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I don't consider a self-checkout lane to be a "robot" in any sense. It's a customer doing the job of a once trained employee. If you've ever been behind someone
by zecho 12y ago
I don't consider a self-checkout lane to be a "robot" in any sense. It's a customer doing the job of a once trained employee. If you've ever been behind someone new to one of these things, they're slow and annoying experiences.
The main reason for them is reducing workers necessary during slow sales periods (like overnights, or weekday mornings).
And anyway, the job wasn't replaced by a robot in this case. The job was replaced by a customer.
- JoachimS 12y agoNo they aren't robots but tech that as a consequence reduce the number of employees. In Sweden there has been quite a big reduction in number of people working at the checkouts. And even if they are freed up to do other things in the stores, there has been a net reduction in number of employees.
- SiVal 12y agoYes, "robot" isn't the point. "Non-human" is the point. Non-humans replacing humans probably began with animal domestication technology and has accelerated dramatically since then. Once a non-human replaces a human, the switch tends to be permanent, so all human jobs will eventually be replaced unless technology stops progressing (only if there's a global holocaust) or if humans can forever invent new jobs (that humans do better than non-humans) at a rate that matches the takeover of old jobs by non-humans. Since the takeover is apparently accelerating, humans aren't significantly improving, and non-humans are, it's going to be a difficult race.