Vaughan company offers glimpse at how technology may change how we work

#FutureofWork As companies turn to automation and artificial intelligence (A.I.), questions around labour emerge

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 14, 2023
Brian Capitao

The future is nigh. Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is looming upon us and will have serious considerations for the future of work.

Whether by what has been deemed “management by algorithm” or in how workers’ skills are being put to best use.

An example of such implications is through a software developed by Concord-based company MIR Consulting. MIR has created an app called TimeIT to help managers prevent what’s been called time-theft.

“As a company that's founded and based out of Vaughan, we were working with several clients that we found out that this was a gap. So we started to invest in this product and build this product totally in-house in Canada, we did not outsource it. We created a full workforce management product so that people can now log time and the time gets approved and gets paid all without any human interaction and it's all automated,” said Mohammed Ali, CEO of MIR Consulting.

TimeIT operates through geolocation software, according to Ali.

“So when a site is supposed to be done or a construction worker is supposed to be at a particular site, when they arrive on the site, the time automatically starts. And then when they leave the site, the time automatically stops and then gets pushed out of the time that's back from work,” he said.

The pay is then automatically approved if the work done falls within the parameters of the work assigned, Ali explained.

From an ethical perspective, humans are still needed for oversight, says technology and business law professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, Daniel Tsai.

“The big issue is that there's biases that can be embedded in algorithms and artificial intelligence,” said Tsai. “And so, one of the problems with artificial intelligence is that biases and prejudices can be embedded by the coders or software developers, and they're not even aware of that.”

While technology may be implemented to create more efficiencies, it can also introduce discriminatory policies if employers are not careful, according to Tsai.

“You have to apply a bit of the old scientific precautionary principle, which is you want to be really mindful of the unknown consequences that could potentially result or as Donald Rumsfeld calls it, 'the known unknowns',” Tsai told the Vaughan Citizen.

Regarding time-theft, Tsai sees management by algorithm as a potential boon.

“So, there's actually a lot of time-theft going on where people say they're at home doing work and really, they're doing nothing. They're not even logged in. And so, people have been caught and fired because of time theft, because they claim they're doing work and they're being paid for it,” said Tsai.

“From an ethics perspective, the employee shouldn't be lying and cheating. And the same time it should be clear to the employee that the equipment and what they're doing is on company time, company property, and therefore, they don't really have any expectation to privacy,” Tsai added.

From a labour perspective, it is understood that automation is coming.

“I think that the skilled trades will become more and more complex or the need for training will become increased with automation. I think that the ergonomics of construction and the safety in construction will be more and more scrutinized, and some things will become more automated as a result,” said Tony Currie, program director for the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades (CCAT).

However, the tracking of workers’ movements through tech may be a step too far for some.

“I don't think tracking workers' productivity is bad thing, that's what supervision is all about,” said Currie. “But I think if someone put a bracelet on my arm, I wouldn't be there very long. I think there also needs to be a respect for privacy and respect for individuality. And so, I'm not a big fan of that kind of thing.”

“I don't think that's adding to productivity. I think that's just big brother," he added.