近日，有外媒曝出亞馬遜（Amazon）利用AI系統(tǒng)跟蹤每一個(gè)物流倉儲(chǔ)部門員工的工作效率，即Time Off Task, TOT，俗稱員工的“摸魚”時(shí)間，并可據(jù)此自動(dòng)生成警告和解雇通知，此舉引發(fā)較大爭議。
Amazon Used An AI to Automatically Fire Low-Productivity Workers
Futurism
Automation Station
This time, artificial intelligence is literally taking jobs.
Documents obtained by The Verge show how Amazon used a computer system to automatically track and fire hundreds of fulfillment center employees between for failing to meet productivity quotas — a grim glimpse of a future in which AI is your boss.
quota
quota /?kw??t?/ 這個(gè)詞有3個(gè)意思，都用作可數(shù)名詞，中文表達(dá)很相近，大家注意不要用錯(cuò)：
1) 表示“限額”，英文解釋為“A?quota?is the limited number or quantity of something which is officially allowed.”舉個(gè)??：
The quota of two tickets per person had been reduced to one.?
每人2張票的限額已減少到了1張。
2) 表示“配額”，英文解釋為“A?quota?is a fixed maximum or minimum proportion of people from a particular group who are allowed to do something, such as come and live in a country or work for the government.”舉個(gè)??：
The bill would force employers to adopt a quota system when recruiting workers.?
該法案將迫使雇主們在錄用工人時(shí)采取配額制。
3) 表示“（預(yù)期或應(yīng)得的）份額”，英文解釋為“Someone's?quota?of?something is their expected or deserved share of it.”舉個(gè)??：
I think I’ve had my quota of coffee for the day.
我想我今天喝的咖啡已經(jīng)夠多了。
glimpse
1) 表示“一瞥；一見”，英文解釋為“an occasion when you see something or someone for a very short time”；
2) 表示“短暫的感受（或領(lǐng)會(huì)）”，英文解釋為“a quick idea or understanding of what something is like”舉個(gè)??：
This biography offers a few glimpses of his life before he became famous.
這部傳記展示了他成名前的一些生活情況。
While not every decision was made by a computer system, the documents — including a signed letter by an Amazon attorney describing the system — reveal how deeply automated the process really is. It's not clear whether Amazon is still using the system.
attorney
表示“律師”，英文解釋為“In the United States, an?attorney?or?attorney-at-law?is a lawyer.”舉個(gè)??：
At the hearing, her attorney did not enter a plea.?
在聽證會(huì)上，她的律師沒有提出申訴。
“Amazon's system tracks the rates of each individual associate's productivity,” reads the letter as quoted by The Verge, “and automatically generates any warnings or terminations regarding quality or productivity without input from supervisors.”
quote
注意該詞與quota的區(qū)別，除了作可數(shù)名詞表示“引文”、此處作動(dòng)詞表示“引用；引述”；此外，它還可以作動(dòng)詞表示“報(bào) (價(jià))”，英文解釋為“If someone?quotes?a price?for?doing something, they say how much money they would charge you for a service they are offering or a for a job that you want them to do.”舉個(gè)??：
A travel agent quoted her $125 for a flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu.?
一家旅行社給她從杭州到成都的航班報(bào)價(jià)$125。
相應(yīng)的名詞含義為“報(bào)價(jià)”，英文解釋為“A?quote?for?a piece of work is the price that someone says they will charge you to do the work.”舉個(gè)??：
Always get a written quote for any repairs needed.?
對(duì)任何所需的修理都索取一份書面報(bào)價(jià)。
Boss Machine
Amazon spokesperson Ashley Robinson reached out with a statement that pushed back against The Verge's reporting — but failed to provide specific examples of inaccuracies.
“Similar to many companies, we have performance expectations regardless of whether they are corporate or fulfillment center employees,” read the statement.
“We support people who do not perform to the levels expected of them with dedicated coaching to help them improve and be successful in their career at Amazon.”
dedicated
表示“專用的”，英文解釋為“You use?dedicated?to describe something that is made, built, or designed for one particular purpose or thing.”舉個(gè)??：
Such areas should also be served by dedicated cycle routes.?
這些地區(qū)也應(yīng)該可由自行車專用路線到達(dá)。
“We would never dismiss an employee without first ensuring that they had received our fullest support, including dedicated coaching to help them improve and additional training.”
dismiss
1) 表示“不予理會(huì)”，英文解釋為“If you?dismiss?something, you decide or say that it is not important enough for you to think about or consider.”舉個(gè)??：
Mr. Tom dismissed the reports as speculation.?
湯姆先生把這些報(bào)道當(dāng)作臆測而不予理會(huì)。
2) 表示“不再考慮”，英文解釋為“If you?dismiss?something?from?your mind, you stop thinking about it.”舉個(gè)??：
I dismissed the problem from my mind.?
我從心中摒除了這個(gè)問題。
3) 表示“解雇”，英文解釋為“When an employer?dismisses?an employee, the employer tells the employee that they are no longer needed to do the job that they have been doing.”比如the power to dismiss civil servants who refuse to work 解雇拒絕工作的公務(wù)員們的權(quán)力。
“Since we're a company that continues to grow, it's our business objective to ensure long-term career development opportunities for our employees.”
Zero History
Regardless, Amazon's fulfillment centers have seen a lot of automation over the past decade. A complex system of warehouse robots have been replacing jobs — while also sometimes creating new ones.
Working conditions are infamously terrible at the online retailer: an anonymous employee wrote for the Guardian last year about unusually strenuous demands the company places on its warehouse workers.
strenuous
表示“費(fèi)力的，費(fèi)勁的；繁重的；耗費(fèi)精力的”，英文解釋為“needing or using a lot of physical or mental effort or energy”舉個(gè)??：
He rarely does anything more strenuous than changing the channels on the television.
他很少做比換電視頻道更費(fèi)神的事。
“Through the use of digital trackers and indicators, our workday is managed down to the second,” the op-ed read.
But the automated tracking-and-firing system sounds even more egregious — placing power over employment in the hands of an AI that tracks invasive details like the amount of time employees spend “off task.”
op-ed
表示“（指文章）發(fā)表個(gè)人意見的，專欄版的，特稿的（通?？谂c社論版相對(duì)的版面上）”，英文解釋為“used to describe a piece of writing which expresses a personal opinion and is usually printed in a newspaper opposite the page on which the editorial is printed”如：an op-ed article/column/page 專稿/專欄/專欄版。
egregious
egregious /??ɡri?.d??s/表示“（錯(cuò)誤等）極其嚴(yán)重的，極壞的，令人震驚的”，英文解釋為“extremely bad in a way that is very noticeable”舉個(gè)??：
It was an egregious error for him to show such ignorance.
他表現(xiàn)得如此無知，犯這種錯(cuò)誤是極不應(yīng)該的。
“One of the things that we hear consistently from workers is that they are treated like robots in effect because they're monitored and supervised by these automated systems,” Amazon critic? Stacy Mitchell told The Verge. “They're monitored and supervised by robots.”
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「才思匯：持續(xù)行動(dòng)第五年，LR是怎么做到的？」
LearnAndRecord
2015年2月8日
2019年4月29日
第1542天
每天持續(xù)行動(dòng)學(xué)外語
