If you feel compelled to surveil yourself so as not to be arbitrarily fired by an algorithm, I do consider that dystopian; yes. You're not "in control" of data you're expected to turn over to your employer to keep your job. Worse still if these keyloggers become normalized, and they'll shift from being "optional" to "professionally expected" to "mandated".
This (IMHO) is an example of an attempt at a technical solution for a purely social problem—the problem that employers are permitted to make arbitrary firing decisions on the basis of an opaque algorithm that makes untraceable errors. Technical solutions are not the answer to this. There should be legally-mandated presumptions in favor of the worker—presumptions in the direction of innocence, privacy, and dignity.
This stuff's already illegal on several levels, in some of the more pro-worker countries. It's illegal to make hiring/firing decisions solely on the basis of an algorithm output (EU-wide, IIRC?). And in several EU countries it's illegal to have surveillance cameras pointed at workers without an exceptional reason—and it's not something a worker can consent/opt-in to, it's an unwaivable right. I believe—well, I hope—the same laws extend to software surveillance like keyloggers.
Surveillance is something you do to someone else. If it's yourself you're just keeping records. It's common that proving validity of something involves the records of it's creation. Is registering for copyright surveillance?
data you're expected to turn over to your employer
If you got paid to make something, that would be your employer's data anyway.
Worse still if these keyloggers become normalized, and they'll shift from being "optional" to "professionally expected" to "mandated"
You think a brainstorm about using a blockchain by a hacker news comment is going to suddenly become 'mandated'?
And in several EU countries it's illegal to have surveillance cameras pointed at workers without an exceptional reason
They described logging their own keystrokes and encrypting them to have control over them. It isn't a camera and it isn't controlled by someone else. Also they said in an editor, so it isn't every keystroke, it would only be the keystrokes from programming.
This (IMHO) is an example of an attempt at a technical solution for a purely social problem—the problem that employers are permitted to make arbitrary firing decisions on the basis of an opaque algorithm that makes untraceable errors. Technical solutions are not the answer to this. There should be legally-mandated presumptions in favor of the worker—presumptions in the direction of innocence, privacy, and dignity.
This stuff's already illegal on several levels, in some of the more pro-worker countries. It's illegal to make hiring/firing decisions solely on the basis of an algorithm output (EU-wide, IIRC?). And in several EU countries it's illegal to have surveillance cameras pointed at workers without an exceptional reason—and it's not something a worker can consent/opt-in to, it's an unwaivable right. I believe—well, I hope—the same laws extend to software surveillance like keyloggers.