covering the week's top textbooks like
Linux bias Walmart users uses AI
technology to detect shoplifters at self
checkout and a group of store associates
are concerned that it's putting their
health at risk
a group of Walmart employees say they
were past their breaking point with ever
seen a small artificial intelligence
firm based in Ireland whose technology
Walmart began using in 2017 Walmart uses
ever seen in thousands of stores to
prevent shoplifting at registers and
self checkout kiosks but the workers
claimed misidentified innocuous behavior
as theft and often failed to stop actual
instances of stealing the group of
employees has chosen to stay anonymous
since they are not authorized to speak
to the press they told the press that
they are dismayed that their employer
one of the largest retailers in the
world is relying on AI they believed to
be flawed one worker said that the
technology was sometimes even referred
to internally as never seen because of
its frequent mistakes the worker said
they had been upset about Walmart's
youths have ever seen for years and
claimed colleagues had raised concerns
about the technology to managers but
were rebuked they decided to speak to
the press they said after a June 2019
Business Insider article reported
Walmart's partnership with ever seen
publicly for the first time the story
described how ever seen uses AI to
analyze footage from surveillance
cameras installed in the ceiling and can
detect issues in real times such as when
a customer places an item in their bag
without scanning it when the system
spots something it automatically alerts
store associates the concerned
associates produced a video to prove
their concerns were valid it begins with
a person using self checkout to buy to
jumble packages packages of rhesus white
peanut butter cups because the packages
are stacked on top of each other only
one is scanned but both are successfully
placed in the bagging area without issue
the same person then grabs two gallons
of milk by their handles and moves them
across the scanner with one hand only
one is rung up but both are put in the
bagging area they then put their own
cellphone on top of the Machine and
pops up saying they need to wait for
assistance a false-positive
the filmmaker repeats the same process
at two more stores where they failed to
scan a heart-shaped Valentine's Day
chocolate box with a puppy on the front
and a Philips Sonicare electric
toothbrush the video concludes that ever
seen failed to stop more than 100
dollars of would-be theft the employees
believe that the tech frequently
misinterprets innocent behavior is
potential shoplifting which frustrates
customers and store associates and leads
to longer lines one worker described it
as a noisy tech a fake AI that just
pretends to safeguard the corona virus
pandemic has given their concerns more
urgency one associate said they worried
false positives could be causing Walmart
workers to break social distancing
guidelines unnecessarily when ever seen
Flags an issue a store associate C needs
to intervene and determine whether
shoplifting or another problem is taking
place a corporate Walmart manager even
expressed strong concern that workers
were being put at risk by additional
contact necessitated by false positives
and asked whether they'd ever seen
systems should be turned off to protect
customers and workers this of course
comes at a time when self checkout may
become even more important for stores as
customers look for low-risk ways to shop
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