The demo of Optify.ai, a member of the current queue of Y Combinator, sparked opposition from social media, which eventually led to YC’s removal of its social activities.
Optify said it is building software to help factory owners know who is working and who is not working, thanks to AI-powered security cameras that are placed on the assembly line. Its YC configuration file.
On Monday, YC released Optify Demo video On X (Then LinkedIn), according to the snapshot saved by TechCrunch.
video The show Optify co-founder Kushal Mohta acted as the owner of a clothing factory, calling on the supervisor (actually his co-founder Vivaan Baid), to involve a low-performance worker, known only as the “digital 17.”
“Hey, the number 17, what’s wrong with the man? You’re in red.” BAID asked the worker, and he replied that he was working all day.
“Working all day? You don’t even reach hourly output at once, with an efficiency of 11.4%. That’s really bad.”
After checking Optify’s dashboard, the supervisor looked at the output of “digital 17” in 15 days, thought the worker was not doing well, and called the worker out.
“A tough day? It’s more like a tough month,” he said.
Clips are severely criticized on x, @vcbrags Call it “Khanfang-Service” and other It is considered “computer vision sweat factory software”. The same is true Caused criticism On Y Combinator’s own link sharing website hacking news.
However, not everyone is very critical. Customer Support Launch Intercom CEO Eoghan McCabe, Released Complaints about better anyone stop buying Chinese and Indian-made products.
Indeed, it is not difficult to find a technology company in China Praise For example, use computer vision to discover sleep workers’ “sleep detection” cameras.
Either way, YC ended up removing the demo video from its social events, but nothing save go through Some account.
Neither YC nor Optify.ai responded to requests for comment.
The video’s possible unexpected virality shows anxiety about the rise of AI, especially in the workplace.
Most Americans object to using AI to track workers’ desk time, movements, and computer usage, Pew Poll Discovered in 2023. This is part of the surveillance product Called “bossware”.
However, this did not stop VCs from funding the space. For example, invisible AI Raised $15 million in 2022 Worker surveillance cameras should also be posted in the factory.
