CyPurr Session: Who's the Boss - Bossware, AI, and Workplace Surveillance

In this session, we will discuss “bossware” and workplace surveillance: how digital tools are used to monitor, track and record employees, and what it means for workers’ privacy and autonomy. Bossware includes a range of tools from keystroke tracking and screen monitoring software to biometric collection and facial recognition technology, meaning no industry is safe from its reach. Additionally, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used workplace surveillance tools to expand the scope of data being collected and analyzed, posing a risk of increased discrimination and bias in employment-related decisions. We will talk about the real-life ramifications of bossware, the changing legal and legislative landscape, and how increased surveillance contributes to an already unequal power balance that undermines workers’ trust and autonomy. The CyPurr Collective is a group of some tech-minded folks who are very jazzed about cybersecurity, cats, and helping folks out with their digital dilemmas. We offer workshops for activists, journalists, educators, and everyday folks who want to up their encryption game!