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Inside Amazon Go

nytimes.com

151–160 of 291 posts

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're right, and I haven't seen the answer from our society yet. If you can sit at home and get things delivered (which is easier and addicting), you do miss out on different experiences (some good, some bad). You can imagine a world where many of our storefronts could empty out. If you work from home, get Amazon deliveries, go to school online, etc... what will you do and what storefronts do you need? Are b…

The example is obvious if you actually step outside your door. Anyone can get anything delivered at any time of day or year, so other than going to work, there is no need right now for anyone to leave their house, ever. But funny enough, if you go into any downtown area, any park, any waterfront, any restaurant, they're busy. Abnormally busy, based on the fact that, again, none of them have any need to be there. Turn…

> But funny enough, if you go into any downtown area, any park, any waterfront, any restaurant, they're busy. Abnormally busy, based on the fact that, again, none of them have any need to be there.

I don't think that's true at all, except maybe in the sense that rich urban centers are crowded with inherited-wealthy young adults.

> visit a boutique store

Exactly. See above.

> stop for coffee at a local cafe.

Cafes are crowded because people don't like to be alone, even when they are doing an essentially alone activity (whatever is on the laptop everyone is sitting there with).

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#152

I 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.…

> 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?

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#153

I 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.…

I don't bother the opposite sex while shopping. But when it comes to just normal convo about good foods that me and another shopper are both buying, it's usually a short-lived "Isn't that ice cream awesome?! Hi five!." Nothing profound but I can see the positivity from even a small event of mutual love for the small things in life. :-) I will admit though - Whole Foods and Trader Joes' employees are some of the nices…

It's funny to call them "down to earth", when they (especially TJ's) are performing a DisneyWorld-like entertainment role enforced by corporate leadership.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#154

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.

Trader Joe's NYC is cramped for space. It's unlikely Amazon's system would help, since it requires a lot more space to separate product SKUs.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#155

Techcrunch article with additional technical details: https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/21/inside-amazons-surveillanc... > ordinary RGB cameras, custom made with boards in the enclosure to do some basic grunt computer vision work, presumably things like motion detection, basic object identification, and so on. They’re augmented by separate depth-sensing cameras (using a time-of-flight technique, or so I understood from…

Imagine when Amazon sells this system to Palantir and police departments for use all over town.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can confidently say that's _not_ the case in most urban areas.

I dunno. Yesterday at the Farmers Market, I was shopping for produce (salads) and had a conversation with 2 different women. The first offered advice on what to pick, and their health benefits. The second, in turn, was the recipient of my limited knowledge. I live in San Francisco.

If those supposed health benefits aren't real or are misrepresented, which I would guess is likely, then that social interaction was a net negative for society.

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#157
post #92

Attacks I'd like to try but would get picked up by the cops if I did: - Carry empty bags/containers of cheaper items in the store and place products inside these before pulling them off of the shelf. - Pull products off of the shelf and give them to a friend. Place identical empty bags/containers back to re-credit your account while your friend never has the item debited and walks out. - Drape a blanket over yourself…

Just save your containers from your last visit, bring them with you in your shopping bags, pull an item off the shelf and replace it with an empty container from your bag so that it looks like you changed your mind.

You'd have to fill the containers to weight-match the sensors

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#158

Welllll. Now that idea for a Smart Shopping Cart that I drew up 10 years is completely obsolete hahaha. Like it or not, this Amazon Go store is a model for all future brick and mortar establishments. In 20 years we will recall the good old days when we waited in line and used cash much like people look back at the time when people sent cards and letters before email.

The smart-cart seeems a much simpler, cheaper solution than the smart-store, doesn't it? Scanning cart items is trivial in comparison to tracking objects moving through the whole store

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Social time with the freedom to choose how you spend it allows individuals to congregate into their own tribes and pursue interests pertinent to them. Forced social interactions that are the byproduct of other necessary transactions are how we learn from others unlike ourselves.

[deleted]

Re: Inside Amazon Go

#160
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many stores in the USA already have self checkout, and have had it for a decade or so. Go just eliminates the checkout process all together.

Maybe I'm weird, but I enjoy self checkout line. Picking up each item, looking for barcode, scanning it, and bagging, is kind of fun activity to do every once in awhile. The only lame part is, "please place the item in the bag" mechanism.

I agree. I strongly prefer it to the regular checkout counter, even when the latter is completely free. I've even memorized that bananas are 4011.
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