The new regulation also seeks to prevent “robot bosses” that automate hiring decisions.

On Thursday, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. introduced two new bills to protect workers from intrusive workplace surveillance and so-called robot bosses, according to a report published by NBC News.

“I think generally everyone around here is keenly focused on providing a strategy to confront what can only be described as an awesome challenge for the country,” Casey told the news outlet about the new regulation he hopes will see the light of day soon.

Experts warned that AI’s autonomy is just a “veneer,” and that it’s being used as surveillance through the scraped data it needs to train on.

Finally, stories born from paranoia teach you to see A.I. as the ultimate surveillance tool, watching your every eye moment and jiggle of your mouse. But what if it’s used instead to catch you doing things well, and to foster trust between managers and employees?

With the ability to compile reports of your accomplishments—or even assess their quality—A.I. can help managers better appreciate the output of their employees, rather than relying on quantified inputs, like time spent at your desk. It can watch out for deadlines and critical paths, automatically steering you toward the work that’s most urgent. And if you do fall behind on deadlines, A.I. can let your manager know: They don’t have to poke their nose in all the time just to catch the one time you fell behind. With A.I. helping everyone focus their attention to match intentions as they do their work, managers can instead spend their time investing in ways to support their team and grow individuals.

The way we work right now will soon look vestigial, a kind of social scaffolding in our journey to build something better. We know that A.I. will transform the future of work. Will the future edifices of our labor be austere, brutalist towers that callously process resources? Or will they be beautiful, intricate monuments to growth and thriving?

Critics are not fully convinced though.

Earlier this month, the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced the induction of two robotic dogs into its force, a move that was opposed by rights activists citing surveillance concerns. Now an incident of a garage collapse where a robotic dog was used in search and rescue operations is being hailed by the City Mayor Eric Adams as justification for its use, The New York Times.

The robotic dogs inducted belong to Boston Dynamics, which Interesting Engineering has extensively covered over the years. Their robotic dog, dubbed Spot, has been designed for use in adverse situations and is equipped with abilities and sensors.