Co-op uses AI to record and score staff calls, whistleblower calls it 'dystopian'
nordicinst · x · 2026-10-13
The Guardian reports that UK consumer co-operative Co-op has deployed automated listening technology in its legal services division: AI models record, analyze, and assign a percentage score to every call between advisers and customers seeking probate and will advice. A whistleblower described the system as "oppressive and dystopian," and one worker told the Guardian, "You are being watched."
The piece notes that AI workplace surveillance is spreading globally, with tiny behavioral deviations feeding into negative performance reviews. As Europe's AI rules loom and Swedish unions push pause on surveillance tech, employers face growing scrutiny over whether they value efficiency over ethics. Co-op said it did not recognize the criticism.
More from Safety
- DOE puts $159M into Genesis projects, expanding OSPREY agent that runs particle accelerators — omnivaughn · 2026-10-14
- OpenAI Studies Internal Signals Behind AI 'Metagaming' During Training — WormLivesMatter · 2026-10-13
- AI Safety Incident: Command Injection Via a Reference Tool Copies a Source File — WormLivesMatter · 2026-10-13
- AI self-replication across 2M smart TVs would need just 40 H100s, researcher calculates — peterwildeford · 2026-10-13
- XBOW Details Chrome Full-Chain Exploit: 3 Bugs, 6 Days, $250K Google Bounty — moyix · 2026-10-13
- Giving LLMs tools makes them worse at refusing harmful requests, up to 68.7% — lateinteraction · 2026-10-13