Current Events > C/D: Amazon Go's technology could mark the beginning of the end for the retail

(+) Yeah! (+)

industrys labor force with a few other key enhancements.
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Eh, D. Amazon.com has already been doing that for some time. Besides, you'll still need people to stock shelves, clean, manage the store, help guests, etc.
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Shmashed posted...

Eh, D. Amazon.com has already been doing that for some time. Besides, you'll still need people to stock shelves, clean, manage the store, help guests, etc.

That will all get automated eventually.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

Shmashed posted...

Eh, D. Amazon.com has already been doing that for some time. Besides, you'll still need people to stock shelves, clean, manage the store, help guests, etc.

That will all get automated eventually.

And then other jobs will be created to maintain that automation. Look at what happened in the industrial revolution.
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Im imagining a future where almost no one works.
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Grocerybot #20349, get back to your patrol!


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Shmashed posted...

And then other jobs will be created to maintain that automation. Look at what happened in the industrial revolution.

And then we're going to have a very concerning skill vs employment problem
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Perhaps in about 50 years.
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I'd like to say it it'd be a utopian future, but we all know what direction this is heading in.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/21/technology/inside-amazon-go-a-store-of-the-future.html
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I can't wait until someone walks through the store with a weed whacker and causes half a million in damage with nobody there to stop them
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Once labor is fully-automated, all of the poor people will be exterminated.
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BlingBling22947 posted...

Once labor is fully-automated, all of the poor people will be exterminated.

as they should
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Not end but could kill it off.

Poor unskilled american citizens will be outpriced and in the streets. Manual labor is becoming a thing of the past. Soon we wont need unskilled workers and the market will be unforgiving.

Its already happening in San Francisco and other major cities in California. Unskilled workers have been priced out and they have to commute hours to get to their low paying jobs. Its terrible and the rest the country will soon follow
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Except that even if we 'build machines' to do all that work, that still creates an entirely new industry or, at the very least, an increased demand on the industry. I'm not just talking about technicians, either. First, you need metal and other components to create the machines. That means you need people to mine them, people to transport them, people to work in the plants that build them. Then you also need things like precious metals, which again, require people to mine, transport, and convert them into usable products. Then you have a whole bunch of other companies that spring up to support those industries. Everything from international traders, to logistics companies, to the restaurants and bars that the miners eat at after work.

There would be an undeniable 'crisis' period initially, but that would balance out pretty easily in the long run once people have moved to new industries/locations. Even if we import many of those materials, you still need people to transport the products, to unload them, to maintain them, to organize and facilitate trade, etc. That means there are still a whole lot of unskilled or semi-skilled jobs created.

From somebody that actually works in a grocery store, No way in hell.

Even if self checkouts or auto checkouts become standard, You're always going to need 2-3 live cashiers on hand to handle Pricing Errors/EBT issues/WIC bullshit/Old people.

Plus the people that actually stock the shelves, Most of the departments are severely understaffed, And all of the newly obsolete cashiers would just be transferred.
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Don't you need a Prime account to go in and shop there?

That alone will stop tons of people from ever using that location.
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LinksLiege posted...

Don't you need a Prime account to go in and shop there?

That alone will stop tons of people from ever using that location.

Prime is $10 a month.
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And I really doubt autonomous trucks will replace truck drivers. Not because the technology isnt there. Believe me, the tech exists. The biggest problem autonomous trucks have is legislation. Working out the kinks in politics will take years.

Truck drivers should be worried more about the hyperloop. Sending cargo in pods sounds more practical than autonomous trucks. When the hyper-loop comes into reality, Truck drivers will have to stay competitive and accept a massive paycut. They will eventually be priced out by other local truckers and all of rural america that depends on the trucking industry will be hit hard.

And then rural america will have to commute to the city where real estate can only be afforded by those in the tech field. See San Francisco. Theres a reason why cities are becoming more dense and traffic is getting worse. The new economy will be in tech.
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cerealbox760 posted...

And I really doubt autonomous trucks will replace truck drivers. Not because the technology isnt there. Believe me, the tech exists. The biggest problem autonomous trucks have is legislation. Working out the kinks in politics will take years.

Truck drivers should be worried more about the hyperloop. Sending cargo in pods sounds more practical than autonomous trucks. When the hyper-loop comes into reality, Truck drivers will have to stay competitive and accept a massive paycut. They will eventually be priced out by other local truckers and all of rural america that depends on the trucking industry will be hit hard.

And then rural america will have to commute to the city where real estate can only be afforded by those in the tech field. See San Francisco. Theres a reason why cities are becoming more dense and traffic is getting worse. The new economy will be in tech.

Not only that, but you still need laborers to gather materials for the hyperloops, skilled laborers to build and maintain them, technicians to oversee them, call centers and logistics centers for people, office staff for any headquarters, not to mention all the support staff and tertriary industries to support all those people.

What use would the wealthy have for the masses anymore?
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How will the poor consume?
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This is John Henry all over again. A man will just rise up and beat the machine in a contest. He will narrowly win and then die immediately from overexertion afterwards.

Somehow this will convince companies to continue to go with the current work force over the machines. The best employees will narrowly outpace a machines and then die after one shift.
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Jiek_Fafn posted...

This is John Henry all over again. A man will just rise up and beat the machine in a contest. He will narrowly win and then die immediately from overexertion afterwards.

Somehow this will convince companies to continue to go with the current work force over the machines. The best employees will narrowly outpace a machines and then die after one shift.

Yeah, because John Henry really ended the steam industry.

Shmashed posted...

ChromaticAngel posted...

Shmashed posted...

Eh, D. Amazon.com has already been doing that for some time. Besides, you'll still need people to stock shelves, clean, manage the store, help guests, etc.

That will all get automated eventually.

And then other jobs will be created to maintain that automation. Look at what happened in the industrial revolution.

Exactly. The farmers became factory workers. People just love freaking out...
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Metropolis?
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Universal basic income is too sensible.

Evil is more likely to prevail.
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