Employees at Simon & Schuster are opposing the potential use of AI-powered software to monitor workplace activity and productivity.
CEO Greg Greeley has reportedly told employees that no company-wide rollout is underway or being considered.
For freelance writers and editors, the dispute raises questions about how publishers evaluate creative work, measure productivity, and introduce AI tools.
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly common in publishing, but employees at one of the industry's biggest companies are raising concerns about how the technology could be used to monitor their work.
Workers at Simon & Schuster have circulated an open letter opposing the potential introduction of AI-powered employee monitoring software, according to reporting from Publishers Weekly.
The concerns center on how automated monitoring could affect workplace privacy, employee trust, and the evaluation of creative and editorial work.
Simon & Schuster CEO Greg Greeley has responded by saying the company is not currently pursuing a company-wide rollout of the technology.
The disagreement highlights a growing question for publishers and other creative businesses: How should employee productivity be measured when the quality of work matters as much as the quantity?
The Story
The dispute involves Skan AI, a technology company whose software can analyze workplace activity and identify opportunities to improve business processes.
According to an October 7 report from Publishers Weekly, Simon & Schuster employees are gathering signatures for an open letter opposing the potential use of Skan AI or similar software.
The letter expresses concern about technology capable of tracking keystrokes and continuously monitoring employee activity.
Its authors also point to existing problems with employee trust, citing company-wide survey results showing low scores for confidence in leadership and feelings of ownership over their work.
The employees suggest that introducing AI-powered monitoring could make those problems worse.
The letter's authors say they represent employees across multiple departments and are seeking 250 signatures. It remains unclear how many of Simon & Schuster's approximately 1,500 employees have signed.
The concerns reportedly emerged during discussions about whether the publisher should explore AI tools that could improve operational efficiency.
Simon & Schuster is owned by private equity firm KKR, which acquired the company in 2023. The employees' letter alleges that the initiative is being considered at KKR's urging, although that claim has not been independently established.
CEO Greg Greeley addressed the concerns in an October 6 memo.
He explained that some teams are exploring AI tools to reduce repetitive administrative work, including duplicate data entry, manual reporting, approval processes, and time spent searching for information.
Skan AI's Blueprint software is one option under consideration.
However, Greeley emphasized that no decision has been made to adopt the technology and that the company is not planning a company-wide rollout.
He also said the purpose of the exploration is to identify inefficient processes rather than monitor individual employee performance.
The FWC Take
There's a legitimate opportunity for AI to improve how publishing companies operate.
Editorial teams spend considerable time managing workflows, tracking projects, coordinating approvals, and handling administrative responsibilities.
Reducing that workload could give writers, editors, and other publishing professionals more time to focus on the work that requires their expertise.
But the distinction between improving processes and monitoring individual employees matters.
Creative work doesn't always fit neatly into traditional productivity measurements.
An editor might spend several hours reviewing a complicated manuscript. A writer might devote an entire afternoon to researching a subject before producing a single paragraph.
Those activities can be valuable even when they don't generate easily measurable output.
The challenge for publishers is determining how to use AI to improve efficiency while maintaining employee trust and recognizing the realities of creative work.
Simon & Schuster's situation illustrates why those conversations are worth having before new technology is introduced.
What It Means for Freelance Writers
Although this dispute involves employees at a major publisher, the questions surrounding AI monitoring extend to freelancers.
Writers increasingly work with clients that use project management systems, productivity platforms, and automated tools to track assignments.
These systems can make collaboration easier, especially when freelancers work with multiple editors or marketing teams.
They can also influence how clients evaluate performance.
For freelance writers, it's worth understanding what a client actually measures.
Is success based on how quickly an assignment is completed? How many articles are delivered? Or the quality, accuracy, and business results of the finished work?
Those distinctions matter when negotiating rates, deadlines, and project expectations.
Freelancers can also benefit from being transparent about their processes. Explaining the research, interviews, fact-checking, and editorial decisions behind an assignment helps clients understand the work involved.
The strongest opportunity is to demonstrate value through outcomes rather than activity alone.
As publishers experiment with AI-powered workflows, freelance writers who can communicate their expertise and consistently deliver high-quality work will have a strong foundation for building lasting client relationships.