While sitting upon their Tower of Sorcery at the Amazon headquarters business executives in a dark and smoky room began to form a plot. One exec leans forward so that his face is illuminated by the light asking “How can we keep a constant and watchful eye over our delivery persons?” another suit leans in “Yes! EXCELLENT! While also creating a legion of minions to report their wrong doings!”.
The executives erupt in sounds of approval and laughter. Then the room goes deathly quite as a man enters through the towering doors, he walks to the large leather seat at the end of the table. Sits and spins around in dramatic fashion to face the executives. His bald head and muscular physic are unmistakable, it’s Jeff Bezos ready to form a plot to create a nationwide state of surveillance that Amazon controls!
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!
The Hand That Feeds
As Flex drivers we like to imagine that we’re working for ourselves. After all, it is the empowering promise that attracted us to the gig life. At first it was true, we did work of ourselves and made good money doing it. As gig apps like Uber and Amazon Flex matured so did their algorithms and their methods to control workers become sophisticated. Drivers are now at the mercy of the Amazon Flex algorithm competing in cut-throat competition against their fellow drivers for a chance to work.
While drivers were distracted competing with and clamoring over each other for jobs, Amazon was sneakily stoking the fires of paranoia in America in an attempt to install a surveillance camera at the front door of every home across the nation. So far the plan is going incredibly well with over 1.7 million Ring doorbell cameras sold last year. Creating a loyal legion of what has been described as the “largest civilian surveillance network in US history”. Perhaps the largest civilian surveillance network in world history. Imagine if historical figures we read about in books had this kind of power.
One Ring to Dominate the Doorbell Market
With Amazon dominating the doorbell camera market they’ve truly created “One Ring™ to rule them all”. The footage from these devices are being used to monitor, control, and humiliate delivery drivers. While also empowering and deputizing everyday Americans to spy and snitch on each other at Amazon’s and law enforcements benefit.
It’s become somewhat of a sport to post Ring doorbell footage of delivery drivers online. God forbid that a driver have a bad day and drop a package carelessly at a customers door, big mistake! That footage is going online for all to see, forever! Do delivery people really deserve to be constantly scrutinized and surveilled? Always under threat that footage of them messing up will be posted online? Drivers don’t deserved to be eternally shamed with their faces online without permission, for any reason.
All Seeing Eye, All Knowing Algorithm
It would seem that as Flex drivers we’re not really working for ourselves at all. We are being managed and surveilled by customers and report to our boss, the algorithm. Amazon Flex is constantly tracking and pulling data from our deliveries and knows when we’ve been bad or good. Or rather, “Fantastic” and “At risk”. Unfortunately, there’s little reward for staying off the naughty list.
Flex drivers are at the mercy of the customers. If they leave a note to “Call me first”, then you’re expected to follow their instruction. Ignore the customer request and you could receive a nasty email from Amazon possibly negatively affecting your account status. It’s accepted fact among Flexers that Amazon will always side with the customer. No reason to even bother emailing them back in dispute.
Amazon Flex drivers are playing a rigged game and just like in a casino there’s an eye in the sky watching at all times. It’s funny how the same people who judge and ridicule Amazon’s business practices are the same ones shaming Flex drivers with Ring doorbell footage. One survey shows that 87% of Americans don’t know how their doorbell camera data is being used. I’d wager many of them didn’t know it collect data at all.
It’s time for Ring doorbell users to stop using ignorance as an excuse. It’s common decency to not post footage of strangers online without permission. Time for Ring users to use their brain and common sense else they become a part of the orc army like in The Lord of the Rings.
Time for Flex drivers to take back their power, work together, and to stop falling into the algorithmic pitfalls that Amazon has set up for us. We are our own boss, we work for ourselves, and we help each other. Let’s not let them forget it!
Sources:
https://datasociety.net/library/at-the-digital-doorstep/
https://www.thezebra.com/resources/home/doorbell-camera-survey/