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Inside Amazon Go

nytimes.com

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Re: Inside Amazon Go

#21

Post by wickawic »

chiefofgxbxl wrote: post #7

Given Amazon's knowledge in warehouse operations and supply chain, I wouldn't guess they plan to use this technology widespread in grocery stores. At that point, they could take a simpler approach than all the cameras and computer vision, by instead treating a grocery store like a warehouse or vending machine (no human shoppers like other grocers today who offer delivery). People enter their orders online, and stop b…

I don’t see this being viable. Most people shop with at least a small amount of whimsy. This is why end-caps and samples and grocery store psychology exist. And I think this is a feature, not a bug: there is something satisfying about picking out the right bananas, realizing Brussels sprouts would go well with dinner, substituting ingredients on the fly, etc.

the online shopping experience has none of this, which is why I think grocery delivery has not yet taken over. Food is visual and visceral, and doesn’t lend itself to drop-down menus.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#22

Post by arebop »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

It is because we have no scalable mechanism in society to provide for the basic needs of the "emancipated." Sure, in theory the automation yields a surplus, but in practice how do we actually allocate the surplus? Not to the economically useless, that's for sure.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#23

Post by dyyni »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

>Why is this the knee-jerk response of many journalists in response to technological progress?

Maybe because our society isn’t ready for such changes. The American system especially lacks safety nets and social security systems to support those without a job. The way things are now is that one needs to have a job to be able to “play”.

One solution would be to tax the robots that replace the working class. Otherwise the only ones to gain are the ones who own the robots.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#24

Post by iagooar »

dawhizkid wrote: post #12

Anyone in NYC who regularly shops at Trader Joes or Whole Foods knows how badly this is needed. There are literally two employees at Trader Joes whose job it is to hold a sign that says "End of Line" because the line is always almost out the door on weekends and weekday evenings.

Why not use these people as cashiers?

I wonder if this endless line thing is something typical in the US. I've been to many European countries and other than before Christmas, you never feel like staying in line is something to even think of, because the longest you usually wait is maybe 5 minutes.

In Switzerland, now that in many shops you get to scan the cart yourself (after shopping or during it) there is just no congestion at all, even on a busy Saturday.

How is it in your countries?

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#25

Post by nextstep »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

Because to both customers and employees of grocery stores, this doesn’t seem like “technological progress”; I think it’s unclear if this experience is better.

But it’s certainly being viewed as a costsaving measure by Amazon.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#26

Post by vixen99 »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

I hope you're not assuming that everybody is in agreement with this questionable proposition. 'Destroy' sounds like a call to battle given the world as it is.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#27

Post by robotresearcher »

eloff wrote: post #2

No shopping carts? Maybe for a convenience store that's ok. I shop at Costco without a car, and I bring two large carry bags. But I don't carry them around inside the store unless I'm just buying one or two things. I buy a lot of heavy things (oh god those watermelons, never again.) And I don't want my arms getting tired in the store. It's bad enough for the 1.5km I have to walk back to my place.

It’s an urban small market not a wholesale store.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#28

Post by rland12 »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

Workers whose jobs we have automated did not become "emancipated."

They were completely forgotten by society, government, and the private enterprise as the spoils went to the top 20%.

What about this particular shearing indicates a difference in the way "progress" is made?

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#29

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

> True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely.

This sounds like a "Let them eat cake" response. What do you propose is the solution then for giving these people a viable lifestyle if they don't have any competitive skills? A lot of potential ideas, like basic income, have been discussed on HN, but this should be considered a pretty scary problem because there aren't any immediately obvious solutions.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#30

Post by resu_nimda »

panarky wrote: post #19

There were a little over 3.5 million cashiers in the United States in 2016 — and some of their jobs may be in jeopardy if the technology behind Amazon Go eventually spreads. Why is this the knee-jerk response to technological progress? True progress isn't forcing millions of people into low-wage routine work. True progress would emancipate people from this drudgery entirely. Isaac Asimov questioned why the goal of bo…

Because the politico-economic system Asimov referred to is still intact. Our society does not use technological advances to emancipate the general populace.

It would be amazing if McDonalds fully automated their stores and allowed their current employees to work one day a week for the same pay they receive now, but we both know that's not how it would work out.

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