The Miserable Lives of Cyborg Truck Drivers

But the jobs themselves are crappier than before, because AI and automation introduced ruthless efficiencies that put the humans on a miserable hamster-wheel. 

Until that sort of serious reform happens, trucking will continue to be a wretched example of surveillance and efficiency technology gone off the rails — and the decline of a once-vibrant job.

Except that these safety mechanisms are just band-aids that try to cover up deteriorating work conditions. They throw to the real question here: Exactly why are so many truckers getting drowsy on the job? 

But as I put it in that previous post, if you look at a few industries that have been heavily affected by automation and AI — such as transcription, food delivery, ride-hail, and warehouse-shipping jobs — you find the picture’s a bit different. Employment in those sectors has gone up. More labor has been needed, year over year.

The trucks are rolling panopticons.

People (including me) used to worry that automation and AI would only replace workers. More automation == less jobs.

Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem created by the technology. It’s created by terrible business models. You could certainly improve the lives of truck drivers with some simple policy changes. For starters, you could pay them by the hour, instead of by the mile. That wouldn’t fix everything, but it’d help reduce the most pernicious dynamics prope... See more

These days, trucks might also have cameras that point at their faces and microphones recording audio inside the truck. Some of these cameras have AI to detect if the drivers are getting drowsy. There’s also a growing industry in wearable tech — like headbands — to additionally check if a driver is falling asleep.

via PxhereOn the one hand, these might sound like useful safety mechanisms, right? Drowsy truckers cause horrific accidents. Isn’t it good to have tech that helps detect if a driver is falling asleep?