News Uber delivery man's "professional negligence causing death" AI's "algorithm" is a remote cause! ?
January 26th. The Tokyo District Court held the first trial in a case in which an Uber Eats delivery man hit and killed an old man while delivering on a bicycle.
The defendant male (28 years old), a delivery worker, said that he was driving at 20-25 km/h on a rainy night and was driving with one hand to wipe the rain or sweat from his eyes. The prosecution is applying criminal negligence resulting in death, which is unusual for a bicycle accident, and is seeking two years in prison. The responsibility of the dangerous driving of the delivery person who caused the tragic accident cannot be absolved.
Employer's liability is not questioned even in the case of negligence resulting in death at work?
However, what bothered me was that if an accident occurred during work, the employer would normally be held accountable for the ``professional negligent homicide''. However, Article 715 of the Civil Code, which stipulates employer liability, stipulates that ``a person who employs another person for a certain business shall be liable for damages caused to the third party by the employee in the execution of that business.'' It seems that people are limited to those who are employed.
In this regard, Uber Eats states that delivery workers are "sole proprietors" and not employed workers. "As a sole proprietorship, you can choose when and how much you work," she wrote on the company's website. This is also stated in the contract with the delivery person.
You (note: delivery person) are not provided by Uber and all such delivery services are employed by Uber or its affiliates, unless otherwise specified. You acknowledge that it is provided by an independent third party contractor.
In other words, "You are not employed by Uber, you are an independent sole proprietor." Delivery workers are generally called "gig workers" or "platform workers" who undertake one-off jobs through Internet apps operated by platform operators such as Uber.
There are more than 100,000 Uber Eats delivery workers, but discussions are taking place around the world about how social security should be, including the legal protection of platform workers, who have been increasing in recent years. On the other hand, there is also the merit that the operating platform side is exempted from user responsibility even if the delivery person causes an accident like Uber.
I kept running even in the rain for "incentive reward"!
Another thing that bothered me was that the prosecution allegedly pointed out in the opening statement at the trial that ``they delivered even in bad weather in order to obtain additional compensation''. The prosecution's statement is reported as follows.
"Uber had an 'incentive reward' that was additionally paid in bad weather etc. The defendant used a high-performance road bike for quick delivery, and at the time of the accident, the brake pads were greatly worn and the light It started raining that day, but they continued to deliver for additional rewards." (Asahi Shimbun, January 27, 2022 morning edition)
What is the "incentive reward" that appears here?
In fact, one of the causes of dangerous driving that can lead to accidents is inherent in the compensation system for Uber's delivery workers. Compensation for delivery workers consists of basic delivery charges and incentives, but the incentives are heavily weighted. For example, during peak hours when there is a lot of demand for orders for lunch and dinner, an additional 100 yen or 200 yen will be added. The higher the number of deliveries, the higher the incentive reward.
Furthermore, it will be added according to the number of deliveries even when it rains. In other words, in order to increase the number of deliveries, there is always the danger of having to speed up even in rainy weather or at night.
In addition, there is an incentive bonus called "quest" that is paid when a certain number of times is exceeded within a specified period. You can get a bonus if you clear the specified number of deliveries over the four days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday or three days of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Among delivery workers, it is called “day-straddling inse”, but more specifically, you select a plan for the number of deliveries within this period.
If you do not complete the target number of deliveries, you will not receive a bonus
Toshiaki Tsuchiya, chairman of the Uber Eats Union, which consists of Uber Eats delivery workers, said, "25 times, 35 times, 45 times, etc. There is a plan, but if you do 100 times, you will be charged about 20,000 yen.For those who are full-time, it will be difficult to live without this reward.However, I chose the 75 times plan and 74 times. If you can only deliver once, there will be no incentives."
Quests do not give rewards unless the number of quests reaches the specified number of times, so the delivery person is desperate, but on the other hand, it is easy to cause accidents. "All delivery workers are aware of the possibility of accidents. Many people say that if possible, get rid of the 'swim crossing inse'. Since it is a motorcycle, there is always the possibility of tipping over." (Committee Tsuchiya) long).
Accidents have actually occurred. According to the "Accident Investigation Project Report" (July 21, 2020) compiled by the Uber Eats Union, accidents during quests account for about 70% (73%).
For example, a full-time male delivery worker in his 40s who supports his family has an accident every year. Monthly income is about 400,000 yen, but incentives such as quests account for a large proportion. I work about 12 hours a day, from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.
My first accident was in 2018 when I was rear-ended by a taxi while riding a motorcycle, and I sprained my cervical vertebrae and healed for a month. In 2019, he fell in a hit-and-run accident and took two months to heal completely with a broken hip and a bruise. Taking this opportunity, he changed to a bicycle because the motorcycle was dangerous, but in 2020 he fell while riding in the rain and broke his left arm, causing an accident that broke his front tooth.
No matter how careful you are, accidents happen. Moreover, if a man is an employed worker, he is working more than 100 hours of overtime per month. Working long hours causes fatigue both physically and mentally, increasing the risk of accidents.
In the case of the death at the beginning, the prosecutor's office said that "delivery was carried out even in bad weather to obtain incentive rewards", but in order to obtain incentives such as completing the number of quests, it was raining at night at a speed of 20 to 25 kilometers per hour. I was running at speed.
In other words, it can be said that Uber's reward system itself was the underlying cause of the accident. I can't help but think that the prosecution is also implicitly pointing this out.
Delivery worker controlled by AI algorithm
Actually, the reward system, including incentives, is managed by the app's AI algorithm. Algorithms are mechanisms or formulas that input collected data and use mathematical operations such as calculus, logic, and probability to perform high-speed calculations that meet the purpose.
In the case of Uber, in order for the algorithm to deliver orders for food and drink users within 30 minutes, a "delivery request" is sent to a delivery person close to the area, and the distance traveled for delivery and waiting time at the restaurant , traffic conditions, the balance of supply and demand, and many other relevant factors to determine incentives and delivery fees. So are incentives based on demand for lunch, dinner, or rainy weather.
In other words, the delivery person is managed by the "algorithm boss". One delivery man said he sometimes feels like he's being "controlled by AI," and it's a perfectly valid feeling.
However, what is different from a human boss is that the focus is only on "efficiency" in how to guide the delivery staff in order to deliver the goods quickly even in rainy weather or at night. I have a suspicion that the "concept of safety considerations" is not incorporated into the algorithm. With today's information science, wouldn't it be possible to issue warnings about busy roads and excessive speed?
EU Announces Bill to Regulate Algorithm Management
By the way, on December 9, 2021, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU), announced that platform workers such as delivery workers A draft law (EU Directive Draft) binding on EU member states was announced, with the main pillar being the protection of
According to Keiichiro Hamaguchi, director of the Institute for Labor Policy and Training, "EU Platform Labor Directive Draft" ("Rouki Junpo" January 5, 2022 issue), the draft directive regulates algorithm management. There is also an item to do.
Algorithm's "automatic monitoring" that monitors, supervises and evaluates the work performance of platform workers, work assignments, compensation, occupational health and safety, working hours, contractual status (account restrictions, suspensions, cancellations Require EU Member States to inform platforms about two functions of "automated decision-making systems" used to make or support decisions that have a significant impact on there is
Mr. Hamaguchi introduced the following regarding algorithm regulations related to occupational health and safety.
“The digital labor platform will (1) evaluate the risks to worker health and safety, especially in terms of work-related accidents and psychosocial and ergonomic risks, and Assess whether the safety equipment of the system is suitable in light of the characteristic risks of the working environment, and ③ take appropriate preventive and protective measures.Automatic monitoring and decision-making system should be installed on the platform. It is not permissible to apply undue pressure to workers or to use them in a way that damages their mental and physical health.”
In terms of Uber, it means that member countries are obliged to require safety devices against the risk of accidents during deliveries to be built into their algorithms, or to take preventive and protective measures if they are not. At the same time, it obliges EU member states to require platforms to have sufficient personnel to monitor the impact of algorithmic decision-making on accidents, psychological and ergonomic risks, etc.
Algorithm regulations regarding ``safety management of delivery workers'' are necessary in Japan
In addition, regarding regulations on these algorithms, Mr. Hamaguchi said, ``Not only platform workers with employment relationships, but also those without employment relationships It also applies to platform labor performers."
As mentioned above, it is difficult to fundamentally solve the occurrence of accidents unless there is a structural review that incorporates ``safety management for delivery personnel'' into Uber's delivery system, including the algorithm that induces accidents. right.
The number of delivery workers is increasing due to the demand for home delivery due to the corona crisis and the entry of overseas delivery platforms into Japan. Including Uber delivery workers, the number is estimated to be at least 200,000 to 300,000. As a result, there is a possibility that accidents involving third parties will increase in the future.
Not only in the EU, but also in Japan, institutional measures should be taken to reduce the risk of accidents involving delivery workers.