- Amazon's AI-camera system tracks when delivery drivers run stop signs or perform illegal U-turns.
- Documents found that the cameras can determine a driver's pay or employment status.
- Amazon has faced backlash in the past for its use of AI systems to track employees.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Amazon is using its artificial intelligence-based cameras to determine compensation rates for their drivers, as well as whether they can stay employed with the company, according to a recent report from The Information.
The publication obtained confidential documents that revealed Amazon has developed a point system for drivers using the cameras in its delivery trucks that can identify anything from a sneeze to whether a driver has their eyes on the road or is following another car too closely.
The four cameras, including one camera that points directly at the driver from underneath the rearview mirror, are made by Netradyne and focus on both the inside and outside of the delivery van. Amazon has said in the past that the cameras are not continuously live, but only come into play when the built-in AI detects potentially unsafe circumstances like unexpected braking or distracted driving.
An Amazon spokesperson told Insider the camera system has improved safety for drivers.
"This technology provides drivers real-time alerts to help them stay safe when they are on the road," the spokesperson said. "We piloted the technology on over two million miles of delivery routes, and the results produced remarkable safety improvements-accidents decreased 48 percent, stop sign violations decreased 20 percent, driving without a seatbelt decreased 60 percent, and distracted driving decreased 45 percent."
Amazon uses the cameras to count instances when drivers perform potentially dangerous actions like failing to stop at stop signs or red lights, illegal U-turns or following too closely behind other vehicles, The Information reported. In most cases, each incident counts as 1 point, except for violating stop signs, which is weighted 10 times higher than other incidents, according to the publication.
Each week, Amazon's contracted delivery companies receive scorecards for their drivers, ranging from "fantastic" to "poor," the report found. An Amazon delivery partner owner told The Information that the scores help determine pay for drivers due to the financial incentives Amazon dishes for safe driving records. The publication noted a poor safety score could also determine whether a driver remains employed.
The camera system, which is called "Driveri," works alongside an app called Mentor which analyzes similar safety risks, including speeding and braking tendencies, but the cameras add on extra information on whether a driver runs a red light, stop sign or tail gates.
When Amazon initially released their in-car cameras in February they were met with significant backlash. In March, a group of senators that included Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont called for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to provide more context and transparency in the use of the cameras. Amazon has since said the cameras are being used to enhance driver safety, as well as the safety of local communities.
One driver told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the policy change had driven him to quit, calling it an invasion of privacy. In May, Vice reported that some Amazon drivers had been told to switch off their safety apps in order to hit quotas.
Read The Information's full story here.