Jeopardized!

A Virtual Museum Exhibit Examining How Amazon Uses Technology to Surveil and Control Its Workforce

Intro

The Covid-19 pandemic has shuttered the doors of museums across the world. This project employs the tools of user experience (UX) research and design to re-imagine what it means to design a museum exhibition during a pandemic.

Our project envisions a virtual museum exhibit that can engage the public on contemporary social, political, and economic issues.

Our exhibit explores the rise of surveillance as a form of social control under capitalism. We focus on Amazon, one of the world’s most powerful corporations and a pioneering force in workplace surveillance.

Amazon by the numbers

112,000,000

The number of Prime members in the United States

$152,207

The amount of money Jeff Bezos makes in one minute

16.6

The number of football fields you can fit inside the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama

Research

Our research process was guided by the following research questions:

  • What surveillance practices does Amazon employ against its workers, and how might these practices impact workers?

  • What are Amazon workers’ attitudes towards surveillance from the company?

  • Are there practices of sousveillance at Amazon warehouses?

  • Are there opportunities for resistance against workplace surveillance?

Methods

Literature Review

Focus on Internet of Things (IoT) and surveillance in the workplace

Interviews

Learning from Amazon warehouse workers about their experiences

Autoethnographies

Reflecting on our own experiences of workplace surveillance to contextualize our positionality

Concept Map

Developing an understanding of how surveillance shows up throughout various aspects of Amazon’s workforce

Findings

Our research lead us to the following key findings:

  • Amazon warehouse workers are highly surveilled during the work day and Amazon does not set clear guidelines for avoiding consequences related to one's efficiency.

  • It is easy for workers to feel dehumanized because they are treated like machines with limited break time while working in a windowless facility.

  • The goal of Amazon is always to optimize their workflow and little consideration is offered to employees, such as keeping them from unionizing.

  • Workers are expected to wear and utilize several different tracking devices through out their shift turning them into a human-robot hybrid.

Exhibit