Even jobs at fast food restaurants are in danger as companies try to displace workers to add more profit like at this Jack In The Box. An automated machine takes your order and payment. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDJc1NoGg2g"]Robot Replaces Workers At Fast Food Restaurant - YouTube[/ame]
This is the BEST news Ive heard all day!!!!! I no longer have to put up with some idiot (who cant speak English) trying to take my order.
It is so good that automation and technical advances are freeing mankind from the drudgery of routine work. Sadly, the only difference between science fiction futures that predicted this and our current reality is that in the futuristic view, societies would SHARE the wealth created by the efficiencies. Instead, it all is simply accumulating at the top while the displaced workers struggle. I think the futurists made a HUGE mistake when the assumed the wealthy of THEIR future, unlike the wealthy of their day like Henry Ford, would be smart enough to figure that you couldn't have an economy without customers, and would at least allow the bottom end to collect a little money (unemployment, etc.) to be able to USE their robotic fast food machines!
10 Richest People of All Time and How They Made Their Fortunes Funny, the top 10 richest people of all time isn even close to being in last 50 years,.
That is why I never use the self service checkout line at any store. I would rather wait in line to use the services of a cashier. The way I see it, each of those self service checkout lines displaces the job of one person. I know there are employees there to help people who have trouble with the auto system, but still there are a lot more auto checkout lines than employees to help customers with them.
Why should jobs be maintained if they are technologically obsolete? Your position borders on Luddism.
Yes, let's just destroy all the factories and go back to building everything by hand. Let's destroy all computers and go back to abacuses. And let's destroy all tractors and go back to the ox and plow. Every advancement that increases worker productivity increases the average wealth of everyone in the world.
Not troubling at all. With lower costs, and competition, money is saved and most of the time the savings is passed on to the consumer. As a consumer, if I don't have to pay as much for food, I can use that money to help buy stuff that will improve my life or the lives of my family. Having the ability to buy new maps for my parent's garmin will not only provide "real" jobs for the map creators, but will help cut down on oil consumption and improve my parents quality of live.... after all, getting lost because of old maps sucks.. Having an efficient society is nice... People can continue paying for "useless workers"... but its stupid and doesn't help society...
Really? "They will pass on the savings to the customer?" What a myth! Have you noticed food getting CHEAPER? The savings go into the pockets of the corporations and their managers and owners, who have been getting double digit income increases, record profitability, and ENORMOUS accumulations of CASH by not paying anything to workers!
I agree with you there. sometimes the noises coming from a drive through sounds like a monkey trying to (*)(*)(*)(*) a football.
Businesses lower prices for one of two reasons: 1. Supply exceeds demand 2. Competition forces it Robots have nothing to do with it.
You're right. Increased production technologies don't leed to lower costs, which is why only the rich can afford cars and the vast majority of Americans ride horses...
Good point... You win... efficiencies due to technology and mechanization DO suck.. Time to burn the looms!!!!! To the windmills, my friend!!! Time to break the machines!!! hahahaha.. idiots....
Food as a percentage of income is getting cheaper, and has been since 1970 at least. Now it may be changing a bit now, due to the recent inflation of food prices, but the general trend is the same.
LOL!!!! All I ask out of any Fast Food place, is a person that can speak English to take my order and my order to be right..it seems like Im getting 1 out of 2 in Socal!
I read some replies where some posters were a little worried about losing jobs to robots. Don't. While some robots will replace the mundane tasks, i.e, an auto assembly line, in the end we will all become more productive. No technology breakthrough has ever been detrimental to an economy. Producing the robots themselves will create a great deal more jobs than the ones they replace. (Incidently robot theft and robot crime will be an issue in the future, sorry I had to through in that caveat). People will program robots to steal and kill, i.e., the US military is already working on automatons.
It's a trade-off. Since they have added the self-checking, I find that there are more floor personnel taking care of customers, shelving, cleaning up spills, etc. Overall I like the convenience, especially if I'm darting in to grab an item or two. For non-grocery stores, I love them. More times than not, if I'm running into Home Depot for a box of brad nails and a couple of lengths of lumber, I'd rather use the machine rather than sit behind 10 contractors in the one line that is open. However, it does get abused, especially in a grocery store. I've seen way too many people with 100 items in their carts tie up the whole system.
I dont have a problem with that. I have a problem with people who cant figure out how to use the self check-out.
You can beat them at their game. Try couponing. If you live in an area with several different chains you can always find discounts, bargains and savings. Join your local stores' online sites. You'd be surprised at how well you can beat inflation if you spend a couple hours each week doing so.