Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a society where there is even less real social interaction, Every time I shop at my favorite store, I encounter InstaCart employees more than regular shoppers.
San Francisco?
Sigh. Yes.
Inside Amazon Go
241–250 of 291 posts
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#242"Amazon won’t say much about how the system works, other than to say it involves sophisticated computer vision and machine learning software." Why do I have the feeling this probably actually translates to humans staring at video feeds a lot of the time?
I imagine it's similar to the below video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeS8TJwBAFs
This video is fantastic. It seems to be ready for prime time. Ability to track objects with this high accuracy is a gamechanger
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
> But they have taken it a step further, there aren’t even any gates... scan it with the app I consider that strictly inferior, not "one step forward." The genius of Amazon Go is that no scanning is involved. You just take things off the shelf and they're automatically charged to you as you walk out.
That’s true, though one advantage for the consumer is that at least you get a chance to confirm that you really did want to take that $40 lobster ;) For the store an advantage is saving space, the Chinese ones are in really expensive prime real estate areas.
You get to confirm it before checking out, there's an app listing items added to the shopping cart.
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
Costco had something like that a few years ago. It would not save much time because in the end someone would need to check if you were not stealing anything. After maybe less than a year in operation they returned to old cashiers.
That's because Costco has an awfully consumer hostile policy of accusing every customer of theft as they exit the warehouse. I absolutely can't stand being accused of crime in this manner.
They even accuse you of theft when it ENTER the place. They're so militant about it. I'm almost scared to go into one if I ever go to America for fear of them gunning me down with a rifle if I go within twenty meters of the entrance without a card. The hostility towards everyone really puts me off, and I haven't been able to bring myself to get a membership yet.
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
Costco had something like that a few years ago. It would not save much time because in the end someone would need to check if you were not stealing anything. After maybe less than a year in operation they returned to old cashiers.
That's because Costco has an awfully consumer hostile policy of accusing every customer of theft as they exit the warehouse. I absolutely can't stand being accused of crime in this manner.
Curious what happens if someone just bypasses the person doing the double-checking. Is there any legal recourse for the store? I could only see this as the case if there is something in the member agreement, the stuff is paid for...
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's because Costco has an awfully consumer hostile policy of accusing every customer of theft as they exit the warehouse. I absolutely can't stand being accused of crime in this manner.
They even accuse you of theft when it ENTER the place. They're so militant about it. I'm almost scared to go into one if I ever go to America for fear of them gunning me down with a rifle if I go within twenty meters of the entrance without a card. The hostility towards everyone really puts me off, and I haven't been able to bring myself to get a membership yet.
How does that happen?
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#247I know the standard reaction from a lot of HN folk will be to celebrate this progress: it's faster, more efficient, and no one likes to waste time waiting in line. Still, though, I think Amazon's automation of the retail experience is helping to create a society where there is even less real social interaction, and I think it's a factor (if even a small one currently) in the increasing tribalism in American society.…
The marketplace today is hardly the place for meaningful interaction, whether with employees or other shoppers. What it seems like to me is unpaid emotional labor. To have interesting social time, we need less hours at work and more public (non-commercial) spaces to meet. For example, where are children supposed to meet?
I agree. I hate this idea of "removing social interaction." People complain about everyone on their cellphones in the mornings. However if you look at videos from the 1970s and 80s, no one interacts on the trains back then either. They've all got their newspapers and magazines and the nerdy kids have their walkmans.
Today it's no longer nerdy to listen to music, everyone has earbuds in and your newspaper and magazines are all easily accessible on tiny little screens which use a lot less paper.
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
Costco had something like that a few years ago. It would not save much time because in the end someone would need to check if you were not stealing anything. After maybe less than a year in operation they returned to old cashiers.
That's because Costco has an awfully consumer hostile policy of accusing every customer of theft as they exit the warehouse. I absolutely can't stand being accused of crime in this manner.
Is their policy of letting you return anything anytime without a receipt also consumer hostile?
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#249Get ready for some insanity in the next decade as this tech is adopted by walmart. https://i.redd.it/shbv27xwmzoy.png
Huh. Is there a year/source for that data?
It's interesting Boeing out employees Amazon still in Washington. I also didn't realize Intel's Hillsborough office was that big! At least compared to their office in Folsom.
Re: Inside Amazon Go
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
>80% of the American population lived in what is called an urban area in the 2010 census [1]. While their definition of urban is looser than you might use, still >60% lived in 'cities'[2]. Unless the wealthier, more connected, more educated readership of Hacker News strongly bucks every trend suggested by their demographics, it's pretty safe to say we mostly live in urban areas. [1] https://www.citylab.com/equity/201…
How do you know HN is made up of only Americans?
Non American HN member here. It will apply here too. Me and most other people from Europe / Asia I know that are on HN are from big cities.