IBM Seeks Patent For Biosensor-Based Hiring

from the taylorism-is-back... dept

theodp writes "A just-published IBM patent application for Optimizing Utilization of a Donor describes how to monitor 'the somatic (i.e. physical) and affective (i.e. emotional) states of human resources' to determine 'an optimal allocation of the human resources to tasks.' IBM further explains that 'the emotional and physical states may be sensed via non-invasive biosensors.' And what exactly will be measured and sensed? Physical condition can be determined by measuring 'the level of blood sugar, the blood heat, or the like.' And clues to 'a human resource's mood to perform a job with lust, joy or any other emotional condition' can be found by looking at 'changes in autonomic functions, such as, for example, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, sweating, trembling, and other features like hormonal changes; changes in body temperature; and changes in neural function that are measurable.' So if you want that job with Big Blue, perhaps you better make sure that your Blood Pressure, Pulse, Mood, and Level of Fatigue are as up-to-snuff as your skills. Yikes."

This sounds like the modern equivalent of Taylorism, which never faired all that well in the first place. Effectively, this sounds like simply applying modern technologies to a typical Taylor-like review of a worker.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: biosensor, hiring, hr, patent
Companies: ibm


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Johnson Rice, 4 Sep 2008 @ 9:34pm

    Wrong Interpretation?

    It seems like Mike's interpretation of this is a bit backwards.

    This system does not sound like it is for hirees, nor that the scanner will be used for testing potential employees for somatic and affective conditions...

    Rather, it seems that IBM wants to scan the hiring manager and HR staff's physical and mental states.

    They want to ensure that the hiring managers aren't hiring hot women when they haven't gotten any, or turning down an otherwise good candidate because they are grumpy.

    Nevertheless, this is still scary as hell, but IBM is talking about scanning current HR staff, not incoming potentials.

    Could be a first step toward Gattaca.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Jake, 4 Sep 2008 @ 10:15pm

      Re: Wrong Interpretation?

      I somehow doubt it would be hard to adjust it for other purposes, and IBM have probably left their patent open-ended enough to tie things up in court for years if someone comes up with a competing system to be used on the interviewee instead.
      In which case, I'm for putting off patent reform until there's been time to take steps to discourage these things from being misused. Innovation sans frontiers can be a double-edged sword.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Vincent Clement, 5 Sep 2008 @ 5:33am

      Re: Wrong Interpretation?

      The term "human resource" refers to an employee not just a Human Resource staff member.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2008 @ 11:52am

      Re: Wrong Interpretation?

      So, if a woman is pregnant, she's screwed (present tense, not past tense).

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 5 Sep 2008 @ 2:17pm

      Re: Wrong Interpretation?

      Rather, it seems that IBM wants to scan the hiring manager and HR staff's physical and mental states.

      Hmm. No, I don't think that's right. The patent uses "human resources" to apply to *employees* not HR employees.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Enrico Suarve, 5 Sep 2008 @ 5:13am

    ouch

    Can I patent not working for IBM? scary people

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    A Conman Sword You, 5 Sep 2008 @ 5:49am

    They're Just Hunting For Replicants

    Tyrell: Is this to be an empathy test? Capillary dilation of the so-called blush response? Fluctuation of the pupil. Involuntary dilation of the iris...
    Deckard: We call it Voight-Kampff for short.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous please, 5 Sep 2008 @ 4:59pm

    The truth about Ron Riley

    Mike, It will be worth exposing the truth of your bloggers.

    http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=74089

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2008 @ 5:48pm

    I will just bring my own such device the next job interview.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.