Boss Mog
Member
It was probably mentioned in here already but IBM had a similar concept in a commercial a decade ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk
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Introducing Amazon Go and the worlds most advanced shopping technology
- Thread starter Exile20
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Who cares? I can't remember the last time I had a meaningful conversation with a cashier.
Prediction: the next stage of racism is going to be struggling to keep dead-end jobs so that under privileged people can "make a living" when in fact all it does is waste their time and energy to prevent them from getting more meaningful education, work or life fulfillment and greatly decreases physical and mental health in those groups. All the mean while everyone else has upgraded to high-education automation tier jobs, perhaps re-converging on single (but substantial) income families to make up for the lack of availability. And this isn't going to be engineered that way, it will happen emergently as a result of people trying to artificially pump up a system that is no longer relevant.
To me it's not a matter of if we can get off capitalistic systems, but how many more people are we going to crush by dragging it out with silly resistance in the face of inevitability.
To me it's not a matter of if we can get off capitalistic systems, but how many more people are we going to crush by dragging it out with silly resistance in the face of inevitability.
I may get crap for saying this, but I don't mind that mediocre garbage jobs are going away. It's time to just move away from it and provide a universal basic income to everyone. Of course, people are so against the idea but eventually, most jobs will be gone and this will definitely be needed. With stuff like this happening, that will happen sooner rather than later.
I should also mention that it doesn't matter if people are against it. In the end, it's the only solution to the problem besides training everyone to be automation engineers or other positions that aren't as likely to be automated.
I should also mention that it doesn't matter if people are against it. In the end, it's the only solution to the problem besides training everyone to be automation engineers or other positions that aren't as likely to be automated.
Why are we stopping progress just because of potential job loss.
Fuck that. I want my Star Trek future. Vote for universal basic income instead of keeping archaic and outdated jobs alive just because the people need a paycheck.
Push for universal basic income, push for free or cheap education. Trying to limit automation isn't going to do anyone any good and will ultimately fail.Respect.
We might not be able to stop it, but we can certainly regulate it. Rolling over and giving up is what the people who stand to profit from it want us to do.
We lose manufacturing jobs, people tell us that nothing can be done. Now we begin to lose service sector jobs, and people tell us nothing can be done. At some point we need to push back against corporate greed and the consolidation of wealth/power.
tiredheadcrab
Member
I already use self checkout whenever I am at Wegmans or Acme. But this is like the next step up. Next up robots will be restocking shelfs and cooking food on site. Also wasnt McDonalds talking about automating their fast food restaurants?
This is awesome.
Have you ever waiting in line at a busy grocery store before? On busy days, it can be incredibly time consuming. I know I have actively put off grocery shopping because I don't have the time. The problem is obvious: how can we expedite grocery shopping?
This seemingly solves the problem of making grocery trips long at busy times (when everyone is loading up on their shopping for the week) and the problem of someone going to the store for that quick one item that takes 5-10 minutes because of lines, now becoming a fraction of that.
I'm sold on the idea, I hope it works in practice as well as it seems.
Have you ever waiting in line at a busy grocery store before? On busy days, it can be incredibly time consuming. I know I have actively put off grocery shopping because I don't have the time. The problem is obvious: how can we expedite grocery shopping?
This seemingly solves the problem of making grocery trips long at busy times (when everyone is loading up on their shopping for the week) and the problem of someone going to the store for that quick one item that takes 5-10 minutes because of lines, now becoming a fraction of that.
I'm sold on the idea, I hope it works in practice as well as it seems.
Trail Guide
Member
At the Amazon store the customers take things off the shelves and walk right out the door, while the employees undergo mandatory pat-downs at the end of every shift.
Frankly I don't understand what you're getting at and I feel like you are very selectively addressing my points or outright ignoring them. I wasn't making some sort of appeal, this is a video game forum. Nobody is changing pubic policy here. Amazon isn't scouring NeoGAF to decide whether they should go through automation. I was simply stating that I feel like the progress of automation is actively going to hurt people and most people don't really seem to care because now they can check out easier or not even check out at all.
And progress isn't a monolith. You can make progress as a society and make progress in technology with or without complete automation.
Slurpy2k20
Member
Uh, so how the fuck does this work, EXACTLY? Face recognition? They don't give any details. How do they know it was YOU who took the product, and not the person beside you? I see so many avenues for error, and unless there is a human being manually tracking what you're grabbing I don't see how this will be completely reliable given the types of technology that will most likely be used, especially when there's multiple people in close proximity to you.
I've been scanning and walking out with items in Apple Stores with zero human interaction for a while. I just don't see how this Amazon Store can maintain that level of accuracy.
I've been scanning and walking out with items in Apple Stores with zero human interaction for a while. I just don't see how this Amazon Store can maintain that level of accuracy.
R10Neymarfan
Member
These types of jobs are middle class jobs, at least in "rural America" which makes it even worse due to their mindset and inevitable consequence of this appearing
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Self-check out machines are starting to appear here in Austria, so the move away from cashiers is happening, one way or another
Basketball
Member
It's awesome but Jesus this will kill jobs
That's why so many people speak about things like guaranteed basic income, it simply make much more sens than preventing innovation for the sake of saving the jobs themself.
SoRuffShoNuff
Member
So how would coupons work?
I was trying to figure out if what you were saying point to any solutions, but I think we agree there isn't any in there. Sure, progress isn't a monolith. You got that right and I agree with you.
LocknessMobster
Member
Nice! Time to buy some more Amazon stock.
Wait until your 90 and that's the only interaction you'll have all day.
You honestly think they are opening up stores without making sure their systems are functional.
Trust me. This is peanuts compared with self-driving cars.
Trail Guide
Member
The Republicans want to gut every social program so forgive those of us who are a bit skeptical about this glorious post-work society.
can we do it in a way that doesn't make greedy Bezos even wealthier
rokkerkory
Member
game changer!
i like it
i like it
Steelyuhas
Member
Looking forward to trying this out next year.
I was suggesting that legislation is the only real solution that I can see, either the government needs to expand on programs to get people working these jobs into jobs that won't be automated or they need to legislate in a way that slows down total automation for a few years while they can get their ducks in a row to get people into jobs that won't be automated. Either way they need to help people get into other jobs. The problem is that if they don't a lot of people will suffer. Trying to keep those jobs long term is a mistake, I just want there to be a transition period rather than a sudden shift.
I don't think automation is a bad thing, I absolutely think that automation should happen because people shouldn't be stuck doing manual labor for their entire lives. We as a society should move past the need for that to be done by people.
I don't have a lot of faith that the government will step up and take this on but I don't really see another way to fix the problem.
Yeah, they set up one in the Billa store I frequent last week and it's soooo great! So much quicker to self-check out than to stand in line. Especially if you only grabbed lunch and something to drink. So good, I was blown away lol
Also I need an Amazon Go store here asap. I'm just a little worried about errors and bugs that are bound to happen. But as long as you can check your cart before checking out, no biggie.
I mean, we can... but will we? It'll only become a priority long after its a tragedy. Thats how things work right?
Theoretically you could get the white working class behind it, but man do they hate welfare.
Maybe if they re-labeled it as a monthly tax return instead of basic income, they'd like it.
I don't see any way to slow automation and "sharing economy" without "picking winners and losers" so instead they need to ramp up the support part, and strengthen employment rules to make sure those who do work for these companies are fairly rewarded and protected. They will need to devise new taxes to have the appropriate revenue, but that should not stop progress totally.
There's a lot of interesting opportunity for retailers here, aside from Amazon.
I know one major issue in clothing retailers is shrink, both theft and processing errors - so a lot of money is being spent on technological solutions, and there are some pretty cool things happening there.
I think, if we try and idealize a brick and mortar store from the perspective of the company that owns it, it would do stuff like:
Auto assign items to customers in the CCDB (I just made up that acronym, closed circuit database, encompassing all product/location/customer/employee live data fed by closed circuit sensors). This would help with theft, sale, and potential advertisement data (I see you're picking up a box of condoms, would you also like some lube that is on sale?). This data would be extremely valuable, giving an indication on the shopping habits of customers to such a fine grained level.
'disarray' tracking. Being able to understand when shelves are fucked up or things are put back in the wrong place, makes it easier for employees to fix things up. If it gets really fine grained, it could potentially even guide the employee to the correct spot to put it away.
Theft sensing - let's assume someone walks in without an account to be able to purchase things, if they walk out, an alarm is triggered. In fact if they walk around the store without an account, they could be flagged just to have an eye kept on them.
What else can people think of?
With the data gained from this, I can imagine automated upselling would be a thing, but maybe even 'on the fly' deals - if the system can discern complicated habits like... A customer that always comes back and stares at the OLED TVs, eventually maybe it creates a custom sale packable for said customer to push them over the edge.
I know one major issue in clothing retailers is shrink, both theft and processing errors - so a lot of money is being spent on technological solutions, and there are some pretty cool things happening there.
I think, if we try and idealize a brick and mortar store from the perspective of the company that owns it, it would do stuff like:
Auto assign items to customers in the CCDB (I just made up that acronym, closed circuit database, encompassing all product/location/customer/employee live data fed by closed circuit sensors). This would help with theft, sale, and potential advertisement data (I see you're picking up a box of condoms, would you also like some lube that is on sale?). This data would be extremely valuable, giving an indication on the shopping habits of customers to such a fine grained level.
'disarray' tracking. Being able to understand when shelves are fucked up or things are put back in the wrong place, makes it easier for employees to fix things up. If it gets really fine grained, it could potentially even guide the employee to the correct spot to put it away.
Theft sensing - let's assume someone walks in without an account to be able to purchase things, if they walk out, an alarm is triggered. In fact if they walk around the store without an account, they could be flagged just to have an eye kept on them.
What else can people think of?
With the data gained from this, I can imagine automated upselling would be a thing, but maybe even 'on the fly' deals - if the system can discern complicated habits like... A customer that always comes back and stares at the OLED TVs, eventually maybe it creates a custom sale packable for said customer to push them over the edge.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
It's always hilarious to see a huge line in a store while there are four of those machines sitting there unused and you just squeeze by everybody and are done and out in like 2 minutes.
It's easier to just "get over it" when your own welfare doesn't depend on it. I'd imagine there are a few people on GAF who work as cashiers.
CadetMahoney
Member
This,
What they need to do is have scanners or whatever on the shelves or nearby or at least prior to the paying area where you can double check the price is what is listed, calculate the total etc. to stop any errors like something not being 2for1, half price like what happens when I go shopping.
The label says an offer - after checkout reading the receipt - it wasn't on offer.
There is zero reason why someone will not be allowed view the total before committing to a purchase with all this tech, unless it's for anti-consumer reasons.
How much?
12.97.
Heres 13 keep the change.
Achievement~ interaction with human succesful
well you can just look at the app surely?
The user experience needs to be as seamless as possible.
Two solutions to the clunky problem might be:
1. AR/XR headsets are a thing, and are as popular as smartphones, checking the price is as easy as looking at the product.
2. The system is aware of all things a user is carrying or holding, and automatically updates a list on their phone with the item and it's price, just a simple list with the item name, it's price/sale price and a link to more details. Keep the list open, pick up the item and (hopefully) it's immediately updated.
TheMan
Member
The people they're courting for this kind of place (artisanal bread...) wouldn't be caught dead using coupons.
Just_myles
Member
Sheit. Yes please. This needs to happen across the board. We as voters need to elect officials who understand that these things happen and implement infrastructure changes for workers like these. We have to do this. It's a must in my opinion.
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