Still think automation and AI aren't going to have a significant impact on jobs anytime soon?

[redqueen]

Take a look at this.

[tulipsandroses]

1. I was blown away recently when I went on a late run to Walmart and they had a robot cleaner

I don't know if that is the right word to call it. I thought I was going to get run over by it. It looked like the cleaner that you would normally see someone driving to clean the floor if you've ever seen those, only a bit smaller. It was coming straight at me and scared the crap out of me when I realized there was no driver. But then it backed up and a Walmart worker said to me oh it won't hit you it has sensors.
After getting over my shock, The first thing I thought about was how many jobs did it replace? How many Walmarts in America?

[nilram]

3. And how often do they clean and test those sensors?

[Wounded Bear]

4. I've seen those...

or at least I've seen what I think are those. They're like a 5 foot tall roomba or something. The ones I saw were sitting idle in an aisle. It was daytime, though. I don't do a lot of after dark shopping any more.

[tulipsandroses]

5. I googled to find a picture and it looked very similar to these

Interestingly, there is a calculator that you can put in the number of hours of cleaning that is done and the hourly wages to see how much you would save.

I put in 40 hrs at $15 per hour. I don't know if the people that clean at Walmart make that much. Its usually done at night so hopefully they get night shift differential.

Anyhoo, at 40 hrs X $ 15 per hr, it says the robot would save $24, 960. That's the yearly salary for many folks. Only a matter of time before we see more of these.

[link:https://www.icerentalsusa.com/emma-lander/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=emma_leads&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInvOE2LDU5wIV04NaBR2hdAm0EAAYASAAEgIEHPD_BwE|

[Wounded Bear]

6. Not the one I saw...mine was more upright...

maybe it wasn't a cleaning device. I don't really know. It was just parked in an aisle, coincidentally the cleaning products aisle.

[redqueen]

8. Quite a few, I'd think. A robot doesn't need breaks

and can work longer shifts

[Codeine]

9. Those things cruise around my Kroger

(well, they’re called Food4Less here) all the time. Technologically they’re fascinating, but yeah, lost jobs suck.

[shanti]

2. Watch 'American Factory' on Netflix

It was an eye-opener on this subject.

[redqueen]

7. Yes! Hopefully the Obamas winning an Oscar will get more people to watch it

It was sad to see the realization reaching workers here and those from China that they were being replaced by machines.

[lpbk2713]

10. My son went to Home Depot recently.

He said there were no humans anywhere near any of the registers.

Home Depot has seen me for the last time.

[redqueen]

12. Yeah, basically any large chain (any business that can afford it)

will start converting to automation wherever possible.

The retail apocalypse is ongoing, so this will just keep going.

[andym]

11. Robotic hardware store staff?

This is from 2014. OSH. the chain involved. did not have the resources to pull this off and actually went out of business. But there are well-heeled companies like Amazon that are quite interested in doing even more.

[redqueen]

13. Yeah small businesses can't usually afford that stuff.

Which makes it even harder for them to stay competitive.

[andym]

14. There is no doubt that AI-catalyzed automation and robotization is happening

with profound consequences for all American workers. It's actually guaranteed to become more powerful as it is being driven by hardware improvements more than by ideas and software. That's why i posted something about technology that was 6 years old (several generations old) being implemented by a modest sized organization.

It's too bad that beyond Andrew Yang, few politicians have made this a priority. In US politics, problems are only addressed after they are a big problem.

[redqueen]

15. Yep, Obama has discussed it (clip below). And yes, that's what Yang said he was told

by someone in DC - that the government wouldn't do anything unless a great big wave of people demanded it.