"Amazon Go, Yes or No?" by Mika P.
The online retailer Amazon recently opened a convenience store named Amazon Go. So far they have opened almost 20 stores in major cities such as Seattle, Chicago, and New York. These stores have no cashiers, lots of cameras, and very advanced technology. No checkout is required. Customers enter the shop with their Amazon Go app, scan the barcode on your app, browse the store, pick up what they need, and leave. When you scan the barcode there are cameras and sensors to identify you by your Amazon account. Amazon uses the same technology used in self-driving cars. The technology automatically knows when you pick up a product off the shelves. When you are done shopping you just walk out. The products that you leave with will be charged to your Amazon account. (Just Ask Gemalto)
The employment of cashiers is predicted to decline four percent from 2018 to 2028 (BLS). Retail sales will always be increasing because people always need to buy things but the employment of cashiers will go down because of these advances in technology. People even buy their groceries from Amazon and have them shipped to their houses.
Another example of how the employment rate of cashiers is going down involves Walmart. Not only does Walmart have self checkout but they also have Pickup. With this service you can order the things you need with Walmart.com or the Walmart Grocery App. You fill up your cart with everything you need, checkout, and select your pickup time. After that Walmart employees will gather your products, bag them, and when you come to pick them up they bring it to your car (Offers.com). There are even Walmart Pickup only stores.
Technology is taking jobs from hard working people daily. In the Amazon Go stores there are no cashiers. In Walmart, one person can look over twenty something checkouts. There is no need for cashiers any more if technology like this will keep showing up places. The world's unemployment rate has dropped five percent. That is the lowest level it has been at since the global economic crisis in 2008 (Voice of America). Cashiers are not at the top of the list but they are one of the jobs that are being taken over by technology.
Other examples of jobs that are being taken over are factory and assembly line jobs. By using robots, companies can spend less money by not having to pay people and can get products out faster. Bank tellers is another good example. The ATM was first invented in 1967 (TIME). Since then people would rather use ATM’s instead of going into an actual bank. Most banks also have online banking where you can take a picture of a check and it goes directly into your account.
Do you think that it is possible for technology to take over all jobs one day? Do you think this technology is making shopping easier or making it more complicated? Should there be any sort of program to protect us from getting our jobs taken over by technology?
Works Cited
“Cashiers : Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 Sept. 2019, www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/cashiers.htm.
“Global Unemployment Has Reached Lowest Level in a Decade.” Voice of America, www.voanews.com/archive/global-unemployment-has-reached-lowest-level-decade.
McGrath, Kristin. “How to Use Walmart Grocery Pickup and Delivery.” Offers.com, 18 Dec. 2019, www.offers.com/blog/post/walmart-grocery-pickup-and-delivery/.
TIME. “Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Money.” Time, Time Inc., 5 Aug. 2009, content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1914560_1914558_1914559,00.html.
“What Is Amazon Go and How Does It Work?” Just Ask Gemalto EN, 6 June 2019, www.justaskgemalto.com/en/amazon-go-checkout-free-store-work/.
“What Jobs Are Being Taken over by Robots and Computers?” Computer Hope, 30 Dec. 2019, www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001799.htm.
I think that these stores are great ideas. Instead of being completely online Amazon can have physical stores which can help earn some buyers trust. I do believe that technology makes shopping much easier. However, I still believe that people will still need to have jobs and technology will not completely take over. The fact is the government wants money that workers make. If technology completely takes over, there will not be many people spending money.
ReplyDeleteI feel like that regardless of all of the technology that has came to fruition these past few years, we will need humans to still be part of it. I feel like it is making shopping easier, I personally love self checkout due to the fact that if I am in a hurry I can hurry and do it rather than a person doing it. Regardless of what job is being taken over by technology, there will be more jobs to maintenance these things. If a checker no longer has a station to check people out at, they can stock, it just depends on what the technology is I guess.
ReplyDeleteI believe that technology will not take over all of our jobs. While many lower income jobs are being taken away, many new jobs are opening up. People with technical to engineering degrees help keep our technology running and from breaking down. Maintenance will become a even more major job in the next 50 years. Mechanics, Plumbers, and Electricians are already seeing an increase in pay.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that technology will take over all of out jobs. There are some jobs in my opinion that are better left to humans. Such as teachers. I think teachers are valuable society. It would be hard to see technology do what good teachers do. People will also be needed to create this technology. Without humans creating it, then it couldn't do much at all. However a program being set so that it protects human jobs is a good idea. Having a company being forced to have a certain percent of human workers would be a good idea in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think that physical amazon stores are a good thing. It supplies jobs and could help support local economies. It could also compete with other big name stores like Walmart. Because of that I think that this could be a potentially huge score for Amazon.
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