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End of the Checkout Line: the Looming Crisis for American Cashiers

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

Phoenix666 writes:

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: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday August 17 2017, @10:02PM (2 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday August 17 2017, @10:02PM (#555587) Journal

    Sure, Hallow, the problem with the economy is *too much regulation protecting workers.* Not fractional-reserve banking or shady loans programs or skeezy multinational corporate contracts or money laundering. Nope, it's those fucking OSHA laws that are causing problems.

    Ye gods. Do you even HAVE a job?

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 18 2017, @05:12AM (1 child)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 18 2017, @05:12AM (#555720) Journal

    Sure, Hallow, the problem with the economy is *too much regulation protecting workers.* Not fractional-reserve banking or shady loans programs or skeezy multinational corporate contracts or money laundering.

    Economies can have more than one problem. None of the items you listed can explain, for example, the slowness of job growth in the aftermath of the 2008 recession as compared to past recessions. Excessive burdens on job creators can explain that tardiness.

    • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 18 2017, @04:23PM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Friday August 18 2017, @04:23PM (#555957) Journal

      "Job creators," wow. You parrot the Narrative like you wrote it. Creating jobs? Where, China? Viet Nam? The Philippines? Robot factories? Ye gods.

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      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...