Posted on 01/26/2015 7:22:08 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The world’s first robotized sales assistants were rolled out last month in California. They are nifty, cute — and terrifying.
Nicknamed OSHbots, the two machines cost $50,000 apiece, are five feet of plastic on wheels and carry built-in natural language processors, computers, product scanners and navigation tools.
Named after the Orchard Supply Hardware store where they work in San Jose, they greet customers, ask if they need help, identify items, then offer to guide them to the appropriate aisle without bumping into anyone or anything.
At night, they do inventory by cruising the store to identify missing products and update their store map. The OSHbots will never ask for a raise or call in sick. They also have the recall of a National Merit Scholar, but, on the other hand, they can’t open a box or climb a ladder to reach a hammer. And if you went up to one and shouted “fire,” it would respond that “fire extinguishers are on aisle 4 and I can take you there” . . . in English or Spanish.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The future will be a 80% of the population will have zero marginal value in a robot/AI economy. They will spend their days in Virtual Reality play getting a welfare check from the gov’t every month.
If there are any jobs left, the Mexicans will get them.
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you
Sorry, Orchard, I try to do my business with humans. I can appreciate that you want to cut costs by eliminating sales personnel. Good for you! Too bad you’ll never see me again as a customer....
For a moment, I thought it was Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s new job, but upon closer examination I found the robot to be more attractive and intelligent.
Modern version of the “Kick Me” sign...
“We are the Daleks!”.
How long till robots replace all politicians and govt employees?
"Zzzzt. Human! Get me a cup of bytes."
"Yes sir, Mr Roboto!"
And the really cool part is you never have to take out your wallet because your cards are scanned the second you walk into the store.
Is there a rule that says robots can’t look like Scarlett Johanssen?
HA! And what does it do if you ask it to get something off the top shelf? Call Michelle Obama?
That's OK. There are plenty of technology-loving millennials waiting to take your place.
Then again, even the robots may find themselves out of jobs as most retail establishments lose their customers to the online retailers.
Wouldn't that be a kick on the head? You invest in a robot company only to find the robots in the scrap heaps, having been disintermediated by online commerce.
What a world.
It’s true. The oculus headsets that are in development are phenomenal. It will be like the movie Wall-E
Isn’t the death spiral in a Depression essentially that A) business is bad, so they lay off workers B) laid of workers have less money to spend, so business gets worse and then we go back to A) and so on and so on.
This being the opposite of Henry Ford paying his workers MORE than the prevailing wage for industrial workers... so that they would be able to buy cars...
Yet we have Americans laid off in manufacturing and IT because of globalism and outsourcing to China and India, and people act surprised that the economy can’t recover and think that socialism is the cure?
Lets take the last major area of employment and turn that over to robots. What can possibly go wrong?
That would be an upgrade.
What cards? Your number is in your body.
You can make a lot of money selling out the USA.
Either way, we’re screwed.
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