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posted by martyb on Thursday August 17 2017, @02:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the who-is-going-to-ask-if-I-want-fries? dept.

72 years after [Clarence Saunders] attempted to patent his idea, advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies are making the dream of a worker-free store a reality. And American cashiers may soon be checking out.

A recent analysis by Cornerstone Capital Group suggests that 7.5m retail jobs – the most common type of job in the country – are at "high risk of computerization", with the 3.5m cashiers likely to be particularly hard hit.

Another report, by McKinsey, suggests that a new generation of high-tech grocery stores that automatically charge customers for the goods they take – no check-out required – and use robots for inventory and stocking could reduce the number of labor hours needed by nearly two-thirds. It all translates into millions of Americans' jobs under threat.


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @05:56PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @05:56PM (#555469)
    As someone said, there may have been new jobs for all the buggy whip makers. But there were no new jobs for all the horses.

    Those who don't understand the above are probably horses ;).
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  • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @09:59PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 17 2017, @09:59PM (#555586)

    Surplus horses --> reduced price of glue.
    Surplus cashiers --> reduced price of soylent ??