By Jamie Seidel
Publication Date: 2026-05-15 01:43:00
You take your hand away from the mouse and reach for the cold coffee. You lean back in your chair. You frown in deep thought. You cough a little to clear your tired larynx – and your head.
And your conference call has just been evaluated by the algorithms. Second time in 5 minutes.
Shiny pin with company logo: +5 points.
Health warning: -5 points
Inactivity timer: -10 points.
Inattention warning: -25 points.
Aggression alarm (the frown): -100 points.
An AI-generated evaluation appears on your manager’s terminal. Red flags can be seen everywhere.
Your boss takes his hand off the mouse, reaches for a coffee… and leans back in his chair, frowning…
Welcome to the Office of the Year 2026.
It could be at home, in the CBD, in a warehouse – or in a car.
But your every human action and reaction is recorded, interpreted and judged.
Through a machine.
“This is quickly becoming the new normal where algorithmic eyes never blink,” says Lynn, an analyst at the Institute for New Economic Thinking…
