other driver on the road, and in case something happens does it still remain the driver's fault and responsibility. So why does Amazon want to spend extra money here?

        Amazon cares little for their workers. So do they not want their workers

      • Do the warehouse camera systems have pan-and-tilt mechanisms that automatically follow employees around the warehouse, and a zoom that zooms in on their faces? Parabolic microphones that record what they're saying, too? No? Then it's totally different.
        I worked for some guy who, over a weekend once, installed goddamned surveillance cameras all over the inside of the building. Pointed at the work areas, with the monitor in his office. Was clear what the intent was. I told him to take them ALL down, or I was

  • We live in an extremely low-trust society which will only get worse, so "photography to record facts" is useful like it or not.

    Other road users are untrustworthy and more likely to babble about trifles on their phones than watch the road, so we have dash cams. Theft is profitable so we have cameras for loss reduction and home security. Some IMPLEMENTATIONS are highly questionable but not the need to defend against a bad world.

    Certainty of detection is a greater deterrent than punishment.

    Amazon already kno

    • How about every gun owner wears a body cam? As you've said it yourself, "because humans are not trustworthy".

      Of course I'm being sarcastic. When the NSA cannot surveil the entire USA then why should companies have the right to do it? Amazon trucks will record not only their drivers, but all traffic they come through and even Amazon customers who happen to walk into the visibility of the camera system will get recorded. So what specifically makes Amazon trustworthy when you think nobody is trustworthy?

    • Re:Humans are not trustworthy, get over it. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Thursday February 04, 2021 @09:15PM (#61029352) Journal
      Do you have kids? Imagine raising them in an atmosphere where you never, ever trust them, and they know it, by your actions. What sort of adults do you think they'll end up being? Treating adults that way doesn't have a very good outlook either. No one likes or wants to be treated like convicts in a prison and at it's core that's what this sort of shit is.
  • On a completely unrelated note, the Manna patent expired last year. https://marshallbrain.com/mann... [marshallbrain.com]

  • Truck drivers have endured this for years (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Thursday February 04, 2021 @07:19PM (#61029034) Journal
    I have a friend who grew up in a family who owned trucking companies, and has been driving trucks his entire life. He's told me about this trend towards in-cab surveillance: cameras and microphones (plural intended on both) in addition to GPS tracking, recording every moment of every day you're driving, video and audio. A company like BP will review those and if they so much as see a negative expression on your face or hear you utter a single angry-sounding word for any reason, you can face disciplinary action for it, and have any judgement of that surveillance negatively affect your annual reviews, up to and including being fired.
    I have no reason to believe that what Amazon is doing is any different from the above, especially given their overall record for how employees are treated.
    So far as I know, this sort of thing is prevalent now in the trucking industry.
    This has little to do with 'safety' and more to do with micromanaging drivers.
    I seriously feel sorry for anyone who has any job where they have to put up with being treated like that every single day.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Employers are allowed to do this with company laptops and phones and cameras in office areas also, so it is not just truck drivers. They do not have to tell you they are doing it either. They can read all your emails, listen to your Skype calls, look at your Office365 edits, etc. This is all much easier to automate with machine learning than a camera out in the wild of the world on a truck too. The environment and context is much more structured. Many retail stores have had cameras watching their emplo
      • Sure, sure, sure, let's just all violate everyones privacy all the time 24/7/365 including your neighbors. Then we'll grow a clone of Stalin from his DNA and have him be President for Life of the U.S. and we'll live in that Hell forever, won't that be lovely?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rapjr ( 732628 )
          Yes, I was being somewhat facetious. However if ordinary people started setting up sensors, trackers and databases, maybe it would be a way to bring attention to the issues and get some political action to enhance privacy. It is certainly true that this is not just an issue for truckers.
          • There's been more than enough cautionary tales of a world where this sort of thing happens, and it never ends well, such trends seem to bring out the absolute worst in people, fostering paranoia, neighbor-to-neighbor mistrust and suspicion, and there's always someone who is more than eager and happy to report any 'suspicious activities' to the 'authorities' in the hopes of garnering some sort of 'special favor' with them. You end up with a dystopia where everyone lives like convicts in prison, exhausting th

  • Wouldn't you love it if your boss had a camera recording your every move continuously throughout the day? I predict wave of unexplained malfunctions with these cameras in the future.

    • Truck drivers been there, done that. Your truck's camera system seems to malfunction for no reason all the time? You get fired for damaging company property and/or violating company policy.

  • The subject wouldn't be funny if not for the fact that, right now, elsewhere, AI is being tested to actually drive the delivery vehicle, rather than driving the human driver of the vehicle.

    https://wonderfulengineering.c... [wonderfulengineering.com]

    https://futureiot.tech/autonom... [futureiot.tech]

  • Time to go union like UPS! drivers get good pay there

  • What is really happening here is that under the guise of safety is Amazon covering their collective ass.

    So when a driver is in a crash they review the AI camera and its analytics and discover he yawned 5 mins earlier and was advise to pull over and rest and did not, therefore driver is at fault and the insurers go the driver instead of the company - this is only one example of what can be used with this sort of tech..

    While I am all for safety (seat belts is a fair example), I am not the only one who thi

  • OSHA's dirty dozen (Score:3)

    by rantrantrant ( 4753443 ) on Friday February 05, 2021 @06:03AM (#61030154)
    Amazon regularly appears on OSHA's 'dirty dozen' most dangerous companies to work for in terms of workplace injuries & illnesses. Amazon lobbies & actively resists all efforts by workers (its disposable herds of humans that are cheaper than robots) & health & safety agencies to improve safety. Bear this in mind whenever you see Amazon claim it's doing something in the name of safety.
  • How is this not clearly an abuse of failed labor regulations?

    Rules for contractors vs. employees are clear in most states. If they are monitoring how the driver is performing their work, this is clearly an employee and not a contractor.

    You cannot prescribe certain specifics on how contractors do the work. You task them to deliver from point A to point B, and if they want to drive recklessly, or speed to destinations, or hell, maybe they have other work they need to do while delivering... this is not r

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