'A white-collar sweatshop': Google Assistant contractors allege wage theft

[Mani Manivannan]

"The Google employee works on Pygmalion, the team responsible for producing linguistic data sets that make the Assistant work. And although he is employed directly by Google, most of his Pygmalion coworkers are subcontracted temps who have for years been routinely pressured to work unpaid overtime, according to seven current and former members of the team.

These employees, some of whom spoke to the Guardian because they said efforts to raise concerns internally were ignored, alleged that the unpaid work was a symptom of the workplace culture put in place by the executive who founded Pygmalion. That executive was fired by Google in March following an internal investigation."

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/28/a-white-collar-sweatshop-google-assistant-contractors-allege-wage-theft

The is news also reminds me of another Google related news.

" Google’s unofficial motto has long been the simple phrase “don’t be evil.” But that’s over, according to the code of conduct that Google distributes to its employees. The phrase was removed sometime in late April or early May, archives hosted by the Wayback Machine show. "

The old Google Code of Conduct excerpt:

"The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put “Don’t be evil” into practice. It’s built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people "

https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-dont-be-evil-from-1826153393

===================

Now more than ever, ethical conduct becomes vital.  It is disappointing that it is not.

-Mani Manivannan

Virus-free. www.avast.com

[Muru Selvakumar]

On another end of the same spectrum,

"Google today disclosed that it has dissolved a short-lived, external advisory board designed to monitor its use of artificial intelligence, following a week of controversy regarding the company’s selection of members. The decision, reported first today by Vox, is largely due to outcry over the board’s inclusion of Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James, a noted conservative figure who has openly espoused anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and, through the Heritage Foundation, fought efforts to extend rights to transgender individuals and to combat climate change. "

[https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/4/18296113/google-ai-ethics-board-ends-controversy-kay-coles-james-heritage-foundation]

But the wage theft is equally worrying. Even govt. hire contractor instead of full time employees much more in the recent years.

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[வேந்தன் அரசு]

இந்தியாவில் எல்லாருமே 15மணி நேரம் வேலைசெய்யவேண்டியிருக்குதாம்.

புத., 29 மே, 2019, பிற்பகல் 11:46 அன்று, Muru Selvakumar <selva.d...@gmail.com> எழுதியது:

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