The first Amazon Go store in Seattle, Washington will open to the public tomorrow. The store's design allows for a shopping experience that requires no long checkout lines - customers simply scan their phone at the entrance and then the Amazon Go store's hundreds or cameras and weight sensors detect what each customer is buying. While there are chefs that make food and people who restock the shelves, there are no cashiers. Customers simply walk right out the door with their tracked purchases, which some people say "feels like shoplifting." Amazon has also taken many measures to prevent shoplifting. All of their cameras use computer vision for object recognition and motion tracking in order to track each one of the customers inside the store, although Amazon claims that their cameras do not use facial recognition. Amazon has not made their future plans for this technology clear yet.
Many people have concerns about the store. There are hundreds of cameras throughout the store, causing many customers to worry about their privacy since their every movement is tracked. Many people are also worried that cashiers will start losing their jobs, but Amazon claims that they are simply "changing the role" of cashiers.
Cameras on the ceiling of the Amazon Go store:
What do you guys think of this new technology - do you think it will spread beyond the first Amazon Go store? Also, do you guys have concerns about privacy and the jobs of cashiers?
Sources:
Reuters
New York Times
TechCrunch
16 comments:
That sure is a lot of cameras. Since the first time I saw news about the Amazon Go store, I've been extremely interested. The US has been in the credit card phase, while other countries are beginning to transition to payment by phone. I find this store idea to be innovative and in my opinion it would make shopping less of a hassle. Although there are many, many cameras, I do not see the harm. If you aren't shoplifting, what is there to be worried about? But of course everyone has their own comfort zone. I think it may take a while for the Amazon Go stores to spread, because not everyone has access to a phone or feel comfortable with this new store design. However, I do believe this may pervade the future of shopping and I would love to check it out.
This Amazon Go store seems to so high-tech that it might intrude on personal privacy. Can one seriously trust that all the high-tech cameras do not use facial recognition just because Amazon says so? I don't mean to be highly critical of a system I'm unfamiliar with, but one cannot overlook the fact of malfunctions when it comes to programmed systems. What if the machines malfunction and charge the customers for a wrong price and there are no assistance support team to fix such? Other than those concerns, I think it's a pretty cool idea that definitely improves conveniency. I just hope it doesn't improve conveniency so much that a lot of workers will start losing their jobs.
This is quite an interesting idea that could definitely imply significantly less waiting times at stores. I really cannot tell at this point if more Amazon Go stores will be created because this first store hasn't actually been open to the public yet. However, if the public is responding well to the store, then I am quite sure that Amazon will open more. I am a little concerned for cashiers because cameras and other technology are replacing them in this Amazon Go store. However, Amazon Go is currently the only store that does not have cashiers; therefore, nationally, I do not think that cashiers are going to be losing jobs overall(unless of course, every store becomes "cashier-less" in the future...a possibility but one that probably will take a while to become true).
I think that this technology is pretty cool and definitely a benefit for people in a hurry to grab their groceries. I'm sure that Amazon will keep creating these type of "Go" stores, but I doubt that other companies will be willing to implement such a huge change. Therefore, I'm not too concerned about the jobs of cashiers. I think that since the goal of this type of store system is efficiency for the customers, and this is accomplished on a very high level, there has to be some sort of sacrifice made in another area. In this case, the customers' privacy is sacrificed, but for a major decrease in waiting time. Because of this give-and-take, I think that the lack of privacy is reasonable here. If customers don't like it, they can just go to other stores.
This technology is really interesting as many people are usually in a rush and it will prevent the stress of waiting in lines. I don't think that many other stores will follow this technology, meaning that the jobs of cashiers are not at risk. If stores were to use this technology though, then the jobs of cashiers will decrease, causing many to lose their jobs. However, like I said, I doubt many stores will change, so as of now, their jobs are safe. Additionally, I think that the cameras are somewhat necessary for this store, as they need a way to monitor the customers since they do not have cashiers.
I believe that this technology is pretty cool. I believe that it'll save time on people checking out, all u have to do is tap your phone and your out. I believe that it'll spread beyond the first Amazon Go store. It's all about making the customer's life easier, and with this they can save time by not standing in those long lines. The camera's are good/necessary so we can monitor the customers, and make sure they are not stealing anything. I don't think that it'll cause job loses.
Like everybody else, I also think that this is a great technological achievement for not only Amazon, but for consumerism in general. I praise the company for coming up with this idea and allowing us to see the future unfold right in front of our eyes. I believe that those who oppose the store for opening up the potential for a loss of jobs in the future fail to see that many major retail stores and supermarkets (like Target and Safeway) already offer self-checkout services, which have already minimized the number of jobs by a tiny percentage, so I don't think anybody should be worried if Amazon opens up a couple of these stores nationwide. As for the technology itself, however, I believe that though it may be effective, I still think that humans should still be needed for some oversight or security in the event that anything goes wrong. Overall, despite the "Black Mirror-y" vibes that the Amazon store gives me, I still think it's a great idea and I can't wait to see the potential it has for the future of shopping.
I think that this technology is great because it is a new development in the ongoing technological advancement of the era. I think this also makes shopping easier and by taking measures for making shoplifting harder, Amazon's technology is truly impressive. Just like Miguel said, I think that since this is similar to already existing technology, I expect to see more Amazon Go Stores around the country. As for cashiers, I think that it makes sense to worry about cashiers having less job opportunities, but looking at similar technological advancements, it seems that nothing serious will happen.
I think that this is really cool and shows how fast our generation is moving technology wise. Although this idea and store is entertaining, it could seem like it is invading ones privacy, but then again no one if forced to shop there. If this takes off, it will hurt a lot of people who need jobs but only time and technology will tell.
Right now this is pretty impractical, I don't see it spreading any time soon. Amazon is probably working on this 'model store' to get market insight so they can be ready for the cashless future we are heading towards.
For one, there really is no safety risk (like Miguel and others mentioned above). If there is no facial recognition, it is just an API that is not used that won't evolve out of the hard code that is already there. There is no reason that Amazon would lie about the existence of it, and that is safe. I do think at the beginning, Amazon will need some sort of human staff to train the AI, which they could have people who were normally cashiers be doing. With that new job opening, jobs will not necessarily be lost. As the AI is trained over time, those people might not be needed, but they would always need support staff and people to take complaints and watch for any very rare errors. I do think this idea is very promising, and it a good transition to online payments, and possibly even block-chain (although the pseudo-anonymity of cryptocurrency may open the doors for fraud).
For one, there really is no safety risk (like Miguel and others mentioned above). If there is no facial recognition, it is just an API that is not used that won't evolve out of the hard code that is already there. There is no reason that Amazon would lie about the existence of it, and that is safe. Additionally, I do think at the beginning, Amazon will need some sort of human staff to train the AI, which they could have people who were normally cashiers be doing. With that new job opening, jobs will not necessarily be lost, and perhaps even gained. As the AI is trained over time, those people might not be needed, but they would always need support staff and people to take complaints and watch for any very rare errors. I do think this idea is very promising, and it a good transition to online payments, and possibly even block-chain (although the pseudo-anonymity of cryptocurrency may open the doors for fraud).
I agree that this technology is pretty neat, but I gotta agree with Robert C. Huskins. I can only imagine how much overhead each store has considering it is fully automated, and it seems to me that it would be a lot more feasible just to pay cashiers to do the checkouts. Not only this, but sometimes it is nice to actually have a cashier there to check out your food or maybe even help an elderly customer carry out his/her groceries to the car. Not to mention, I am sure that the system is prone to glitches, as all computers are, and whether it be overcharging or undercharging or accidentally going off like the detectors in the school library. Also, not everyone has smartphones!!! Even though we kids tend to have smartphones, kids are not the target market of grocery stores! Most customers are adults, especially parents and elderly folk, and just imagine the confusion it would cause trying to explain to an older person without a smartphone that they can't buy groceries here because they don't have an iPhone. That seems borderline cruel to me. Anyways, I think that this store was just a novel idea to get some good PR by Amazon and I highly doubt it will be all that profitable in the near future, but considering how many billions of dollars they make, I don't think they'll mind the losses too much.
One more thing... I really hope I'm right because if this does by some mishap transform the entire grocery industry it is going to be pretty bad for employment prospects for teenagers and those in the unskilled labor force. Tech jobs are skilled jobs that typically require a college degree, and we are far from having universal college education.
I feel like technology is getting out of hand. I don't really understand the purpose of Amazon creating a store and I just think that they should stick to what their known for, online shopping. Additionally, I do agree that all the cameras are an invasion of privacy. I would much rather have human interaction at the store (with workers and such) rather than be watched on many cameras.
Although I do think that this technology is quite interesting, I don't see these stores catching on very quickly. I think most of the public is quite skeptical and the store will need quite some time to prove that it is safe and works properly. Also, I doubt it will grow much if at all based upon the job displacement it will cause. As Daniel said, jobs in grocery stores are great opportunities for high schoolers and college students to make some money and work. Eliminating these jobs will limit the opportunities for teenagers to get jobs over the summer. Considering that people already fear technology taking jobs away from Americans, I doubt these automated types of stores will increase in number.
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