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Amazon Go

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Re: Amazon Go

#501

Post by DanPitrowiski »

csomar wrote: post #425
delegate wrote: post #387

Look, I know this might not be a popular view here on HN, but I think this is useless. And bad. I'm not talking about the technology behind it (I think it's an amazing achievement).. I live in Barcelona and I have at least 5 medium-sized supermarkets within 5 minutes walking distance from my home. Plus there are several smaller shops that sell fruits and vegetables. I know all the people who work in these supermarket…

Well, I can see lots of issues here. Maybe you are being isolated from what is going on here. These guys might have been ordered by management to smile for customers. That doesn't make them happy. Just a bit more miserable, but you don't see any of it. I can't see why anybody will like to finish their life counting stuff and money for other people. I can hardly see them happy even if they smile to me. And here is ano…

As a man I'd be happier raising kids than processing mail for the post office. Or scanning groceries all day.

Re: Amazon Go

#502

Post by 24gttghh »

Ph0X wrote: post #484
JustSomeNobody wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Evolve as a society, yet remove the social experience of shopping. Interesting. I don't believe I want us to evolve in that direction.

Social experience at a grocery store feels contrived and not everyone may want it. Maybe you enjoy talking to your cashier but not everyone does, so why should everyone be forced to just because some do? It makes much more sense to keep groceries for grocery shopping, and social places such as bars for socializing.

There are these other people at grocery stores besides the employees, I believe they are called "patrons" to whom you may also converse with...

Re: Amazon Go

#503

Post by kcorbitt »

csomar wrote: post #425
delegate wrote: post #387

Look, I know this might not be a popular view here on HN, but I think this is useless. And bad. I'm not talking about the technology behind it (I think it's an amazing achievement).. I live in Barcelona and I have at least 5 medium-sized supermarkets within 5 minutes walking distance from my home. Plus there are several smaller shops that sell fruits and vegetables. I know all the people who work in these supermarket…

Well, I can see lots of issues here. Maybe you are being isolated from what is going on here. These guys might have been ordered by management to smile for customers. That doesn't make them happy. Just a bit more miserable, but you don't see any of it. I can't see why anybody will like to finish their life counting stuff and money for other people. I can hardly see them happy even if they smile to me. And here is ano…

(What follows are generalizations that of course have exceptions.) For the record, this is likely less true in Barcelona than in most parts of the US. While a supermarket cashier isn't seen as a good job in Spain, people also care much, much less about having a "good" job, and much more about their quality of life outside of work. Also contributing to this is the fact that the difference in social respect and overall quality of life between, say, a supermarket cashier and an engineer is vastly smaller in Spain than in San Francisco.

Anecdote: my wife is from Barcelona, and is currently finishing her PhD in a technical field. We're in the US at the moment and she could likely get a well-compensated job after graduation if she wanted, but is considering applying to be a barista at Starbucks or similar instead. It's not that she particularly dislikes what she studied -- just that she doesn't particularly care about work life one way or the other at all. I've observed this attitude a lot with Spanish friends.

Re: Amazon Go

#504

Post by odbol_ »

delegate wrote: post #491
mikeash wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's true, then you have nothing to fear. People will pay extra to shop at stores with human cashiers, and the machine-driven stores will not be able to compete. However, I suspect that when presented with the choice, people will take the machine store in exchange for lower prices. And I suspect that you suspect the same thing, otherwise you wouldn't be concerned.

Yes, I think you're right and that's why I think this is bad. Economically it makes more sense to buy cheaper and faster. But this eats into the fabric of society and offers nothing in exchange. And what are all these people supposed to do then ? Sleep all day ? They will fight back with their votes at first, which they are already doing in the US and Europe.. Then there's the centralisation, control and privacy part…

How about those people go teach their local kids about science? Or volunteer to take care of the homeless or the elderly? That seems like it would benefit society much more than talking to a few bored people in a checkout line.

Re: Amazon Go

#505

Post by goranb »

Ph0X wrote: post #469
CrLf wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am unsure we are evolving. We have evolved in many areas that solve real problems, like healthcare and such, but I'm not sure today's society is any better for all the technology that allows us to save a couple of minutes in a queue. To improve the efficiency of a particular group, we create problems elsewhere. The result may not be net positive. In fact, I think it isn't, since those saved "couple of minutes" will…

The point isn't that we save 2 minutes, it's that there's now 10 less job we need. And that may seem as a negative at first, but the idea is that as more and more job get automated, prices should go down until the point where people will not have to work full weeks anymore, or rather, focus on learning and reaching higher education, rather than doing dummy work all day (aka just scanning items non stop for 8 hours).

This would work if means of production were distributed more equally. The global productivity is already at a point where many of us don't need to work, but we still do because we are denied the benefits of the automation that you mention.

Re: Amazon Go

#507

Post by dpc59 »

Ph0X wrote: post #469
CrLf wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am unsure we are evolving. We have evolved in many areas that solve real problems, like healthcare and such, but I'm not sure today's society is any better for all the technology that allows us to save a couple of minutes in a queue. To improve the efficiency of a particular group, we create problems elsewhere. The result may not be net positive. In fact, I think it isn't, since those saved "couple of minutes" will…

The point isn't that we save 2 minutes, it's that there's now 10 less job we need. And that may seem as a negative at first, but the idea is that as more and more job get automated, prices should go down until the point where people will not have to work full weeks anymore, or rather, focus on learning and reaching higher education, rather than doing dummy work all day (aka just scanning items non stop for 8 hours).

Except prices for living necessities won't get lower, since demand is elastic, people will just get trapped as debt slaves while corporate stockholders become the new monarchy.

Re: Amazon Go

#508

Post by platz »

Ph0X wrote: post #469
CrLf wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am unsure we are evolving. We have evolved in many areas that solve real problems, like healthcare and such, but I'm not sure today's society is any better for all the technology that allows us to save a couple of minutes in a queue. To improve the efficiency of a particular group, we create problems elsewhere. The result may not be net positive. In fact, I think it isn't, since those saved "couple of minutes" will…

The point isn't that we save 2 minutes, it's that there's now 10 less job we need. And that may seem as a negative at first, but the idea is that as more and more job get automated, prices should go down until the point where people will not have to work full weeks anymore, or rather, focus on learning and reaching higher education, rather than doing dummy work all day (aka just scanning items non stop for 8 hours).

> prices should go down

unlikely - can think of a bunch of reasons why this wouldn't happen.

> people will not have to work full weeks anymore, or rather, focus on learning and reaching higher education

too idealistic - why aren't the people who "aren't working full weeks" today focusing on learning and reaching higher education? The logic doesn't work for the people already in this target group, today.

Re: Amazon Go

#509

Post by Ph0X »

sytse wrote: post #488

This is amazing, I admire Amazon for their boldness. It seems very practical for users. I assume that you can dispute charges with the app and that they store the footage of you to resolve disputes. I'm sure they'll need some times to tune the algorithms. But disputing a charge via an app is better than to wait in line. Kudos to Amazon for innovating.

It's definitely an interesting technology and a bold idea, but personally I have far more issues with grocery stores than just a 2m line.

For me, the far more time consuming part are:

1. Finding where something is (yes, after months you'll slowly memorize it all, but when you're new to a grocery shop, this easily takes 3-4 minute per item you need.

2. Choosing between the dozens of options.

The other day I went in this new store just to buy a shampoo and a mouthwash. For each there were over 30 near identical products and I spent way longer than necessary deciding which to go for.

With amazon fresh, I can at least search for a specific product, and also read reviews and specifics right there on the page. Amazon Go doesn't solve any of those problems...

It feels silly to me to create a whole store just to solve a tiny little problem that is grocery lines.

Re: Amazon Go

#510

Post by syphilis2 »

This has been in the eye of retailers for a long time (such as the bar code scanner guns some stores let shoppers use) in part because it makes it very easy for shoppers to (over)spend. Retailers are always looking to eliminate barriers to customers purchasing things. Amazon has a few convenient innovations that make shopping faster: one click purchases, subscription services, the dash button, and possibly one day a grab-n-go grocery. This post doesn't intend to demonize Amazon, these are all innovations that make shopping easier, but I think it's good financially for customers to be cognizant of how this convenience impacts behavior.
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