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Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

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Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#131
How I read all headlines like this now: "Shopify just opened themselves up to be less dominate (or non-existent) in the market."

The destruction of brands on the horizon is creating a ton of opportunity for new businesses to develop. One's that can only succeed if they reject the religion of "automate all the things with AI" and take a quality/human-first approach to running their business.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#132
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same goes for almost all grocery shops here - Publix, Kroger, target etc replacing checkout with self-checkout kiosks completely. I absolute hate using self-checkout for non-packaged groceries items. Especially if I have lots of stuff. Freaking "unintended item in baggage area". Not to mention, I feel like Publix etc in particular employed lots of folks with disability. It warmed my heart to talk to them. I don't kno…

[flagged]

That's theft.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#133
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the people building the shite customer service chatbots that we all hate using should take a stand.

It would be great if everyone made personal financial sacrifices for the things we thought were important right? The world would be a much better place in my estimation.

Relying on individual developer's ethics is not going to work. "There's always someone willing to write the kill-bot software." I've in the past objected to (and refused to) develop ethically questionable software. It doesn't make a difference, because Bill, two desks down, is happy to write whatever software boss tells him to write.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#134
If the promise of AI means I can do 1/2 the amount of work and maintain my high quality life, then I'm all for it.

However, every advancement that has come in the last 100 years that improved efficiency has only meant we're pushed to work more and do more. So I am now expected to do 2x the work.

If you're really dreaming for AI that can wipe-out entire classes of decent middle-class jobs in one big swing, don't forget that we're going to take down the world economy with it and it's going to be a very long recession where nobody will win.

Meanwhile, those lucky enough to have made it to the top will continue to horde all the profits.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#135

From my experience with Shopify customer service, I would say firing them all sounds like a great idea. Let’s free up some humans for other tasks. They weren’t performing the previous tasks that well anyway.

That's the fault of leadership, not the humans.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#136
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same goes for almost all grocery shops here - Publix, Kroger, target etc replacing checkout with self-checkout kiosks completely. I absolute hate using self-checkout for non-packaged groceries items. Especially if I have lots of stuff. Freaking "unintended item in baggage area". Not to mention, I feel like Publix etc in particular employed lots of folks with disability. It warmed my heart to talk to them. I don't kno…

I resisted using online ordering at Kroger for a long time, then in 2021 I started using the mobile app, and just picking up my groceries... now I have not be inside a Kroger in almost 2 years and have no plans on going back in. The Kroger App is great, and having them bring the stuff out, load me up, and I drive away... even if they actually go back to charging $5 for the service I am paying. >>I don't know what hum…

I feel like the lowest earning employees on the totem pole is a bit of an easy scapegoat for high costs when executives make an exponential amount in comparison. I understand that if they weren’t in grocery they could be making similar amounts in another industry—my argument is more that the disparity between employee and executive is too great, regardless of industry.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#137
post #71
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grocery stores and others absolutely still need cashier checkout. If I have a handful of items I can barcode swipe and even a couple pieces of produce that's fine. But they simply aren't designed for a full shopping cart which includes a ton of non-barcoded items. Ditto with home repair stores. Scan a new smoke detector? Sure. Check out a bunch of lumber etc. That would be no. In my experience, most stores are findin…

Order groceries online. It's much more convenient for large orders.

I used to to this when my Vons operated it’s own fleet. Then they switched to instacart and it went dramatically downhill. Cold items sitting in their hot trunk, 4-hour delivery windows, and an order that just never arrived.

The Teamsters did a good job. The underpaid gig workers don’t. (And frankly, I’m not sure I blame them.)

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#138
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same goes for almost all grocery shops here - Publix, Kroger, target etc replacing checkout with self-checkout kiosks completely. I absolute hate using self-checkout for non-packaged groceries items. Especially if I have lots of stuff. Freaking "unintended item in baggage area". Not to mention, I feel like Publix etc in particular employed lots of folks with disability. It warmed my heart to talk to them. I don't kno…

I resisted using online ordering at Kroger for a long time, then in 2021 I started using the mobile app, and just picking up my groceries... now I have not be inside a Kroger in almost 2 years and have no plans on going back in. The Kroger App is great, and having them bring the stuff out, load me up, and I drive away... even if they actually go back to charging $5 for the service I am paying. >>I don't know what hum…

I'm yet to see prices going down, or at least not going up at the same pace as everywhere else, because a supermarket chain implemented self-checkout.

I don't think anyone buys (pun intended) the argument of self-checkout being there to enable lower prices for consumers.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#139
>These job cuts, according to the employee, were driven not merely by a CEO’s misguided “bet,” but rather a shift towards replacing full-time employees with cheaper contract labor

Good Lord, how much cheaper can you get than Canadian labor? They already get paid poorly and earn about 1/2 or less than their US counterparts. I guess the lack of jobs is why they can pay so little, explains why so many Canadians flee to the US first chance they get.

Re: Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

#140
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same goes for almost all grocery shops here - Publix, Kroger, target etc replacing checkout with self-checkout kiosks completely. I absolute hate using self-checkout for non-packaged groceries items. Especially if I have lots of stuff. Freaking "unintended item in baggage area". Not to mention, I feel like Publix etc in particular employed lots of folks with disability. It warmed my heart to talk to them. I don't kno…

[flagged]

IMHO that's called stealing
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